How far will you go?

From penguin safaris in Antarctica to eagle-training breaks in Mongolia, a new breed of 'trophy tourists' are redefining what extreme holidays are all about. But are they just showing off? And what are they doing to the planet? Patrick Barkham reports Trekking to Kathmandu, going nomadic with the !Kung of the Kalahari or visiting the slums of Kolkata are no longer exotic enough. Today's trophy tourists want to tick off ever more extreme locations on their global adventures. Travel supplements bulge with the ultimate - and ultimately self-defeating - quest to find the completely unspoilt destination, whether it is the Lakshadweep islands, Oman's grand canyon or outer space. We are all aware of the contradictions of modern tourism; how it can cascade unimaginable riches on impoverished corners of the world and also destroy the... [read full story]