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Our trips involve traveling in a small group of no more than 21 people (the average is 16) which enables us to stay in smaller hotels and guesthouses, shop and eat in locally owned establishments and minimise the impact we have on the environment.
Environment:
We are dedicated to minimising the effects our trips have on the environment, and are committed to trying to reduce, re-use and recycle as much as is possible, both out on the road and back in our offices in the UK.
All our trips follow our strict environmental guidelines that encourage the respect of natural resources, waste minimisation and recycling wherever possible.
For example, we do not collect firewood in areas where there is a shortage of such fuel, cooking over gas instead – and all our vehicles carry a 350 litre water tank, providing drinking water for the group and minimising the need to purchase bottled water. Rather than using plastic bags when shopping for food, we also provide reusable longer lasting bags. Wherever recycling facilities are available we endeavour to use them – and biodegradable waste is either buried of given to local people to feed livestock.
When camping, our philosophy is to leave no footprints. As well as ensuring we take all of our waste and rubbish with us, this also extends to avoiding bathing and washing clothes in streams and organising toilet areas away from local water sources.
Community:
We are committed to ensuring that we have a positive impact on the local communities we travel through and believe that local culture and communities must be an integral part of our trips. We recognise that we are guests of the local communities we travel through and strive to make these communities into our partners.
One of the unique benefits of traveling overland on a trip such as this is the wealth of opportunity for interaction with the local people and communities. Whether camping out on the edge of a remote village, or staying as guests of local people as part of a homestay, you will have plenty of opportunities to engage with the locals and learn about their culture and way of life.
On this trip we travel through remote areas and small villages, and over time we have developed partnerships with many local organisations and communities along the way, for example, at Song Kul Lake, we stay as guests of the semi-nomadic Kyrgyz people in their yurts. Similarly in Kochkor we will stay for the night with a traditional family, living with them and finding out about their daily life, food and family traditions.
By staying people in their own homes, we are able to contribute to the development of the community, providing a dependable income stream and in turn facilitating improvements in education and living standards. We also aim to benefit the communities we travel through by making sure we shop for food and other provisions in local markets and small shops along the way – and by staying in small, locally owned guesthouses and hotels.
During the course of your trip you will also often be joined by a local guide – providing employment and income generation opportunities directly in the host communities we travel through. The employment of local guides also adds value to your trip because you can gain specific local knowledge and expertise from the people who actually live permanently in the area you are visiting.
This company started in 1989 with a passion to get travelers off the beaten track. It was started by best friends who wanted to develop a style of travel that was all together different; wanting travelers to become a part of a country - and not just tourists looking in. Wanting them to have fun, meet people, learn things, explore, and do stuff they could never do at home, to travel by anything and everything, and stay anywhere and everywhere! Fast forward two decades and they now travel to more than 110 countries and offers over 800 itineraries however their philosophy on travel is unchanged. Their core purpose is to enrich people's lives by creating unique, interactive travel experiences. Providing fun, affordable and sustainable travel adventures that are beneficial to local communities.
We invite every traveler who books a vacation via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the vacations they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same vacation can have different views!
