Destination Expert
Lilia Akhtanenko
Lilia’s passion for travel and adventure started after her first trip to India 15 years ago when she realised how much exploring meant to her. She left her job to complete a Certificate IV in Travel & Tourism and began her new career.
Lilia loves meeting new people, learning about different cultures, tasting local cuisine and getting out into nature. To Lilia, trekking is much more than exercise; it’s a way to step out of her comfort zone, reflect inwards and immerse in the extreme beauty of nature, while make life-long friends along the way.
Lilia’s travel highlights include sleeping in a traditional Mongolian yurt amidst a jaw-dropping landscape, sweating it out in a Siberian sauna after dipping into the freezing cold waters of Lake Baikal, trekking through the forests of Bwindi National Park and coming face to face with the great apes of Uganda, climbing Mount Wilhelm in Papau New Guinea, trekking for 5 days through muddy trails to reach the archaeological site of an ancient lost city in Colombia, and her most recent trip in Nepal – a 14-day trek through the Langtang region in the Himalayas.
Lilia recently challenged herself on England’s Coast to Coast Path and completed the first section of the Camino from Sarria to Santiago.
Destinations on her wish list include Patagonia in South America, the Pamir Mountains in Central Asia and Tharpu Chuli in Nepal.