Follow Alice: Adventure That Actually Gives Back

June 1, 2026

By Trisha Pillay | Follow Alice

Some of the best things in the world are born from frustration: a bad meal that inspires a great chef; a long wait that sparks a better idea; and, in the case of Follow Alice, a Mount Kilimanjaro climb gone wrong that changed everything.

There’s a version of adventure travel that looks great in a brochure but feels hollow once you’re on the ground. It’s guides who don’t know the mountain, tour operators running trips they’ve never personally done and money that never makes its way back to the communities carrying your bags and cooking your food.

*Group of trekkers on route to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro with the Follow Alice team.*

Follow Alice born literally on the side of a mountain

Follow Alice didn't start in a boardroom; it started on the slopes of Kilimanjaro. Co-founder Reto Bolliger had dreamed of climbing the mountain for years. But when he finally made it happen, the experience left him very disappointed. The company he'd booked through had outsourced everything to local operators who had little connection to the mountain and even less accountability to the people working on it. The tour felt impersonal, the logistics felt careless and most tellingly, the money wasn't going back to the people who deserved it most: the local guides, cooks and porters who made the climb possible.

Reto could see the gap clearly, and then, partway up that mountain, a porter named Chris Sichalwe started talking. Chris shared what life was really like on Kilimanjaro for the people doing the hard work behind the scenes: the inequalities, the unsafe conditions, the lack of fair pay and the sense that the people who knew the mountain best were the ones benefiting from it least. It was an honest, eye-opening conversation, the kind you only have when someone trusts that you actually care.

*Reto, Chris and Rob Sichalwe joined another local leader to discuss operations in Tanzania.*

Reto listened, and together with Daniel Louis, they decided to do something about it. That conversation became the seed of Follow Alice, a company built not just to run great adventures but to make sure the people at the heart of those adventures are respected, empowered and better off because of them.

*Daniel with the Follow Alice team in Tanzania.*

Fast forward to today, more than a decade later, and Chris Sichalwe is no longer a porter. He is the Director of Tanzanian Operations for Follow Alice. His journey from the trails of Kilimanjaro to the leadership of one of the company's most important operations is not a footnote in the Follow Alice story; it is the story.

Watch Chris story here: Chris’s Story | The Warm Soul Leading Follow Alice Tanzania

That progression says everything about the ethos of this company. Follow Alice is about sustainability and empowering local communities in every single place they operate, not as a side policy but as the entire point.

Follow Alice is now a boutique adventure travel company incorporated in both the U.K. and Tanzania, with a remote core team spread across the globe and on-the-ground crews that are 100% local. They operate across East Africa, South America, Asia and Iceland, running 50 adventures that have taken over 3,500 travelers to some of the world's most extraordinary places.

Watch Reto speak about Follow Alice: Meet Reto | The Vision And Founder Behind Follow Alice

View trips here: https://followalice.com/

What "responsible travel" actually looks like

The term responsible travel gets thrown around a lot. However, Follow Alice earns it by holding themselves to four honest questions for every trip they run:

Do our services offer local entrepreneurs genuine growth opportunities?
Does our business benefit the local community and economy?
Do we help protect or at least not harm the wildlife we encounter?
Do we help protect or at least not harm the natural environments we explore?

These aren't marketing talking points but a lens through which every itinerary, every partnership and every hire is evaluated. 70% of every trip price stays in the local economy, which is always channeled into fair wages, local empowerment and the partnerships that sustain communities long after the travelers have gone back home. Local teams don't just guide the adventures; they lead them, own businesses built around them and share in the revenue they generate.

*Follow Alice taking part in a Mount Kilimanjaro clean-up initiative in support of Leave No Trace principles.*

Safety as the foundation

On Kilimanjaro and Mount Everest climbs, every Follow Alice guide holds a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification, an intensive program focused on trauma care, altitude illness, patient assessment and emergency response in remote environments. The qualifications are only part of it because the guiding philosophy matters too. Follow Alice chooses longer, safer acclimatization routes over rushed itineraries because getting people home safely matters more than getting them to the summit quickly. Every expedition carries comprehensive first-aid equipment, and guides are trained to make decisions based on client wellbeing rather than commercial pressure. Regular refresher training and emergency scenario drills help keep those skills current.

*Trekkers making their way up Mount Kilimanjaro with the Follow Alice team.*

In Nepal, Bhutan and Peru, guides are chosen through long-standing personal relationships and years of trust. The people leading your trek know the terrain, the weather and the realities of life on these mountains through lived experience, not just training manuals.

*The Follow Alice team in Nepal take a picture with the Himalayas behind them.*

The same approach extends across Follow Alice’s trips in East Africa. In Kenya and Zanzibar, the company works with trusted local teams who understand the rhythms of the places they operate in, right from the logistics of remote safari camps to the practical realities of coastal travel and changing weather conditions. The emphasis is on experienced local leadership, small groups and thoughtful planning rather than moving people through destinations as quickly as possible.

*Balloon safari in Maasai Mara, Kenya, with wildebeests of the Great Migration beneath.*

In Rwanda and Uganda, gorilla trekking is led in partnership with experienced local operators and park authorities who know these forests like the back of their hand and understand the responsibility that comes with taking visitors into one of the world’s most sensitive wildlife environments. Treks are paced carefully, group sizes remain small and the focus stays on respectful wildlife encounters that prioritize both traveler safety and gorilla conservation.

*A silverback gorilla is captured chilling on a Uganda trekking experience.*

In Iceland, trips are designed around guides and itineraries that respect how quickly conditions can change in the highlands, on glaciers and along the coast. Local knowledge matters in a landscape shaped by volcanic activity, shifting weather and long distances between services.

The people who make it happen

Follow Alice's guides are not interchangeable with service workers. They are storytellers, professionals and in many cases, business owners in their own right.

Khalfan Hamdun has guided travelers across the Serengeti for over three decades. Puru Sharma, who leads Nepal and Bhutan treks, studied law in the U.K. but kept coming back to the mountains and now personally curates every Himalayan adventure Follow Alice offers, ensuring Sherpas and local guides benefit through profit-sharing from every journey. In Uganda, guide Simon has become something of a legend among Follow Alice travelers, multiple testimonials singling him out by name.

Watch Puru in action: Everest Base Camp and the Three Passes Trek | Nepal | The Most Beautiful Trek in the World

Where Follow Alice goes

Follow Alice operates across some of the world's most iconic adventure destinations:

Africa: Kilimanjaro climbs via the Lemosho, Rongai, Machame and Northern Circuit routes; Tanzania and Kenya wildlife safaris; beach holidays in Zanzibar; and gorilla trekking in Uganda and Rwanda.

Asia: Everest Base Camp treks, peak climbing in Nepal, Annapurna Circuit, Manaslu Circuit, Meru Peak and cultural journeys through Bhutan.

South America: Inca Trail and alternative treks to Machu Picchu in Peru, as well as exploring the country’s capital, Lima.

Iceland: Seeing the Northern Lights in regions such as the Golden Circle, Akureyri and Snaefellsnes.

Each destination is personally tested by the Follow Alice team before it goes live. They walk every route, refine the logistics, stay in the accommodations and eat the food because no trip gets offered to travelers until the people behind it have experienced it themselves.

Travel that leaves things better

Follow Alice's sustainability commitments go beyond their guide partnerships. The focus is less on making broad sustainability claims and more on approaching travel thoughtfully:

Leave No Trace: Teams are trained to manage waste, protect wildlife corridors and tread lightly on fragile ecosystems.
Eco-conscious lodges: Accommodation is selected specifically for environmental responsibility.
Community cleanups: Local crews run trail cleanups, including a notable operation at Shira 2 Camp on Kilimanjaro.
Reforestation and NGO support: Travelers are given opportunities to contribute to local conservation, climb for charity and community projects.
Wildlife protection through tourism: The company actively supports the argument that tourism, done well, is one of the most powerful conservation tools available.

*Follow Alice's team briefing for the KRTO clean-up initiative on Kilimanjaro*

Why this matters in 2026

What matters now is not how often sustainability is mentioned but how it is reflected in the way trips are actually run. As more travelers look for experiences that feel responsible and meaningful, there is greater attention on who leads journeys, how local partners are involved and how tourism supports the places it moves through.

That is why platforms such as CATALYST PLANET are becoming more relevant. Their approach focuses on identifying operators built on long-term local relationships, experienced regional teams and a more grounded way of working in the destination. In a space filled with big claims, this kind of careful selection helps bring clarity to what is responsible.

Follow Alice has been included as part of this curated selection, reflecting a shared emphasis on working closely with local partners and shaping trips through established relationships on the ground rather than detached or one-size-fits-all models.

*Follow Alice's team pose for a group photo.*

Ready to Follow Alice?

The name Follow Alice comes from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, that little voice urging you to leap into the rabbit hole, to be curious, brave and open to the unexpected. The company's mantra is simple: come as a client, leave as a friend. If you're looking for an adventure that challenges you, connects you to real communities and leaves the places you visit better than you found them, Follow Alice is worth your attention.

Explore Follow Alice trips on the CATALYST PLANET trip finder, or visit www.followalice.com to browse their full range of adventures.

Follow Alice Contact: info@followalice.com

Follow them: @followalice on Instagram | YouTube | Facebook

Trisha Pillay

Trisha Pillay is an award-winning journalist and travel writer with over 14 years of experience in storytelling and editorial media. Her work focuses on adventure travel, culture, and thoughtful storytelling that explores the connection between travel and everyday life.

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A Day on the Amazon River

April 8, 2026

Kaitlin Murray

Explore the Indigenous villages, wildlife, and waterways along the Amazon River in Brazil as they adapt to tourism.

Bouncing in a speed boat along the Rio Negro, the largest tributary of the Amazon River, I see the opaque dark waters extend in every direction. Leaving the busy port of Manaus, the capital city of the northwestern state of Amazonas, I look back at the skyline rising above the forest. Skyscrapers, freeways and shopping malls are the last things I expect to see in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. Before arriving in Brazil, most of what I had heard about the Amazon came from media coverage of illegal logging, deforestation or wildlife protection, not from stories about a bustling metropolis of more than two million people. Yet Manaus has existed for centuries, having been founded in the 17th century as a Portuguese fort and expanding rapidly during the rubber boom of the 19th century.

Despite its size, Manaus remains accessible only by air or river, with few roads connecting it, as the rainforest extends for long distances in every direction. Urban expansion in one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth carries far higher stakes, raising urgent concerns about deforestation, farmland expansion and river pollution from informal housing. While it may seem as though the city coexists with nature because of its location in the forest, the reality is quite the opposite. As our boat continues deeper into the trees along the river, I find myself contemplating this paradox: How can the traditional ways of life in the Amazon and urban expansion coexist, and what role is tourism playing in all of it?

As part of a river day tour, we participate in numerous activities that offer tourists a glimpse of the rainforest without trekking deep into the wilderness or traveling long distances. Our first stop is a visit with one of the river's most famous inhabitants, the pink river dolphin, commonly known as the boto. Listed as endangered, these dolphins are currently facing threats from river pollution and habitat destruction. I notice this reality as soon as we leave the main port, witnessing the extent of container ships, factories and speedboats on the water.

Stilt houses along the Rio Negro. Kaitlin Murray.

In the dark waters of the Rio Negro, their pink bodies appear almost orange-tinted as they rise to the surface to take fish offered by local fishermen. While these dolphins are considered wild and free to come and go from the shore, they have grown accustomed to being fed by the fishermen, who encourage visitors to jump into the water and swim alongside them. Floating in the dark waters, I feel a sense of awe, finding myself in the same river as numerous animals, including snakes, piranhas, pirarucus, manatees and otters. Looking into their eyes, I remember the Indigenous stories that our guide had recounted earlier: The dolphin is believed to transform into a man at night, walking into villages and seducing young women before returning to the river by dawn. It is also said that looking into their eyes will bring you nightmares for the rest of your life. These stories remain prevalent even amid growth and urbanization, as Indigenous communities continue to share them with younger generations and foreigners.

Pink dolphins in the Rio Negro. Kaitlin Murray.

Further along the river, the boat docks at an Indigenous village that now incorporates tourism into its economic model. Visitors are welcomed with performances and cultural demonstrations, and, in return, they are asked to purchase a handicraft or make a donation. As soon as we enter, the welcome performance takes place, held in a large wooden structure marking the communal space and the village boundary. Beneath it, men and women perform ritual dances in circles, accompanied by handmade musical instruments. Following the performance, the chief, in an elaborate feather headdress customary of the Desana people, shares stories about their cosmology and social structure. Afterward, we are taken to the kitchen, where we learn about local fruits and forest foods, such as Brazil nuts, tapioca, cassava, avocados and maniuara ants.

Speaking with the tribe's chief through our guide's translation, I learn that the community came from northern Brazil, nearly 600 miles away, and settled here for the city's economic prospects. Today, they benefit from tourism-related opportunities while maintaining their way of life, living in a traditional village hidden by trees to keep visitors out, yet still enjoying modern amenities, such as Wi-Fi, mobile phones and payment terminals. However, some families in the tribe have already moved elsewhere, unhappy with how tourism is exploiting their culture for profit.

The Desana tribe welcomes visitors with a traditional dance. Kaitlin Murray.

Witnessing the adaptation of Indigenous communities to the world of cultural tourism is a double-edged sword. As an anthropology student, I have learned about the current dilemmas facing Indigenous communities around the globe, who struggle against being exoticized or profited from by international tourism companies. On the other hand, economic opportunities such as this can benefit communities in the long run, provided they generate sufficient revenue relative to the profits of tourism companies.

A short distance away, another floating barge on the water is the breeding ground of the pirarucu fish, which fishermen are raising to make money through river aquaculture. These are among the world’s largest freshwater fish, weighing up to 440 pounds and growing up to 10 feet. From the edge of the platform, their massive bodies glisten in the sun, the light reflecting off their red and green scales. The fish surface when fishing poles are dropped, as the local fishermen make a living off tourists playing a game of tug-of-war with them. It is fascinating to see how the fishermen's ingenuity has enabled them to earn extra income, living and working along the river in small villages with limited access to other opportunities.

Fishing for pirarucu fish on the Rio Negro. Kaitlin Murray.

The final stop is one of the region’s most striking natural phenomena: the Meeting of the Waters. This is where the Rio Negro and the Solimoes River converge to begin the Amazon River. As the boat approaches, the contrast of the two rivers becomes immediately clear. The Rio Negro’s dark, tea-colored water hits the Solimoes’ light brown, milky water, creating what looks like milk pouring over black coffee. From above, the boundary of the two rivers is almost clear, as they don’t immediately mix due to differences in temperature, density and current.

Throughout my time in Manaus, I witness the ingenuity and changes that local people are creating in response to tourism and expansion, as they seek to balance the city with the natural world. Fishermen are supplementing their income by capitalizing on visitors’ encounters with the fish they raise. Indigenous communities are incorporating tourism without fully abandoning their way of life. Visitors can see pink dolphins while still allowing them to be wild.

Whether these shifts will ultimately protect the natural world and improve people’s livelihoods at no expense to another remains uncertain. As of now, it all appears to be balancing on a very fine line, with the potential to go either way. How will development and tourism threaten the rainforest and river ecosystems? Can the two co-exist together? At a time when an expanding metropolis sits in the heart of the most biodiverse place on Earth, the future of the city, the surrounding forest and the traditional ways of life may depend on whether urban development, tourism and Indigenous cultures can work together for the common good.

GETTING THERE:

Located deep within the Amazon rainforest in the northwest of Brazil, Manaus feels entirely cut off from the rest of the country. There are few roads leading out of the city, and distances between towns are vast. There are no trains or overland transport for visitors, as most local people use the river to get around. For travelers, the easiest way to reach Manaus is by flying into Eduardo Gomes International Airport, which connects the city to major hubs, such as Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo, as well as destinations across South and North America.

For those seeking a more local, budget-friendly adventure, river travel is an alternative. Ferry boats connect Manaus to other villages along the Amazon River, but the journey can take days. While it is an incredible way to experience the river, it is not recommended for first-time visitors or travelers seeking a comfort-oriented experience.

I journeyed with I’m Here Travels, a group tour company based in the Philippines that creates immersive, community-driven global experiences. They focus on crafting curated itineraries and authentic local experiences in more than 10 countries. In partnership with Compass Brazil, they designed a unique itinerary for us in Manaus to experience the best of the Amazon River and rainforest. Compass Brazil is a leading tour operator active across Brazil, helping travelers explore the country and make a positive impact on their destinations. They prioritize sustainable travel, ensuring that every experience is rooted in ethical principles and adheres to responsible travel guidelines.