Around the world, an ecological restoration movement aims to supercharge biodiversity – and your next holiday.

Suján, Rajasthan, India

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Jaisal Singh is descended from tiger royalty: his parents and uncle were the driving forces behind the establishment of Ranthambore National Park, one of India’s premier tiger sanctuaries. Singh and his wife, Anjali, have continued that legacy of preserving and protecting India’s wild places and cultural heritage as the founders of Suján, a collection of luxurious tented camps with conservation at its core.

On the edge of Ranthambore, guests at 12-suite Sher Bagh have dress-circle access to big cats, sloth bears, antelopes and monkeys. Suján Jawai, the beautiful 10-suite bivouac south-west of Jaipur, has one of the world’s highest concentrations of leopards thanks to an India-first model combining private landholding, conservation and anti-poaching. The result is a refuge for wildlife and economic opportunities for the neighbouring villages – and genuine thrills for animal-lovers.

Both properties pamper guests with Relais & Chateaux-sanctioned cuisine, lavish accommodation and the services of some of the country’s best naturalists. Guests’ tariffs finance animal protection and research as well as community outreach programs. “We believe conservation has to be at the heart of tourism,” says Suján’s director of wildlife experiences, Yusuf Ansari.

Image credit: Visit Cairngorms

Cairngorms National Park, Scotland

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The Scottish Highlands, still renowned today for their natural beauty, were once so much grander. Logging, farming and introduced pests, such as deer, have decimated he old-growth Caledonian forests that once blanketed the United Kingdom’s north. But the fightback is on, led by feisty campaigners and conscientious landowners.

Adventure travel company Wilderness Scotland leads guests deep into the Highlands on five-night expeditions, staying in the rewilded valley of Glen Feshie, one of the country’s bonniest glens. Owned by Danish billionaire Anders Povlsen, Scotland’s largest private landowner, the 4000-hectare holding is part of the ambitious Wildland plan to restore Cairngorms National Park, the UK’s biggest, to its original state over the next 200 years.

Expert-led itineraries involve vigorous walks past waterfalls, through glacial valleys and one of the largest surviving tracts of Caledonian pine trees, with bonus sightings of restored species, such as beaver, badger and osprey. Hikers stay at Ballintean Mountain Lodge on a 50-hectare rewilded estate and dine on local fare, including king scallops and sustainably sourced venison.

Akagera National Park, Rwanda

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The African Parks Network is a non-profit NGO that partners with governments and communities in some of the continent’s more volatile countries – from Chad to Congo – to rehabilitate habitats and wildlife. It took the reins at Rwanda’s Akagera National Park in 2010, transforming the 1100-square-kilometre area, at the time plagued by poaching and rogue cattle farmers, into a haven for native animals – and travellers.

The reintroduction of threatened species has increased Akagera’s biomass from 5000 to 12,000 animals, including elephants, lions, black and white rhinos, buffalos and Rwanda’s only giraffe population. The leopard viewing is also excellent.

Accommodation in the park is mainly in tented camps and what they lack in five star finishes is more than compensated for with wildlife encounters and access to the largest protected wetland in eastern-central Africa and the enormous Lake Ihema, a sanctuary for hippos and rare shoebill storks.

Image credit: Richard I’Anson

Arkaba, South Australia

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In the ancient sandstone folds of the Flinders Ranges, an 1851 sheep station anchors one of Australia’s most acclaimed rewilding projects. Conservationist entrepreneur Charles Carlow bought 25,000-hectare Arkaba Station in 2009, removed the sheep and let the landscape – “the most beautiful outback property I’d ever been to” – do its thing.

The changes since have been heartening. The red kangaroo population exploded and western quolls, reintroduced to Wilpena Pound in 2014 after a century-long absence, are now breeding at Arkaba. Meanwhile, native plant species, such as the Sturt’s desert rose, are being nurtured back to life. Guests can witness the transformation firsthand on multi-day guided walks, bedding down at the handsomely refurbished homestead and two bush camps, where fireside dinners of saltbush lamb and South Australian wines segue into starry nights filled with the chatter of nocturnal creatures.

Image credit: Alex Lindbloom

Misool Resort, Indonesia

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Our oceans need rewilding, too. Seawilding, if you will. In far eastern Indonesia, Raja Ampat is an archipelago of 1500 islands, one of which, Batbitim, has become an archetype for marine stewardship and responsible tourism. Divers Marit and Andrew Miners arrived here in 2005 to find a shark-finning camp plundering the seas so they stayed to do something about it. Lobbying local chiefs to support a marine refuge (since tripled in size to 120,000 hectares), they employed rangers to patrol the waters and built a stunning, 20-bungalow resort (eight of which sit on stilts over a lagoon) to finance their conservation aims.

Today, Misool Resort is a magnet for marine enthusiasts keen to explore Raja Ampat’s epic dive sites and thriving biodiversity. Among Misool’s many successes to date: reef shark populations are 25 times denser within the no-take zone; manta ray numbers have doubled; reefs are being restored; and endangered zebra sharks have just been reintroduced as part of the ReShark initiative. The enterprise also funds local libraries, kindergartens and recycling programs.

Asked to describe an ideal day on Misool, Marit says, “Wake up over the water, morning dip with sharks, mango for breakfast, snorkel, paddleboard, massage, birdwatching, hammock time, food, sleep, repeat.”

Tahi, North Island, New Zealand

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Since Suzan Craig took over what she calls a “dilapidated” 316-hectare coastal patch of Northland cattle farm 20 years ago, she’s replanted 430,000 indigenous trees (and counting – her goal is one million) and restored 38 hectares of wetlands. As a result, bird species have increased from 14 to 71, including more than 22 that were rare or endangered, and other habitats have returned.

Visitors can explore Tahi’s transitional landscapes of dunes, forests and lakes on guided or self-guided walking trails (horseriding can also be arranged at extra cost) or on overnight stays in three seaside bungalows, all with private access to Pauanui surf beach. In summer there’s an on-site café for breakfasts and light lunches.

All the profits from Tahi’s accommodation and its flourishing Manuka honey and skincare businesses are ploughed back into conservation and the local community. As with so many rewilding projects, it’s a virtuous circle.