Georgina Lawrence September 21, 2017 Staying active whilst you travel shouldn’t mean forfeiting the chance to engage in local culture – in fact, it often means getting much closer… Turns out, you can have the best of both worlds. Blending cultural discovery and a love of the great outdoors is easier than you think – and it’s a winning formula for travellers who want to stay active and still get under the skin of a fascinating new destination. This is cultural immersion with an active twist. More and more people are using their bikes and walking boots to travel when they’re away – but we’re not willing to give up the cultural elements. And why should we be, when there are so many ways to ensure you get both. One style of active culture which is having something of a renaissance is the pilgrimage. It immediately satisfies the demand for historical and cultural importance of your route, and passes through places where you can chat to local people. You can guarantee a different welcome awaits you as a pilgrim, very different than stepping straight out of an air conditioned bus. The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela takes on new significance as the end point of the Camino de Santiago when you arrive as a tried and tested pilgrim, whether you arrive on foot or by bike. It becomes a symbol of achievement, the culmination of days spent walking or cycling towards your goal – and your arrival is a celebration, not just a visit to a monument. How you got there lends your memories a little extra magic. If you think spending your time hiking or biking will eat into your sightseeing budget, think again; it’s all about the routes which lead you to the cobbled streets of historic citadels, the winding ways that bring you to emblematic buildings or paths that take you deep into the traditional heartland of a region, and introduce you to the local way of life. For travellers in Peru, it couldn’t be simpler – everywhere you look you’ll find mysterious ruins and tantalising glimpses of a lost world. Peru is a patchwork of Inca ruins, the fragmented legacy of a powerful, mighty empire that once dominated South America, and the beauty of the mountains makes it no hardship to go by foot. The deservedly famous Inca Trail grabs the limelight, but it’s less known that it is a gem to discover by bike. Our brand new Cycle Peru forms a connect-the-dots between Inca ruins, traditional haciendas and tea and coffee plantations along quiet roads. There’s even a homestay on the shores of Lake Titicaca. For a cycling trip that shows you both the legacy of the Incas and contemporary Peruvian life, you would struggle to find better. In fact, many Exodus best sellers combine the cultural and the active. Our long-standing most popular trip, Walking the Amalfi Coast, takes you by the hand and leads you through Amalfi’s winding streets, through quaint towns with secret gardens and lost city of Pompeii. Our most popular self-guided cycle follows the sweeping bends of the mighty River Danube through central Europe, the chance to see side by side several powerful nations in the heart of Europe. And our best selling group cycling trip is Cycling Vietnam, a journey from south to north where you can see the culture of this diverse nation shift and evolve before your eyes as you ride. There are no arduous distances for these best selling adventures. Your daily mileage is kept deliberately short to give you plenty of time to discover the sights along the way. Ascents and descents are just enough to make you feel you’ve earned it – this isn’t the place for pushing yourself to the limit challenges, it’s just an interesting and active angle on your destination. Free technical tee for parkrunners! Are you a parkrunner? Registered parkrunners who quote their parkrun ID when they book an Exodus trip will receive a free apricot parkrun tee, the perfect technical t-shirt for your active adventures. If you're not a parkrunner, it's a brilliant way to stay fit and active between adventures. Find out more about our partnership.