The Shooting Star

1 month ago | the-shooting-star.com | Shivya Nath

While working on a research paper on climate adaptation in tourism, I had an eye-opening consultation with a Kerala-based social enterprise. Over a decade of working in local villages, they developed a strong community tourism model that embeds tourism into the existing agrarian routine of farmers, and allows travellers to authentically engage with the community.

1 month ago | the-shooting-star.com | Shivya Nath

I had been up since early morning, working on my research, still in my PJs. I longingly gazed out of the window at the sprawling city below and the mountains beyond, wondering what I should do in the afternoon when I took a break. Just then, there was a loud knock on my door. It was my Cusceño neighbours, who I’d met in passing and made small talk with a couple of times. “We’re making an offering today to Pachamama – the Mother Earth,” they said. Would I like to join them?

2 months ago | the-shooting-star.com | Shivya Nath

On a chilly afternoon, under a slight drizzle, I got off the tram with my suitcase. Under the bridge where I stood, the River Garonne flowed gently. I walked the short distance to the nearby neighborhood, located the apartment and let myself in. I found myself in a living room flooded with natural light, full of little touches, with a balcony overlooking the wilderness.

2 months ago | the-shooting-star.com | Shivya Nath

On a hot and humid morning, I lay in a hammock under a towering fig tree, serenaded by the call of wild birds fluttering about in the Amazonian wilderness. We had arrived in Puerto Maldonado, the gateway to the Peruvian Amazon, just the previous evening. After a month in the high altitude city of Cusco and the Sacred Valley, I felt a strange uneasiness from being at sea level again. Is low altitude sickness a thing, I wondered? A gentle breeze cooled the humidity on my skin and lured me into a nap.

2 months ago | the-shooting-star.com | Shivya Nath

As someone who loves to travel – not just as a source of newness and inspiration, but as a way to experience deep cultural exchange and tell meaningful stories around it – I feel utterly conflicted. This love for the road, immersing in different ways of life around the world, seeking community and conservation initiatives, and writing about sustainable travel comes at a cost – ironically to the very planet I love and feel driven to protect.