Everest and Gokyo Lakes trek, Nepal

Planet

As adventure travellers we relish and celebrate the diversity of all corners of the world, along with acknowledging our obligation to protect the environments that we explore. Our aim is to tread lightly, designing and operating holidays which maximise the positive effects of tourism on local economies, cultures and the environment whilst minimising any negative impacts. We aim to engage all our customers in utilising the potential of tourism as a tool to aid sustainable development. We believe that responsible travellers are always welcome the world over.

We travel in small groups (max 16 people) so have a minimal impact on the environment as we go. We work hand in hand with a local Nepalese owned agency, who employs on our behalf, local group leaders, sirdars, porters etc, many of whom, without this employment, would be making a subsistence living as hill farmers. Money from our stay reaches a wide number of people - many of the teahouse owners now gain their sole income from trekkers.

People

In the towns and cities we use locally owned hotels, restaurants and purchase supplies from local stores. We only use local group leaders who we regularly train and work closely with to ensure that they are fully engaged in ensuring travellers not only have the trip of a lifetime, but also that they have the tools to help our passengers understand the nature of the environment we are trekking through and know how to minimise the impact that they have. This includes everything from buying souvenirs and supplies locally to taking all rubbish with you, leaving nothing behind. Not only does more of the money we generate stay within the communities we are visiting, but the specialised local knowledge and expertise of our guides gives our travellers a unique experience.

We work together with our local agent in Nepal on a number of community projects, including the construction of a community / sports facility in the Trisuli region that can be used by schools and villagers in surrounding areas, and assisting with the renovation of accommodations for the pupils of a school for visually impaired children in the hill village of Nuwakot. For every traveller visiting Nepal with us, we make a $5 donation to these projects which assists in the development of the Nuwakot facilities and also helps fund the Trisuli Young Leaders Club, training up the next generation of local group leaders from remote Himalayan regions.

We also donate to the International Porter Protection Group, an organisation which ensures that all porters are treated fairly, from being paid a fair wage to limiting the loads which they carry.

We have a foundation that collects the funds that you donate to us to support our projects. All our customers are invited to make a £1 per person contribution to the foundation at the time of booking. We will match every contribution that you make with our own £1. Every quarter all contributors are invited to vote on a shortlist of nominated projects – so it really is YOUR foundation.