• Introduction
• 1. Spa Renewal
• 2. Health and Wellness
• 3. Academic Excursions
• 4. Extreme Sports
• 5. Volunteer Vacations
• 6. Photography Expeditions
• 7. Yoga Retreats
• 8. Wilderness Skills
• 9. Cooking Schools
• 10. Mountain Highs

Volunteer Vacations

Kali Gandaki Valley, Nepal: Volunteers on the Chairro Gompa Restoration Project help redevelop an ancient Buddhist monastery (gompa) under the snow-capped Himalayas. The setting is stunning, encompassing a high-desert moonscape and colorful, orchard-filled valley. You’ll work on projects that can vary from building to restoration and art conservation. During the afternoons, you’re free to hike the villages, pick apples, visit schools, or keep working. You’ll stay in a modern, family-run guesthouse with comfortable but simple rooms. $2,495, fully tax-deductible.

Costa Rica: The Sea Turtle Conservation Project in Costa Rica helps protect the critically endangered Leatherback Turtle, whose eggs are poached for their aphrodisiacal properties. Volunteer duties include digging out eggs from nests and transferring them to a hatchery, as well as night patrols. This is a trip for beach lovers, not luxury seekers, as lodgings are rustic, with volunteers living together on the beach in a cabin or tent. But those turtles sure are cute! $995 for 1 week.

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