Annapurna foothills trek & Chitwan safari, Nepal

Planet

By traveling in a small group, led by a local guide, we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment.

Our trips adhere to ABTA’s industry-leading animal welfare guidelines to ensure the best possible practices with regard to working animals and wildlife viewing.

We work with our partners on the ground to proactively eliminate or reduce waste, for example eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles and instead providing refills for re-usable bottles.

Barahi Jungle Lodge is reforesting 12 hectares of land which were previously damaged through overgrazing.

A vegetarian diet is common in Nepal, especially in the mountains where eating meat is not generally recommended due to hygiene concerns and a lack of refrigeration facilities. The staple diet is dal baht, which comes in various forms but generally includes lentil dal, vegetable curry, and rice.

We established the Braga Tree Nursery Initiative, in the Upper Annapurna region of Nepal, in the 1980s to play a part in tackling the deforestation problem at the time, and to this day, the tree nursery sustains itself.

The provision of solar cookers to many villages along the popular trekking routes in Nepal has helped prevent further deforestation in the pursuit of wood used for cooking. The mountain lodges use solar power as much as possible.

People

The mountain lodges are a source of local employment, sell locally made handicrafts, carry out cleaning campaigns in the village and contribute towards school building and improving the water supply.

Barahi Jungle Lodge does a lot to support the local community; funds have been provided for infrastructure at the village school, tents provided to flood victims in 2017 and a weekly river cleaning campaign is carried out. Much of the food at the lodge is locally grown.

The use of a local leader and trekking support staff (guides, porters/yak herders) means our customers will be well informed about local traditions and cultural and social sensitivities.

It was not until 2005 that the ancient tradition of ‘chhaupadi’ (banishing menstruating women and girls to huts or sheds during their period) was made illegal in Nepal. In rural parts of the country, menstruation is still a taboo subject. Since 2018, we have supported the Freedom Kitbag Project, providing reusable sanitary wear and education in reproductive health to many hundreds of women and to their wider communities.

We have had a deep connection with Nepal since the 1980’s and over the years has supported, and continues to support many Himalayan Community Projects, including an elderly person’s home, the High Altitude Workers Welfare Association, providing solar cookers, smokeless stoves and running medical camps in hard to reach communities, to name but a few.