2021 to reconnect with the faraway

Dear travelling friends,

Inherent to humanity, travel is indispensable to us and, even in these confusing times, distant horizons remain our absolute goal. We want to venture into vast and disorienting landscapes, immerse ourselves in singular and unknown cultures, put ourselves to the test on great treks and extraordinary expeditions, and plunge into the heart of biodiversity in order to better protect it.

Embarking on a long expedition to a summit above 7000 meters requires the Himalayas, the Andes or Central Asia. Observing a snow leopard, a gorilla or a narwhal in its natural habitat requires Ladakh, the Congo or the Arctic Ocean. Completing a several-week or even several-month trek in France or Europe is a thorny task, as our most beautiful landscapes are concentrated and the Chemins Noirs so dear to Sylvain Tesson are closed off by private properties. Meeting, finally, traditional peoples who have so much to pass on to us, living with them through a shamanic celebration, a pilgrimage or a festival, also requires distant elsewheres.

Climate change compels us to reflect on our role as enlightened travellers and our responsibility in the future of the world. Any long-distance travel can only be undertaken out of an imperative necessity, individual or collective, for meaning and sharing. The quest for an experience that disconcerts and transforms, from which one returns with greater empathy for the world, nature and oneself. This has always been our promise, our conviction, and is now our imperative perspective.

A committed player in sustainable development since our founding, we contribute humbly, with perseverance and discernment, to the prosperity of local environments and the protection of biodiversity. With clear-eyed friendship, we engage with indigenous communities so that they may maintain their customs and flourish in their lives. Only the concern for and implementation of these ends can today legitimise the long-distance and extended journeys we offer.

We wish you a wonderful 2021, for you and your loved ones, may it fulfil your wishes for encounter, adventure and expedition, and quench your thirst for elsewhere.

Eric Bonnem
Founder of Secret Planet