The Covid-19 has helped us confront “the moment of truth” when humanity fast approached the limits of Nature. Many lessons learned but where can we start to create positive impact for individuals, destinations, and communities. Explore your touchpoints for restoring harmony through this herbal tour here.
Restoring harmony through herbal tourism
“A Reunification of Man and Nature” is the most sought-after experience, conceived by Slow Travel Hue, which expands beyond the initial “herbal tourism” showcase. This is an out-of-the-ordinary immersion into the lesser-known upstream Perfume River (circa 20 km from Hue city center). We create the opportunities for tourists to focus on health and wellbeing whilst connecting to nature through their experiences.
The experience and benefits
- Cycling, walking in the greenery of farms & forest, fields & orchards, or swimming in the river.
- Unveil the secrets of Feng-shui, designs and patterns of nature at the most impressive royal mausoleum of Emperor Gia Long.
- Forage wild medicinal plants and explore their traditional uses for medicinal, culinary, and spiritual purposes.
- Savour a healthy lunch focusing on seasonal, local produce and homegrown ingredients.
- Learn the process of distilling essential oil and making natural herbal products, herbal drinks.
Harmony principles adopted in regenerative, herbal tourism
Principle 1: Interdependence
DMCs, travel agents can join this ecosystem in which each is dependent on one another for success. To the grassroot, this partnership empowers remote ethnic communities, forest dwellers in Nam Dong, Aluoi.
Principle 2: Focus on circular economy
Travelers will actively experience a shift away from traditional thinking “make, use, dispose of” to focus on maximizing the life cycle, then recovering and regenerating. Eg: Good practices of circular farming.
Principle 3: Embracing diversity
While foraging for medicinal plants, travelers learn about biodiversity and plant wisdom. Harmony develops through a sense of cooperation over competition and working with nature rather than against it.
Principle 4: Designs that reflect the geometry of nature
The less visited Mausoleum complex and the holistic worldview of Emperor Gia Long is an impressive cultural exploration. Through physical artefacts, architecture and storytelling, the balance in individuals is restored as the pattern of nature subconsciously brings peace with a strong synergy to nature.
Principle 5: Ability to adapt
Tourists are exposed to stories of ancient wisdom, specifically our (Vietnamese) Southern Traditional Medicine. How do local people learn, harvest, and use wild medicinal plants in culinary, remedies and so on. How things were in the past and what they will look like in the future, our solutions to adapt to climate changes.
Principle 6: Restorative benefits
We create opportunities for tourists to focus on health and wellbeing, spirituality. The farm is a green inspiring place, guests can enjoy a digital detox. They can reconnect to nature through experiences such as swimming in the Perfume River, foraging medicinal plants, touching earth (farming), making natural herbal products.
Principle 7: Sense of Oneness
Through the cultural exploration, physical activities (cycling, foraging medicinal plants), the storytelling, the natural healthy food, the travelers sharpen the sense of Oneness. As an individual, harmony comes from self-awareness and reflection on being a part of something greater. We, Slow Travel Hue and the collective of social entrepreneurs are the touchpoints of tourism, connecting with the people by sharing stories and experiences and offering tourists the space to explore mindfully.
We recognise the importance of operating in a broader ecosystem, both at the destination and tourism industry in the form of networks to leverage collaborative and transformative tourism.
A Reunification of Man and Nature” is a call for incorporating Harmony principles in tourism, to highlight the wonders of nature, reconnect people to nature and influence pro-environmental behaviour for a sustainable future development.
Please contact us for a detailed presentation, itinerary and rates.
