Meet the local communities keeping ancient traditions alive with these authentic new Intrepid experiences for 2026.
Ever been curious about what life’s like for nomadic reindeer herders in the Mongolian wilderness? Or why the Torajan people of Indonesia bury their loved ones in cliffside tombs? Travel is many things. But perhaps most importantly, it’s a chance to experience different cultures and broaden our perspectives on the world. If you’re looking for some travel inspiration for 2026, these new experiences let you support Indigenous communities and connect more deeply with the places you visit.
1. Stay with Tsaatan reindeer herders in Mongolia
Deep in Mongolia’s northern taiga forest, you’ll find the semi-nomadic reindeer herders known as the Tsaatan (or Dukha). On the new Mongolia Expedition: Reindeer Herders trip, you’ll spend two nights with the community and discover how they embrace a traditional way of life that’s intertwined with the land and shamanic customs. By day, help the family chop firewood or milk reindeer, then share hearty dinners and fall asleep to the sounds of the wilderness in an ortz (teepee-style tent). The Tsaatan also love singing, so don’t be shy if they invite you to join a folk song or two.
2. Learn forest survival skills with the Orang Asli in Malaysia
Travel through the lesser-known parts of Peninsula Malaysia on the new Malaysia’s Jungle Railway Adventure. The trip includes two nights in Taman Negara National Park, where you’ll meet members of the Batek and Semokberi tribes of the Orang Asli – one of Malaysia’s last Indigenous groups. Despite growing influences from the modern world, they continue their nomadic hunter-gatherer traditions and live in harmony with the rainforest. Learn about communal living, survival skills, bush foods and handmade hunting tools like the bamboo blowpipe.
Read more: Stay with Mongolia’s reindeer herders
3. Get to know the Hadzabe way of life in Africa
Round up the gang for a holiday the kids will talk about for years on the new East Africa Family Safari Comfort trip. Along with safaris, camping under the stars and meeting Kenya’s Maasai warriors, you’ll travel to Lake Eyasi in Tanzania to spend time with one of Africa’s last remaining hunter-gatherer tribes. Meet members of the Hadzabe community, help with daily activities like hunting or foraging and join a traditional dance. You’ll also learn about the unique Hadzabe ‘click’ language, an oral tradition only spoken by about 1000 people.
4. Get a taste of Sami traditions in Sweden
New for 2026, the Northern Sweden by Rail trip combines Arctic rail journeys, hikes in Swedish Lapland and ancient Sami traditions. The Sami are the Indigenous people of Sapmi, a region spanning parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia’s Kola Peninsula. Meet the Sami hosts of an open-air museum in Vilhelmina, where you’ll see traditional dwellings, learn about reindeer herding and discover how clothing and household items are made from hide and bone. Finish the experience with a Sami-style lunch of deer meat, root vegetables and bread.
5. Hike through remote Zapotec villages in Mexico
Mexico might draw travellers to its Caribbean beaches and Maya ruins, but the new Hiking in Mexico: Oaxaca’s Indigenous Highlands Short Break takes you to some truly offbeat places where you’ll get a feel for life in the highlands. Hike between Zapotec villages in the Sierra Norte mountains, visit corn farms and share a meal with Senor Eli and his family. You’ll also join a workshop with Dona Martha, a local artisan, to make age-old Mexican drinks like pulque using fermented agave sap and other native ingredients.
6. Join the Bilbaan Cultural Experience on Australia’s South Coast
You’ll see the bushland and beaches of New South Wales’ South Coast in a whole new light on the new Melbourne to Sydney Adventure. Join a Country Custodian from the Eden Local Aboriginal Land Council for a cultural walk along a section of the 365-kilometre Bundian Way. This ancient route once provided safe passage between the Snowy Mountains and the coast, connecting communities for trade, ceremony and seasonal gatherings. Be welcomed to Thaua Country with a traditional smoking ceremony, listen to generational stories, and learn about cultural practices, bush foods and medicinal plants that have been used for thousands of years.
Read more: Hike through Zapotec villages in Oaxaca
7. Support the Navajo community in Arizona
Arizona’s Canyon de Chelly National Monument is one of the longest inhabited places in the US. On the new Southwest USA Canyons & Cultures trip, you’ll explore it with a local Navajo guide. While you can take in the views from the rim road, the canyon floor is restricted unless you’re with a Navajo guide to protect the cultural heritage of the families who live here. Listen to ancestral stories, learn about contemporary Navajo life and see the petroglyphs and cave dwellings left behind by the prehistoric Puebloan people. Afterwards, enjoy some Southwestern hospitality at a Navajo-owned lodge.
8. Uncover Torajan burial traditions in Indonesia
The Torajan people of South Sulawesi are known for their ancient belief system, Aluk To Dolo (Way of the Ancestors), and unique burial traditions. Discover their way of life on the new Indonesia Expedition: Sulawesi and Toraja Tribes trip. Trek past cacao plantations and rice terraces to a Toraja village where you’ll stay with a local family in a traditional tongkonan boat-shaped house. Help with the cooking, try your hand at weaving and visit the cliffside tombs where the Toraja gather for feasts and rituals to honour the dead.
Read more: Explore Arizona’s canyons with Navajo guides
9. Spend an evening with a First Nations storyteller in Canada
After searching for whales and porpoises on a wildlife cruise and feasting on lobster poutine and maple-flavoured, well, everything in Ile d’Orleans, the new Discover Quebec trip wraps up with a special First Nations experience. Travel just outside the city to Wendake – an urban reserve and the official home of the Huron-Wendat Nation – to meet a local storyteller at the Huron-Wendat Nation Museum. Gather around a crackling hearth fire in a traditional longhouse made of wood and bark and settle in for an evening of myths, legends and song.
10. Join a Navajo-led tour of Antelope Canyon in the US
Most travellers stick to the Upper Canyon of Antelope Valley, but a new addition to the Western USA National Parks Loop takes you to a pair of slot canyons that remain off the radar. Join a Navajo guide to navigate the Lower Canyon, where pink-hued sandstone walls have been shaped into wave-like forms over millions of years. Stand in a natural spotlight as sunbeams pour through the crevices and learn about the geology, botany and Navajo history of the landscape. With smaller crowds, you might even spot a nesting owl.
Find out what else is new for 2026 with The Goods – a collection of new trips and experiences to inspire a year of adventure.
Image credits: Discover Quebec photo by Simon Clark
