Golden Triangle 9 day tour in India

Planet

We put a lot of thought in working with local providers, making sure that everyone involved in your trip is committed to sharing advice on how best to leave a lighter footprint. We promote excursions which foster a more sustainable tourism and commit to maintaining small-group sizes to limit negative environmental impacts in accordance to the carrying capacity of the visited site.

We are trying to keep the extra unneeded waste to a minimum in all our tours through our “bring it in, bring it out” policy for litter and rubbish such as food packaging and recycling wherever possible.

We have a recycling policy in our UK and local offices and re-use or recycle the information booklets we provide to every client on arrival wherever possible. Moreover, we do not produce a glossy brochure, concentrating on a comprehensive website, and providing as much information to our travelers as possible electronically, reducing the use of paper and inks.

On your trip we will include transport modes like traditional cycle rickshaws or boat rides, which reduces our carbon footprint and will also give you the opportunity to meet and interact with the local people. During your city explorations, we will give preference to slow, possibly non-motorized forms of mobility, such as city walks or bicycles. If motorized forms are unavoidable, we make sure that vehicle sizes are as small as appropriate and proper licensing on vehicles and certifying to national emission standards are maintained.

For your tour we have chosen responsible resorts like the Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur, which puts great effort towards reducing energy, waste and water footprint while leaving a positive impact in the destinations and the communities. Initiatives that are supported through your stay at the Taj group include the Olive Ridley Turtle Protection Programme to enhance the survival of this endangered species through educating locals and releasing hatchlings safely into the sea, or the Coral Regeneration Programme aimed to increase the coral coverage near the resort and create a healthy reef ecosystem, the innovative use of plastic bottles (to make park benches at the resort for example), or the use of green power (thermal use, wind turbine generator). To help the resorts reduce the impact of daily operations, the Taj partnered with EarthCheck - the world's leading environmental management, benchmarking and certification program for the travel and tourism industry.

People

We make sure we only work with local guides that come from the very region you are visiting. Through this trip you are hence giving back to their families and communities. While many operators pay per day or per tour, our guides receive an hourly rate which allows a fair and fruitful reward for their expertise. We provide staff with written employment contracts and fair working conditions (e.g. overtime payment, national wage requirements, no discrimination, grievance mechanisms in place and no child labour).

Furthermore we ensure that our drivers do not more than 9 hours of driving per day and are provided adequate accommodation and do not drive at night (with the exception of airport pick-ups/drop-offs). After a driving period of 4.5 h the driver must take a break of at least 45 min. Our tour guides receive special training in how to leave a lower impact on the trips and in regional conservation projects.

Staying at our hand-picked responsible hotels, you encourage the support of the local community, culture and traditions. The Taj group for example maintains time-honoured traditions central to the Indian homecoming. They provide jobs to the local community, support endangered artisan practices and revive regal history at palaces where royal families are still in residence.

Furthermore, over 7000 associates of ´Give Back´, an employee volunteer programme by the Taj group, invest their time in mentoring and guiding youngsters, cleaning the local neighbourhood, taking up activities in the areas of hygiene and sanitation, local education, bringing guests to local villages and supporting the preservation and promotion of local art and culture.

If you want to do additional shopping, we will take you to local markets where locals of that very region craft their products to help keep the money earned in that very community. When we take you to local shops or markets we change the selected shops on a rotating basis. Also we make sure food stops are at locally owned cafes or restaurants and give customers recommendations on locally owned shops and restaurants, especially new start-ups.

We ensure customer awareness by familiarizing our guests with local history, culture, religions and traditions, by informing on culturally appropriate behavior, (e.g. dress codes for religious sites, taking photographs of people, language tips, etc.).

By traveling with us, you help us support the Sharp Memorial School for the Blind in Dehradun. It´s India's oldest school for the visually impaired set in a wonderful location of the Indian Himalayas. Unfortunately the school's residents do not have the opportunity to see the wonderful surroundings but are cared for admirably by Mr Samuels, his wife Sumana and their wonderful team.