5 reasons why travelling on foot is the best way to experience a place

In the day and age of accessibility where tourism is booming like crazy and wants everyone to see places at their convenience is quite noble, but it comes with a list of cons which unfortunately has taken over the feeling and meditating portion of travel. Even in the higher mountains and deep jungles you will find people playing loud music, getting great network connection and booing booze!

The best part about a fit and healthy lifestyle is that it has always allowed me to explore that extra unknown terrain where buses and SUVs couldn't access. For instance, a beautiful virgin beach right in the center of a dense forest in Gokarna or watching the 5 am sun from Dzongri top in Sikkim required me to be on foot for quite sometime and start pretty early to witness the magic. The common public these days wants to explore places which were once virgin because someone somewhere posted an Instagram reel about it and slowly they made concrete roads to access it.

Why do I feel travelling on foot is the best way to experience a place to the fullest?

1. You find a deeper connection with the place:

By being on foot I don't just mean trekking or climbing mountains, obviously those are one of the mediums that help you connect well with nature, but simply walking down the road in a new city, looking around, taking frequent halts and exploring the area or just being a part of the place helps you connect with the place a lot better esp. in regards to the local people who you can talk to and understand a lot more about a place. I would rather take a 5 km stroll and look around rather than take a 500 rupee tour package to witness a crowded place that doesn't even allow me to relax.

Of course, sports like trekking and climbing also bring you a lot closer to the terrain and nature because you're constantly on your foot or all fours smelling, breathing, sleeping, drinking and eating all that is available around you. On top of this, you have little to no cellular network which lets you be and spend time with yourself in nature, who wouldn't love that!

2. You get to witness the hidden beauty:

You are lucky that we are able to walk around and explore a lot of things. You really don't need a lot of overtly technical skills to explore, just be curious! A vehicle can only take you so far and unfortunately the access is granted for others like you too. What is the point of gazing at a swarm of people trying to click photos. Rather, spend some time looking around and walking towards things no one turns around to see. I am sure, most often than not you will witness the hidden gems of those places, the virgin beaches, secret caves, a beautiful waterfall or a serene lake.

Although beware, being hidden and virgin, these areas may not be used to human touch. Be careful navigating the terrains, looking out for wild animals or even dogs if venturing alone :D (I have had a lot of dog problems esp. on a solo hiking trips :P). Better to go as a group of min 2 people.

The idea is not to scare you but to share the real scenario. Often times someone on social media might urge you to venture alone in the wild but there are a lot of things one needs to be aware of before embarking on even a small detour from a safety standpoint. However, being aware has always helped me navigate carefully and luckily I have witnessed a lot of secret beauty which I wouldn't have accessed through a general tourist vehicle.

3. It is sustainable for the environment:

It goes without saying that when you are exploring places on foot you are minimizing the carbon footprint by opting out of vehicle usage. More so, the deeper connection I wrote about in the first point also encourages travelers to take care of the terrain because even minute details like plastic trash are clearly visible. When you witness the astounding beauty underwater or from the top of a mountain, you would want to take responsibility as a traveler not just for you and your beloved but also for the future generations.

One can take action simply by keeping a tiffin box, a mug and a water bottle to enjoy the food at a place without piling on to the existing trash. By using a tiffin box you will eliminate the plastic-coated paper plates and plastic cutlery, by using a personal mug you will eliminate the use of single use plastic and plastic coated cups that are thrown away like crazy all around us and same goes true with your personal water bottle which will eliminate tons of plastic mineral water bottle use.

If you need recommendations, you can use Lifestraw water bottle which is a decent investment and makes you independent in a way that you don't require to chase people for water. Apart from sea water(which I haven't tried yet), you can filter out almost any water source - rivers, lakes, wash-basins, local water taps outside your home.

4. You realize you were over consuming:

In continuation to the above point on sustainability, when you walk around a certain place or trek on a mountain, you understand the need to carry only the essentials. Because slowly you realize that in order to get the most out of your experience, you don't need much - just a couple pairs of clothes, safety and medicals, money and IDs and you're good to go. No where you will find that these things aren't enough. Of course, this pill is quite difficult to swallow at first and I myself am still working towards packing a lot lighter, however, for most of my trips that are 10 odd days or even longer, I've forgotten about whether I was repeating my clothes or not because frankly the experiences were so deep that it hardly mattered.

When you first venture out, you are highly likely to pack up as much stuff as possible to fulfill your never ending needs. But slowly you will realize that half the things are just sitting in your backpack or suitcase and worse, you will have to carry all the load.

With the Godlike experiences in your travels on foot, you slowly tend to declutter your stuff and over time this becomes a habit and you start following this in your day to day lives too. You realize that you have been consuming way too much and creating or acting way too little. But since traveling on foot is hard work, you understand consumerism and how it has encompassed the world.

5. You develop intangible qualities of patience and self-confidence:

For any average tourist, it is easy to check out for the infinite tour packages available online and book one without too much hassle. However, on and off from home you're in a similar pattern - The package tour operator is your go to person to handle your meagre queries ranging from food preference to wash room availability to delays on the way. Mostly, you are in a hurry to witness the famous "points" of a region brought into limelight by others. You would care less about the environment by choosing single use plastic regularly and sometimes dumping it where it isn't supposed to. Also, you would rather be clicking photos than being at a certain place because it would be flooded with other tourists.

Not personally judging the "tourist" way of travel, but in reality, transitioning into a more aware traveler has had a lot of positive benefits over the standard way. Imagine exploring hidden beaches or detouring to find out a secret cave by overcoming fear, figuring out your food and shelter while not being in hurry and let the travel take its course, being on foot and responsible for the environment by keeping your own utensils. Why won't a person develop self-confidence by doing something out of the norm and patiently being in the flow of the journey? How beautiful is that! This pattern flows into your day to day life as well and enhances your quality of life.

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Thank you for reading this article. I hope it adds some value to your life. I am a certified strength coach and love to travel. You can follow my travel stories on Instagram as well : @outlaw_wander

For fitness related content and coaching, follow : @outlaw_lift