Why the urge to nose our way into the lives of the poor? Armstrong thinks it’s only natural to crave a better understanding of your surroundings. His idea for the favela tours was hatched when he worked for a hotel in Senegal and was curious to learn more about the country himself. “I was disturbed by so many guests going to the hotel only to relax on the beach or play golf, without any interest to actually know a bit of Africa.” David Marek, founder of Ker & Downey, says his company offers a tour of Cape Town’s District Six resettlement area as an option in one of its South Africa itineraries because it’s a part of the country’s heritage. “It may be a dark spot, but South Africa is full of those so you can’t overlook them.”

There’s another point. “The economically poor are not necessarily culturally poor, and that’s one reason people are interested in them,” says Goodwin. “Many have rich traditions of music and dance and strong social structures.” Out of the favelas, for instance, emerges a new sound that fuses hip hop and traditional Brazilian music.

It’s also a chance for interaction with locals, something more travelers prize above passive sightseeing. In fact, many safari clients who stop in Mukuru say it was the highlight of their trip. “I hear that time and again,” says Micato’s AmericaShare founder Lorna MacLeod, “It all comes down to the human connection.”

The database did not find the text of a page that it should have found, named "Grand Theft Auto: Australia" (Diff: 0, 4205355).

This is usually caused by following an outdated diff or history link to a page that has been deleted.

If this is not the case, you may have found a bug in the software. Please report this to an administrator, making note of the URL.