Indonesia small group tour, temples and dragons

Planet

A key focus of this tour is the incredible wildlife found in Komodo National Park, home to the famous Komodo dragon, and Tangkoko National Park which is a 8,700 hectare nature reserve. We explore these places in the company of a local guide and travelers are extensively briefed on how not to leave a negative impact. This includes aspects such as not dropping litter and sticking to the trails, but also about not disturbing the wildlife and keeping quiet in the presence of animals. The entrance fees that we include also contribute to the ongoing conservation of these areas.

During our time in Yogyakarta we explore the city by cycle rickshaw, rather than vehicle, which is a fantastic way to see the sites and connect with local people, as well as cutting down on emissions in a small way.

In some parts of Indonesia, people do not always have the same respect towards wildlife as most travelers will have, and it is quite common to find bats and dogs being served at restaurants and street vendors. We discourage our travelers from purchasing this so as to avoid the depletion of local populations and cruelty to animals.

People

We always try to ensure that local people benefit from our presence. On this tour we employ the services of local guides, boatmen and drivers; all of whom will be supporting extended families, and for whom such income is important in an area where opportunities to earn money are limited. We pay our service providers fairly. Not only are they able to offer greater insights and a more intimate connection with the place, but this helps to ensure that some of the income generated by our visit filters back to local communities rather than just being funnelled to centralised institutions. This also helps to show local communities that there is a financial benefit for them in preserving the natural environment.

Where possible we encourage our travelers to spend their money with local businesses; for this reason we do not include meals where it is feasible to eat outside of the hotels, in order that local restaurants are able to benefit from the presence of tourism, rather than the income being channelled just to the hotel.

On all of tours we strive to include a strong focus on local communities and we are firm believers that tourism should have a positive impact on the places visited. On this tour we try to allow our travelers to gain a real insight into the traditional customs of the country; some good examples of this is the traditional homestay in the village of Tololela and spending time with local people in Candirejo. Not only is this a great experience for travelers but it means that small scale community based tourism projects, often ignored by mainstream tourism, are able to benefit from our visit.

As with many of the trips that we offer, this tour has a strong focus on local culture and different ethnic groups. Where possible we try to ensure that local people benefit from our presence. We spend time with a traditional ethnic group on this trip in Tanah Toraja. Tourism rarely reaches here and we recognise that we have a special responsibility to ensure that the encounters that we have are carried out in a responsible manner. We ensure that our presence here is very much welcomed – we feel that it is very important to be seen as guests here rather than outsiders come to merely look. We are able to spend time with the communities learning about their traditions and customs.