Tiger tour in India, land of the Tiger tour

Planet

Accommodation and Meals:
During your trip we will spend 13 nights in en suite hotels or lodges and 1 night on an air-conditioned sleeper train. The accommodation on this trip is largely locally staffed with a very high percentage coming from surrounding villages. This is a valuable form of employment in particular for the more remote communities on the peripheries of National Parks who have limited income alternatives. Lodges and resorts on this trip make big efforts towards environmental protection, with energy conservation measures, rain harvesting and waste management. Pench Jungle Camp Resort even has its own 'eco-park', home to spotted deer, nilgai and leopard and has been certified by ‘Travel Operators for Tigers’. The majority of vegetables, pulses, meat and fruit is sourced from local villages and transformed into delicious and plentiful meals. Free meal times can be used to explore authentic cuisine and to support small businesses- we can even organise a local village visit to see how homemade meals are usually prepared.

Activity:
Especially as this is a wildlife based tour, it is important for us to operate with a strict ‘leave no trace policy.’ This extends to our activity in and out of game drive territory and means we are vigilant with disposing of litter properly and careful not to intimidate or harm flora and fauna. A large part of ensuring that we behave responsibly on this trip is also to do with managing expectations. By appreciating the large array of species in the National Parks (monkeys, deer, nillgai, birdlife, plants, butterflies etc.) rather than just tigers, there is less temptation to crowd the animals. The park fees we pay to enter these areas go towards paying the wages of those who work there, development of park facilities, wildlife research and protection projects.

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

Charity
For years we have been involved in campaigning for tiger conservation in Bandhavgarh. In late summer 2014 we teamed up with The Corbett Foundation, an Indian charity dedicated to conservation-oriented research. They have proved instrumental in enabling us to get the funds to where they are needed. Through this we have now completed the building of a community hall at Tala Village, solar pumps in the park for wildlife and staff in the dry season, bio gas plants and smart stoves for villagers and provided the salary for 2 full time teachers at the government school. Our work in India continues to be of great significance and most recently we have been able to purchase a 4 wheel drive medical vehicle and pay for outreach medical support.

Local Craft and Culture:
The final two days of the trip are spent exploring Agra and Delhi, where there are a variety of handmade souvenir vendors and stalls selling authentic cuisine. Clients have the chance to visit the white marble Taj Mahal, built by the Moghul Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife. Within striking distance is the imposing Red Fort of Akbar, third of the Moghul Emperors, whose mighty sandstone walls enclose the beautiful white marble Pearl Mosque and the palaces, halls, courtyards and fountains of his successors. The markets of New and Old Delhi offer a variety of local handicrafts- from colourful scarves and handmade jewellery, to carved wooden statues and painted ceramics. Along with purchasing goods from local people, we can help the community and learn a lot more about culture and history by hiring local guides at each of these locations.

A Fair Deal:
We work closely with our local operator and ensure that local guides are being employed and that in exchange for their expertise that they are paid and treated fairly. The leaders will give a briefing on Responsible Tourism issues to help you understand how you can help reduce your impact and maximise the benefits to the local community from your visit. The trip runs through wildlife sectors in the rural areas of Madhya Pradesh and is major source of employment for local communities. The jeep hire, drivers, naturalists and all other supporting staff all come from villages which really benefit from this industry.

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.