Have you ever been to Chikmagalur, the beautiful picturesque town in Karnataka, nestled in the Western Ghats? Well, if you haven’t been there yet, then you must!
It is a beautiful small-town in India, wherein you can have a peaceful getaway for a few days, while also enjoying and exploring the famous tourist attractions that surround it.
Chikmagalur has multiple homestays, apart from hotels and resorts, for its visitors to stay at and these homestays are those which contribute significantly to sustainable travel and eco-tourism.
For those of you who are new to the concept of eco-tourism, well, if you choose to stay in a homestay, you are choosing to participate in eco-tourism and travel responsibly.
This is because eco-tourism focuses on visiting places and exploring them, while conserving the environment and its biodiversity, at the same time. You get to experience nature, wildlife, natural landscapes and more.
In this article, let’s discuss how Chikmagalur contributes to sustainable travel and involves itself in eco-tourism through its homestays.
1. Contributing to Responsible Tourism
Staying at homestays, instead of hotels and resorts, can give you an opportunity to support responsible tourism.
Most homestays are constructed using local raw materials and adhere to the practices of sustainable tourism, like waste management, rain water harvesting the use of solar panels and renewable energy sources etc. thus, they have a very minimal impact on the environment.
2. Providing Support to the Economy of the Locals
If you choose to stay at a homestay, then as a tourist, you can support the economy of the locals. You can contribute significantly to their income and encourage their aim to support sustainable tourism.
3. Support of Local Produce
When you stay at a homestay, you support the locals and their produce. Homestays often grow their own produce, to serve tourists, in order to reduce their carbon footprint and support their local farmers.
4. Exploration of Nature
When guests stay at these homestays, most often, they are given opportunities to go on mini hikes through the estates, on nature walks, they also get to go on bird watching tours, plantation tours and more.
5. Preserving Heritage Homes
There are many homestays in Chikmagalur that are built on heritage properties or are heritage/ancestral homes tuned homestays.
So, keeping up these heritage homes, means they preserve the culture and tradition of the past, while giving tourists a chance to stay in such accommodations with traditional architecture, thus giving them an opportunity to contribute to sustainable travel as well.
6. Reduction of Overcrowding
Chikmagalur has now become a popular tourist destination for a weekend getaway or for a short trip to the hills. Thus, this has lead to overcrowding of the small town.
If you choose to stay at a homestay, instead of a resort or hotel, you can contribute to eco-tourism by helping distribute the tourist load and also reduce the pressure on the popular tourist destinations in and around the town.
Takeaway
If you are making a trip to Chikmagalur, they make sure you stay at a homestay to support sustainable travel and contribute eco tourism!
Feel free to contact us on https://gochikmagalur.com/, so we can help you find a good homestay to stay at and assist you with everything you need to make your stay and travel to Chikmagalur worth it!