Can Group Hiking Lead to a Longer, Better Life?

18.06.2024 - 23:05 / cntraveler.com / Jeff Bezos

The hiking group was as varied as a bag of trail mix, ranging from an elderly man in his seventies to a woman in her early thirties. We had met at the shared breakfast table at Palazzo Fiuggi that morning over coffee and omelets with cured salmon before driving to the hills outside the town for a three-hour hike. When we arrived at the forest, we trailed our guides through the trees, past grazing horses and pale yellow wild orchids. We were encouraged to move at our own speed–if anyone got lost, they could radio the group via the walkie talkies that we all carried. As a fast paced New Yorker, I was certain I’d be charging ahead and leading the pack—but I found myself moving at the same pace as the other hikers, enjoying the friendly chatter.

Making human connections is one of the key elements of Palazzo Fiuggi’s new “hiking for longevity” program, modeled off the concept of Blue Zones: Considering research shows that social connection can increase our odds of survival by 50%, bonding is an essential component of Fiuggi's program. The destination spa, which is located an hour from Rome, is on the forefront of wellness travel with a variety of medically-minded treatments including things like personalized IV sessions, genetic testing, and full body scans. The new six day hiking program–where guests do daily nature hikes and eat Mediterranean meals around a shared table to stimulate connection–takes a more holistic approach to achieving a longer and better quality of life.

Longevity, which has become one of the buzziest words in the wellness space, has also become a big business. The life-extension market is expected to reach $44.2 billion by 2030. There are books about it (Outlive by physician Peter Attia), podcasts discussing it (Lifespan by genetics professor Dr David Sinclair) and Ted Talks by experts such as Susan Pinker and Dan Buettener dedicated to it. Influential people such as Jeff Bezos are investing heavily in research and treatments, and cutting edge regenerative medicine–like breakthroughs in stem cell therapy–frequently makes headlines. The longevity movement, it seems, is moving faster than we can age.

An infrared sauna at RoseBar, which features biohacking and meditation

Also at Six Senses in Ibiza is restaurant The Beach Caves

Hotels and wellness resorts are jumping on the trend too, some offering advanced medical treatments, such as IV therapy and genetic testing. If you’re a traveler looking to dip into a week of longevity treatments, the options are truly eternal. At Rosebar at Six Senses in Ibiza, on the edge of the Mediterranean, a Young Forever retreat, which features biohacking and meditation, was launched in collaboration with longevity expert and MD Mark Hyman. In addition,