Nepal and Bhutan culture & hiking vacation

Planet

To ensure this vacation is as environmentally friendly as possible, we have ensured no domestic flights are taken in Nepal and Bhutan. Modern updated vehicles are instead used, one vehicle per group - including your guide and driver to limit emissions. This is also the best way to see this beautiful Kingdom. During the pandemic when the country was closed to guests, the government spent a lot of time and money improving the quality of the roads, ensuring there is more emphasis on driving and not domestic flights.
We have handpick accommodation with a focus on environmental responsibility, such as the charming pioneering Dhumra Farm in Punakha, where food is grown seasonally and locally, limiting its carbon footprint.

Bhutan is unique in the world in its implementation of a ‘sustainable development fee’ which is essentially a daily tourist charge, to promote high value low volume travelers and to ensure tourisms treads lightly. Simply by visiting Bhutan and paying this fee, you are helping to support important conservation and sustainability efforts. The daily tourist tax of $200 per guest per day is used to offset the carbon footprint of tourism, improve carbon-neutral infrastructure and upskill workers in Bhutan’s tourism sector, and supporting Bhutan’s recovery from the pandemic. Bhutan provides a great example in how responsible tourism can thrive, providing both the opportunity for people to experience its wonders, but also limiting the human impact on the land. Bhutan will be reserved for visitors with higher budgets who are happy to spend more for the perks of low-carbon travel and not have to share these wonders with a crowd.

People

Community-based tourism is a key element of our trips to Bhutan, and in fact our ground partners are multi-award winners in this field. Throughout the trip we aim to involve local communities in our activities, from full day experiences like the National Institute for Zorig Chusum, which offer local people courses on traditional arts and crafts that form the backbone of the local culture and traditions, to visits to an authentic working farm. The aim throughout is to provide non-touristy, authentic cultural experiences, that benefit the people from those communities directly.

We also avoid any international chain hotels or large cruise ships, prioritising independent local owner-run properties where possible. This keeps more money in the immediate area, and helps provides business and employment opportunities to local people, whilst providing us and our guests with a more genuine and enriching stay as part of our trips. All of our guides and drivers are also from the local area, which is a key requirement of tour operators that are allowed to register to operate in Bhutan. The $200 daily tourist levy goes in part directly back to the people in the local community, meaning tourism benefits each valley rather than works against it.