Philosophy

The passion for knowledge moves us to the most remote places

Responsible tourism, collaboration and outreach are our practical tools to try to preserve cultural diversity and empower the last ethnic groups with their own worldview.

Last Places is the fruit of 25 years of coexistence with the last traditional ethnic groups in the world. Observing, respecting, sensing and even coming to understand these societies has led us to the conclusion that their disappearance would be a defeat for humanity.
In a globalized world, fewer and fewer regions are free from the fading of their traditional way of life. At Last Places we apply responsible tourism, collaboration projects and dissemination as means to try to preserve cultural diversity, recover identity pride and empower the last cultural groups with their own worldview; with unique ways of relating to the environment that surrounds them, beautifying their bodies and interpreting the world.
In our visits to these tribal societies, we recommend following a series of protocols and guidelines of conduct in order that the interaction generates the greatest possible positive impact on people and the environment.

Our Origins

Our logo is the Mundari totem, as a symbol of passion and respect for ancestral cultures

The concept of Last Places arises from the passion for tribal cultures and the desire that they do not disappear. After exploring the last places on Earth and living with the tribes that preserve their own culture and worldview, we came to the conclusion that visiting them in a respectful way was the best way to show our admiration and to seek, together with the tribes themselves, formulas to be able to improve their living conditions and preserve elements of their unique culture.

To symbolize the Last Places project we are inspired by the sacred totems of the Mundari tribe of South Sudan.
When we first arrived in their territory in 2012, these beautiful works of tribal art were disappearing under pressure from Christian missionaries who saw these totems as tribal fetishism to be eradicated. Faced with this situation, we decided to meet with all the parties involved in Mundari culture; tribal leaders, local government, school teachers, and missionaries. At this meeting we valued the unique culture of the Mundari and the importance of preserving and promoting their art as a source of local wealth and an element of attraction for a type of cultural tourism that would bring respect and wealth to this area of South Sudan. After three days of fascinating and intense debate, it was concluded that totems, as well as other unique elements of Mundari culture, should be respected and promoted as references for new generations. The past as future value.

As a tribute to these emotional days of debate and agreements for the future, we designed the Last Places logo based on the wonderful mundari totems.

Africa’s most unspoiled tribes, unspoiled ecosystems, cultural heritage, a stunning coastline filled with beautiful sandy beaches, and a mountainous interior that gives way to deep gorges and waterfalls.

TRAVEL WITH LAST PLACES

Exclusive travel experiences based on social contact and cultural immersion

In Last Places we understand the act of traveling as an immersive experience, based on coexistence and observation, which aims to understand in a more profound way the reality of a region and its peoples, trying to generate a positive impact.
To achieve this objective, we carry out a series of visits and activities around daily, festive and spiritual life, social and territorial organization, architecture, art, beliefs and customs, the economy, the ecosystem and the history of the destination as well as of its inhabitants. Last Places offers clients the means, knowledge and all the attention of its team to live these experiences with the maximum possible comfort and in a safe way.

Last Places is made up of a team of experts with 25 years of experience in the tourism sector, specialized in trips to the last places on the planet.
Anthropologists, biologists, photographers and academics are the ones who design each of the routes and accompany the clients, together with the local teams, with the aim of giving them the opportunity to live an unforgettable experience.
The passion to find more unique places, to live with the people who live in them and to know their own vision of life and the world moves us to develop an incessant investigation that, together with the pertinent surveys, allow us to regularly add new destinations, routes and experiences to our clients.

Last Places offers scheduled departures to the last places on the planet with small groups guided by our experts. We also put at your disposal the possibility of designing a tailor-made trip focusing on your interests to one of our destinations or to the one that you propose to us.

For those travelers who are looking for thematic experiences, we can offer tailor-made trips focused on their interests, be they ethnic diversity, photography, nature, animal watching, architecture or trekking.

It is a privilege to visit societies other than ours. Witness their daily life, attend their rituals and delve into their culture and traditions. The experience goes beyond the moment we share with them during our stay in their environment. It somehow transcends our lives and when we return to “our reality” we feel the impulse to deepen and reflect on the ethnic diversity that still survives outside the models of society as we understand them in our context.
At Last Places we are committed to preserving and respecting the tribal societies we visit and caring for the environment. For this reason, we offer the traveler a series of recommendations so that the experience is organic, respectful and unforgettable. Likewise, during the trip there will be brief talks on the protocol of action regarding photography and interaction in the villages.

Protocol for visiting tribal societies

Most of these behavior patterns are present in our daily environment, but sometimes when we travel they are overlooked by feeling fascinated by the desired encounter. Other recommendations are intended to protect your habits and traditions.

Greeting and introduction

Upon our arrival, and with the help of the guide-interpreter, we go to the head of the community. We introduce ourselves and explain the purpose of our visit. After a brief talk, we request permission to enter the town, interact with its people, and take pictures. The atmosphere is relaxed and everything flows naturally.

Interaction

Regardless of whether the chief has granted us permission to visit his village, if we wish to access a house, barn, etc., we will, in turn, ask its owner for permission. This extends not only to buildings, but also to their lands, animals, totems, and natural surroundings. Tribal life has a broader organic meaning than we are used to and, in most cases, its inhabitants live in total symbiosis with their livestock and nature.

Photography

We will ask permission if we want to portray a person or group, addressing him or her directly. Sometimes they may ask that you pay. It is convenient to agree before to avoid misunderstandings.

Presents

We will avoid bringing them clothing, footwear, toys, plastic or objects that do not belong to their culture, which would cause an acceleration of the globalization process, contrary to the purpose of preserving their customs. Simple seemingly harmless gestures, such as giving children candy or trinkets, have hitherto non-existent consequences for them, such as tooth decay. We will opt for gifts that belong to their environment, fabrics purchased in their markets and products that they consume regularly. If we carry medicines that we want to donate, we will do so in a health center, to ensure its correct administration.

Observe without judging

Although it is difficult to carry out, it is the best way to immerse ourselves in other societies. La vivencia de haber interactuado y aprendido de la diversidad cultural será el legado que nos dejará la experiencia de acercarnos a la vida tribal.

Environment

In our trips we promote the protection of the environment. Respecting the natural environment and leaving it as we have found it, without our footprint, we will minimize the effect of our presence.

If you want to travel with us, organize a tailor-made trip, propose a destination, collaborate in our projects, share an experience or have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us.

Contact us

projects

Realistic formulas to empower the last peoples of the planet

Our project development policy is based on collaboration with the companies we visit in order to respond to the needs that they transmit to us and face the challenges of the future. The wide range of fields of action of the projects can benefit the personal, social, cultural and / or economic dimension of the communities.

See projects

team

Meet our team of experts

Last Places is made up of a team of experts with 25 years of experience as guides on trips to the last places on the planet. Here we introduce them to you

Abdoul Yaouba

Abdoul Yaouba (Maroua, North Cameroon, 1982) is one of the most experienced cultural guides in Cameroon. His father of him belonging to the Fulani tribe (Muslims) and his mother of him to the Mafa tribe (Animists) has enabled Abdoul to understand different cultural realities of Cameroon. Abdoul has explored all the corners of his country with Last Places and has spent quality time with remote tribal groups such as the Baka pygmy bands in Dja Forest, the Mbororo nomadic pastoralists, and the Koma and Dupa mountain peoples in the remote Faro region of Northern Cameroon. Abdoul speaks Fulani, French, Spanish and English.

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Ally Khatib

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Aníbal Bueno

Aníbal Bueno (Orihuela, Spain, 1981) is a scientist, writer, teacher and photographer who is an expert in documenting minority societies. He divides his time between research, teaching and working as a tour guide to some of the most remote places on the planet. He also teaches photography courses and guides photographic tours focused on portraits.

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Begoña Fernández-Colmeiro

Begoña Fernández-Colmeiro (Vigo, 1968). After a long career in management and leadership in a multinational company, she was presented with the opportunity to participate in the Last Places project, which she joined from the beginning. Last Places gives her the opportunity to connect her professional experience with her passion for learning about other cultures, combining adventure with management. Attracted by art, history and music, she has specialized as a guide in complex destinations and nomadic cultures in Africa and Asia, such as Chad, DR Congo and Pakistan among others. Each country is a new challenge that she faces with enthusiasm.

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Duncan Kiiza

Duncan Kiiza (Mbarara, Uganda, 1989) is an expert in East African tribal societies and Last Places' representative in South Sudan, Uganda, D.R. Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Tanzania. Duncan is a royal member of the Bahima tribe in Lake Mburo region (Southern Uganda) and for this reason he is professionally known as 'Duncan Prince'. He loves spending time among nomadic tribal people, the last true 'real' people in Africa, according to him. Duncan has been operating as a professional guide and logistics expert in East Africa's remotest regions since 2008.

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Eva Colomer

Eva Colomer (Barcelona, ​​1967) has a degree in Anthropology from the UB (University of Barcelona) and is an English teacher. She is fond of photography and passionate about traveling in Africa. She is always looking for human contact with the Other, so different and at the same time so equal. Her motto: “traveling stirs you up inside, because if not, you don't have to go so far”.

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Henk Bothof

Henk Bothof (Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 1957) is a photographer. Since 1990 he has been traveling to the most remote and unknown areas in the world, where photographing tribal peoples has become his great passion. His images have been published in many magazines, including Lonely Planet Magazine. He also organizes and guides tours.

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Joan Riera

Joan Riera (Barcelona, ​​1978) has a degree in Anthropology and Sociology from the University of Richmond (UK). He is specialized in animist religions and cultural recovery processes among tribal societies. Co-founder of Last Places, Joan combines academic research with the organization of ethnographic expeditions to the last places in the world.

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Jorge Sánchez

Jorge Sánchez is a traveler from l'Hospitalet, who has traveled all 193 countries of the United Nations in seven long trips around the planet. He is a member of the Great Travelers Club. His main job is as a tour guide and he has a long list of published travel books.

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Leonardo Paoluzzi

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Lucía Madrid

Lucía Madrid (Madrid, 1988) has a Diploma in Nursing from the UCM (Complutense University of Madrid). His love of traveling, especially to the African continent, led him to study a master's degree in travel journalism at the UAB (Autonomous University of Barcelona) and, together with his interest in photography, he began to carry out anthropological and cultural outreach activities, focusing on the role played by women in the different societies she visits.

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Marc Balagué

Marc Balagué (Girona 1995). A trip to the Galapagos Islands as a teenager lit the fuse of his passion for nature and animals. He is a graduate in biology and an interpreter guide for Nature (Interpret Europe). In recent years he has lived in Costa Rica, Australia and Chilean Patagonia. His passion for responsible tourism led him to do a postgraduate degree in Ecotourism and the desire to learn to transmit the stories he has lived -and those to come- have led him to take a master's degree in Travel Journalism. He worked as a guide in the most remote region of Chilean Patagonia and also designing guided tours in different parts of his country. He has a personal author travel project for Highly Sensitive People. He is a passionate about photography, video and chess.

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Mosheta

Mosheta is an expert guide on tribal societies in Angola.

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Nath Viktor Gil

Nath Viktor Gil (1996) is an ethno filmmaker, expedition leader, documentary filmmaker, and content creator, specializing in remote tribes, their daily lives, and their ceremonies. Over the years, Nath has traveled various parts of Africa and Asia, always searching for a more authentic and pure type of travel. That was how he ended up discovering his vocation as an ethno filmmaker, a perfect combination of his great passions: human diversity, audiovisuals and travel. His career has led him to undertake unique expeditions, becoming the first to document the enigmatic Saapa tribe. Having traveled, worked and collaborated in more than 40 countries in Africa, Asia and Europe, capturing in each of his projects the very essence of the communities he visited. His documentaries and audiovisual creations are a window to the world, revealing the beauty and meaning of the ancestral ceremonies and rituals that are still celebrated in the last tribes on the planet, as well as different aspects and current situations in various parts of the world.

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Ozio

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Sergi Vega

Sergi Vega is a tireless traveler, whose passion for travel has taken him all over the planet for the last 30 years. His great interest and curiosity about the world and its people translates into the creation of trips that go beyond conventional tourism.

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Shahid Rana

Shahid Rana (Lahore, Pakistan, 1960), is a passionate of Pakistan and its people. Rana, as we call him at Last Places, has explored all the corners of Pakistan, from the remote valleys in Kashmir, meeting the last Budist tribe in Pakistan, the Brokpas, to the unexplored Balochistan Desert and its nomadic Muslim tribes. For more than 30 years, Rana has lead groups of adventurous travelers from all around the World around his country and has opened new secluded tribal areas as Last Places' representative in Pakistan.

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Stanis Davakan

Stanis Davakan, is an indigenous guide from the center of Benin, an expert in animism and in the history of the country. Stanis has a family heritage closely linked to the Voodoo tradition since his great-grandfather was Guedegbé: the chief priest of Behanzin (the last king of Dahomey before French colonization). He has 15 years of experience accompanying travelers, curious people interested in opening his mind and heart to learn more about the places and culture of Benin. He speaks French, English, Spanish, Catalan and seven local languages of Benin. He has extensive knowledge about the history, places and cultures of his country, especially Voodoo, which, contrary to the image of him in the West, is not a satanic and evil practice but rather the opposite.

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Xavier Calvo Vergés

Xavier Calvo Vergés is an engineer and expert in Papua New Guinea. His great-uncle was a missionary in those distant lands between 1948 and 1986. Since his childhood he has known the culture of this country and has had relationships with people from their tribes, in addition to managing an extensive and unique documentary legacy in the form of slides, films and sound recordings. This legacy can be viewed in this Instagram profile.

In 2022 he traveled in Papua New Guinea for three months with the aim of establishing contact with the actors of that legacy, enriching the associated knowledge and returning it to them as an essential part of their cultural-historical heritage.
Xavier has a good knowledge of the country and maintains personal relationships with the chiefs and members of many tribes.

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Books

We use outreach as a tool to preserve cultural diversity

Through our editorial project we want to honor and make known the reality of the last peoples with their own worldview and try to preserve their legacy. Discover the books of Last Places members.

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