Karakoram Highway vacation

Planet

By keeping the group size to a maximum of 12, we can also minimise the human impact on the fragile sites and ecosystems we visit.
We attempt to reduce plastic bottle use wherever possible by promoting use of reusable and filtered water bottles. Our partnership with Water-To-Go provides a discount on filtered water bottles to our clients. We do not provide water from plastic bottles to our clients in country but always ensure there is regular access to drinking water on our tours.
We are promoting the natural and ancient heritage of Pakistan through visiting the site of Baltit Fort. UNESCO Sites are chosen by the UNESCO committee and must "bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to civilisation", "an important interchange of human values" or be outstanding examples of major stages of Earth's history or ecological and biological processes in evolution. Visiting such sites helps sustain the ancient traditions and history of Pakistan.
Using no carbon transport such as cycling or walking not only gives you a slower paced experience, but also cuts environmental damage and tourist carbon footprint. We are committed to low-level tourism impact and we keep group sizes to a maximum of 12 to avoid huge tour bus loads of tourists, which increases environmental damage but also is less likely to be welcomed by locals. Slower travel also allows for more chances to interact with people from another culture.

People

On each Group tour we use local ground handlers. This means that all operational costs go directly into the local economy and help improve employment opportunities in remote regions. Such support can also be seen in our incorporation of homestays, locally owned hotels, family run restaurants and the services of local guides and drivers into our itineraries, which ensures that the money you spend with us goes directly into the local economy and local community.
On Day 10 we will stay in a guesthouse log cabin accommodation in Fairy Meadows for a unique glimpse into the traditions and customs of local life. The homestay/guesthouse market helps them to provide good, clean and interesting accommodation which in turn allows them to educate their children, improve their standard of living and look after their ill. The wonderful thing about this kind of interactive tourism is that everyone gains – the families financially and us with the wonderful welcome and experience they give us. Wherever possible we stay in locally owned accommodation, eat in locally owned establishments and purchase supplies from the local nomads.
In Pakistan we pride ourselves on working directly with as many local hotels, drivers, guides and cooks as possible, thereby putting money directly into the local community; to put this into perspective, a jeep driver, like Muktar Alam, that earns 30,000 rupees for one trip can with these wages educate two sons for a year and feed his family for 4 months. We also employ jeep drivers on a revolving basis and different ones in each area to ensure that the money we bring in is distributed evenly. With the small local guesthouses and home stays we use – like Saifullah’s in the Kalash Valleys – the money goes and stays in these pagan valleys rather than being siphoned out to rich, down-country hoteliers.