Mountains Legacy is a collective of photographers, filmmakers and athletes. Not ones to play by the rules, they’ve turned their lifelong interest in sport, adventure and travel into a full-time career. Central to their philosophy, at work and at home, is the perpetual pursuit of new experiences and environments. 

From skiing and climbing to running and paragliding, if it involves being active and being outside you can bet that Mountains Legacy will be keen to give it a go. The untiring trio, made up of Jordan Manoukian, Cédric Manoukian, and Florent Andreani all hail from France and travel the globe creating visually stunning content. 

When they were hired by a tourism agency in Chile, they got in touch with us to ask if we’d be able to kit them out with gear that’s able to keep up with them. Naturally, we were happy to oblige. See what they got up to in the video below or scroll down for a Q&A on why getting off the beaten track is so important and to enjoy some stunning images from their trip.

This year, follow their example and go beyond with your next holiday. 

Hey Cédric, how was the trip?

Honestly, it was one of the greatest trip we’ve ever done. We wanted to do something different. Something very diverse. So, the idea was to travel around the country in a type of campervan and just sleep in the back of it. 

We were there for 18 days and spent the first two weeks living in a campervan. Everyday we went out and saw something different. It was so beautiful. Chile is so undiscovered, it’s stunning but there’s nobody there. But that’s fine for us, it’s good to go where other people don’t. I’m learning Spanish because I already want to go back. 

We got so many photos that you can’t find on the internet. 

Any highlights that stand out? 

So many. One was definitely Cochamó. You have to walk 15km through a muddy jungle just to get there! It’s a bit like the Yosemite of Chile. It’s a valley totally lost in the south of Chile and there’s this huge granite wall that’s almost 1000m up. It’s like a massive castle in a jungle, you feel tiny.

Other than that, Lake Carrera (General Carrera Lake) and Puerto Tranquilo in Patagonia, seeing sunrise in the desert, climbing where the rocks are really special. But there was many more. 

So, why do you love to travel? 

We need to have a routine but, at a certain point, it makes time fly and your head gets filled with it all. Travel lets you erase and restart. Whenever I have too much stuff in my mind, I go out to the mountains. When I come back things will be easier for me. 

Travel is living. When you are travelling you are always living in the moment. 

Honestly, we just really like doing lots of stuff. I think not moving is boring. 

Why is it so important for people to go beyond their comfort zone?

I think the brain is always trying to get us to stay in our comfort zone, where it knows it’s safe. But you don’t get much opportunity there so if you want to go a bit further and you want to see the world you have to make a little bit of sacrifice (financial, injury, etc), if you want to do really cool stuff. 

It is a little scary, but I think scary and awesome go together. 

I can only speak for myself but I really think that you will be proud. It’s rewarding. Doing something that most other people don’t do or never will is great. Yes, you might have to do a little work for it but it’s great for self-development. You will want to prove to yourself that you can do it. It’s easy to book a city trip, going somewhere a little more difficult is much more rewarding.  

In Chile we were living in a campervan — three people in a van which is 2-3 metres squared. It wasn’t comfy but at the end of the trip you forget all about this. You just feel like it was so cool. We made memories for a lifetime. So much more than our daily life, and that’s why it’s so important. 

So you’re not a big city trip kind of person then? 

Well, six months ago, I took a city trip with my girlfriend. We were in town and we thought it was all very nice, but there was nothing that really awakens something in you. Nothing that tells you where you are. When we were in Chile you get this at nearly every moment. It’s incredible. Everybody should come to a place like this and when you do it’s almost magical. 

How did Mountains Legacy get started? 

A few years ago, we were trying to figure out what we wanted to do in life. We wanted to combine the personal with the professional. But we were struggling. We were interns in big outdoor companies but we felt like we wanted something with more passion, more meaning. Mountains Legacy gave us the chance to do that. 

We want people to look at our stuff and want to do it. 

We were already creating content with a GoPro camera but at first it was just for fun. But then we created an Instagram and Facebook page and pretty soon people started interacting with us. We were surprised by how you can touch a lot of people without giving any money and so we created our company out of this response. Soon, people started coming to us with proposals for work.       

Mountains Legacy's Top Travel Tips: 

Be organised. Yes, it can be a little annoying but it’s important. You can never see everything so I would say try to be clear with what you want from the trip from the start. 

Just take a sheet of paper and write out everything you want to do. Then think about money and how you are going to get around. 

It’s obvious but don't just stick to what you read on the internet or in guide books. Of course, they can be good but it’s always best to just go somewhere and find some crazy stuff that you can’t even find on a map. This is the best stuff. 

And finally, do it with passion. And remember that the best sights are always in the morning or at night. 

You can find out more about Mountains Legacy and their international escapades on their website and on their Instagram account.