Albania walking vacation

Planet

Activity:
Few vacations have such a low environmental impact as a walking trip. We are vigilant with litter disposal and avoid path erosion by sticking to routes which have been decided by guides. Although much of this trip is spent walking in very beautiful and isolated areas, we also make time for cultural activities. By visiting cultural sites like Berat’s Ethnographic Museum and the 17th century Sinan Pasha Mosque in Prizren, we are contributing to their upkeep. Our entrance fees go towards maintenance and often clients will buy souvenirs which benefit these establishments and local people.

Conservation:
Although we work in very remote areas, where there are not many charities set up, we always support a local organisation called PPNEA (Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania). They are based in Rilindja Campsite in Valbona valley and are currently working on several conservation activities including the ‘Balkan Lynx Recovery Program’. This involves allowing this threatened species to recuperate by setting up monitoring systems and protected areas.

Waste Management:
Waste management is a big problem in Albania and so we are very careful not to exacerbate this issue, operating with a ‘leave no trace policy.’ We encourage our suppliers and guides to minimise plastic waste in the mountainous areas by distributing paper bags for waste disposal. In Northern Albania, we can drink water fresh from the streams or taps, so we also encourage our clients to re-fill a bottle or canister to drink from. This prevents the needless buying of several plastic bottles.

UK Office:
It all starts at home so we have first worked at reducing our carbon footprint in our UK Offices. Through energy conservation measures and recycling policies, we are proud to be actively reducing the waste produced and our impact on the environment. We support various projects all over the world to try and give something back to the places we visit.

People

Accommodation and Meals:
We spend four nights in alpine guesthouses and four nights in hotels. By using local accommodation, restaurants and shops, we are supporting the community hugely by boosting businesses in low season. Where meals are supplied, we endeavour to use local produce. Otherwise, your guide will be able to recommend places which sell authentic and delicious meals such as baked rice, casseroles, stuffed aubergine and jani meat (beef or lamb sauteed with onions, garlic and spices). The mountainous regions particularly benefit from our commerce due to their remote location so we try to stop at coffee shops run by farmers from their huts.

A Fair Deal:
Our guides are all people who live and work in the areas in which we operate our tours. This gives extra support to the local economy and offers our clients a level of expertise which would be otherwise unattainable. For these trips we have also contracted part time farmers and horse owners to help with luggage transportation from one village to the next. We make sure to engage different farmers on a rota basis so that several individuals can benefit from additional income. These people are particularly skilled in that they have explored this terrain for many years and have extensive knowledge of the area.

Group Size:
This small group tour has a maximum of 16 participants, meaning that we have a low impact on the environments and communities we visit and are able to ensure that we do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people. The small number also allows us to stay in unique, family-run hotels that cannot benefit from coach tours and other mass tourism due to their limited sizes.