“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
— Mark Twain
What if humans had never travelled? The world would have been quite different if humans hadn’t travelled from one place to another. Countless indigenous groups would have continued to live in isolated areas across the globe with no contact with the outside world if humans hadn’t travelled long distances. The peoples of the world—groups of people from multiple ethnic, cultural, racial, or national backgrounds—would never have met each other, they would never have learned from each other, so human civilization would never develop. Ideas and knowledge would have been confined to isolated communities with no travelers to spread them. There would have been no such thing as a world map.
Humans have travelled a lot ever since they first appeared on earth. Travelling for them has been as natural as breathing air. From large land masses called continents to remote uninhabited islands, from vast oceans to hidden water bodies, dark caves or erupting volcanoes, human footprints are everywhere, thanks to travelers! Travelers explored far-flung corners of the world, they met native inhabitants, they assimilated into foreign cultures, they learned unknown languages, they traded with locals, they chronicled their travels, and that’s how they discovered the world as we know it.
Ever wondered why humans travel? Well, there are myriad reasons.
Early humans travelled huge distances in search of food. They lived a nomadic life, crossing a whole continent to find a favorable climate or a fertile area to settle in.
It’s the human urge to journey into the unknown. Humans by nature tend to be curious about what lies over the next hill or beyond the horizon. From time immemorial, an insatiable curiosity, a never-ending quest for adventure, and an unquenchable desire to make a discovery have drawn human beings to the heights of snow-capped mountains, faraway lands beyond the deep sea, impenetrable forests, inhospitable deserts, and mighty rivers.
Humans have a craving to step back in time, so they travel to historic places, archaeological sites, old forts, and monuments that offer a journey through the past.
The purpose of travel is devotional or spiritual when people go on a pilgrimage, visiting sacred sites or ancient temples, taking holy dip in rivers and doing yoga.
People often travel to towns, cities, and markets across different countries to explore vibrant cultures and meet new people; at times they travel to a serene hilltop or a tranquil riverbank in search of privacy.
For many, travel is an escape from the boredom of everyday life; for some, travel is a way to find solitude.
People mostly travel to visit a destination, but sometimes, they just travel, with no destination.
It’s about the journey, not the destination, after all !
“I do not travel to get to a place.
I travel to travel.
The important thing is to move.”
— Robert Louis Stevenson
Shubhra Atreya
Content Writer
IT Department
Swami Vivekanand Subharti University
