Golden Triangle and Kerala Tour

Planet

This vacation is arranged on an individual basis and all the accommodation owners are committed to operating in an environmentally friendly way. The accommodation owners on this tour are extremely proud of their strong policies regarding the environment and ecotourism.

Three of the accommodation options on this vacation are homestays. Homestays have a low environmental impact as it is simply a home owner inviting paying guests to stay with them. The house will be in character with the other homes in the area.

Our houseboat operator has a fleet of 25 boats and all are registered and therefore conform to the environmental regulations set by the Kerala government. There are strict rules regarding houseboats including waste management, less polluting engines, solar panels to heat water etc. This tour includes two nights on board which means the cruise will take you away from the busiest waterways.

The average Indian uses about a tenth of the plastic used by the average Westerner. Recycling in India is almost part of their culture as they don’t like to waste anything and there have always been poor people willing to sort through rubbish and collect it for recycling. In recent years the recycling industry has boomed. Many places ban the use of single use plastics and you will see signs along the roadsides advising that you are entering a ‘Plastic Free Zone’. Good intentions indeed – but we have discovered that even government hotels within a plastic free zone will put a single use straw in your drink! Clearly there is still much work to be done – but many individuals are doing their best to minimise use and recycle as much as possible. You will notice if you do any shopping during your vacation that paper or fabric bags (sometimes made from an old sari) are more common than plastic bags in many sectors.

People

Our local agents in both North and South India are small independent companies employing local people who are dependent on tourism for their living.

The accommodation on this tour is a mixture of homestays, guesthouses, a houseboat and small Indian owned hotels. By supporting locally owned businesses we are helping to provide employment for local communities. Many people from the small Indian villages will start work in a nearby homestay and, if they enjoy the work, move on to small hotels and then larger ones. If they ever feel ready to move onto larger hotels the Taj Group have their own well established and respected training school.

The guides supplied are local people too and dependant on tourism for earning their living. In the wildlife sanctuary at Periyar visitors are not allowed to enter the forest without a guide. Most of the guides have lived in the area all their lives so know it well. We also suggest when appropriate to do so you talk to the guide about their life in Thekkady.

All of our customers are supplied with detailed information about their vacation. We supply general advice relevant to all customers as well as more specific facts about your particular tour. These documents offer our customers lots of advice and guidance including how to obtain an Indian Visa, which immunisations are recommended, how much to tip people, how to dress appropriately and how to behave in National Parks.

We support local charities and invite our customers to do so too (details are supplied with your travel documents).