Jake Haupert
Joined Atlas Obscura in 2026
Jake Haupert is an explorer, guide, and experience strategist dedicated to understanding how journeys into nature can change the way we live, lead, and care for the world. As Founder of the Transformational Travel Council and the Transformational Travel Institute, he works at the intersection of exploration, conservation, hospitality, and human development, helping organizations design experiences that cultivate awe, meaning, well-being, and stewardship.
His expeditions have taken him from East African volcanoes and remote wilderness trails to ancient pilgrimage routes and conservation landscapes around the world. Whether trekking with his son across Tanzania, leading groups along the Kumano Kodo in Japan, or exploring how walking and wild places foster transformation, Jake believes that the greatest discoveries are often internal as much as geographic.
Through speaking, research, writing, and guiding, he is helping advance a new understanding of exploration: not simply as the pursuit of what's next, but as a practice that deepens our relationship with ourselves, one another, and the living Earth.
