Sri Lanka culture and wildlife in comfort

Planet

Carbon reduction

By travelling in a small group, led by a local guide, we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment. Food on the tour is locally sourced and we provide vegetarian and vegan options throughout.

Environment and wildlife

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. Our animal welfare policy can be found here.
We support the responsible rehabilitation of elephants at the Udawalawe Elephant Transit Home when visiting with groups. Our local operator fosters a baby elephant at the Elephant Transit Home, currently supporting their second foster elephant since 2018. The first elephant calf was released to the wild after five years of foster parenting.
By visiting national parks, ruins and museums, our entrance fees contribute to their upkeep. For example, our game drives in Yala National Park promotes animal welfare and financially contributes to conservation projects in the area.

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 reusable bottles. We do all we can to ensure we leave no rubbish behind in the wild and beautiful places we visit; we ask that you do the same. If there are no recycling facilities in-country, we’d ask you to consider bringing recyclable materials home with you. Please bring your own reusable water bottle on this trip; filtered water will be provided where tap water is not drinkable.

Please be aware there are a large number of stray dogs in Sri Lanka, and you may encounter some during your trip. Our local operators are aware of this and we are monitoring any animal welfare concerns.

People

Local economy

The use of a local guide means our customers will be well informed about local traditions, and cultural-social sensitivities.
This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally owned hotels and restaurants, the emphasis on eating locally produced food, and by supporting other local enterprises.
All of the hotels we stay in are dedicated to hiring local staff, providing employment opportunities and income alternatives where they may be otherwise hard to come by.
This tour actively encourages guests to talk to local people, visit local cafes and restaurants and use markets to purchase traditional crafts.

Our Foundation has launched the Community Kickstart Project to help our destination communities recover and rebuild following the impact of COVID-19. In Sri Lanka, we’ve contributed to the Yala Park Driver Support initiative.

Cultural respect:
One should not touch someone’s head as this is considered disrespectful.
It’s polite to use your right hand when shaking hands or handing money and small objects to someone else.
It is common practice to remove one’s shoes before entering someone’s home.
Especially when visiting temples, clothing should cover shoulders and be on or below the knee.