Central Asia overland adventure holiday

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION
In line with the majority of our tours, internal flights are not used as a form of transport during this trip. We travel overland across and between countries in our own custom built expedition vehicle which can carry up to 24 people.

Approximately 70% of the time on this trip is spent camping, often out in the wild, as well as at designated camp sites. Camping obviously involves minimal use of electricity and if we're out in the wild there is no chance to leave taps running, the air conditioning, heating or lights on!

Our trip pre-departure dossier includes information on how our travellers can reduce the carbon footprint of their trip, in particular of their international flight. This information is also available to read on our website and includes taking direct flights, choosing to travel on newer aircraft and travelling economy class as well as checking the carbon emissions of a flight on sources such as Skyscanner or Google Flights.

ENVIRONMENT AND WILDLIFE
We travel through the Tajik (Pamir) National Park and the entrance fee we pay of approximately US$10 per person goes towards the protection of this mountain environment which includes the longest valley glacier outside the north and south pole areas. The park is home to extremely rare wildlife such as the snow leopard, Marco Polo Argali sheep and Siberian ibex.

All our clients receive information on how to travel responsibly at the time of booking and this is re-iterated by our crew at the start of each trip. Included in this are suggestions on how to reduce negative impacts on wildlife and nature in general, including observing national park rules and guidelines, not buying wildlife products and supporting conservation projects in the areas you are visiting.

People

LOCAL ECONOMY
The majority of accommodation we use are small locally owned hotels, hostels and campsites and our crew pay the owners directly which saves them unnecessary and expensive bank charges. We occasionally stay in homestays, for instance in Karakol and at Lake Song Kol we stay in traditional yurts. This additional income for the local community is further augmented by guided hiking or horse riding opportunities. This not only creates income for our hosts but also provides an opportunity for our travellers to learn about their culture.

EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY AND DIVERSITY
We use a Kyrgyz operator that we have worked with for many years, to provide us with excursion drivers and guides. These are all from Kyrgyzstan, for example the horse riding guides at Lake Song Kol are from the surrounding communities. At sites of interest, we use local guides to impart their expert knowledge, for example at the many silk road sites in Uzbekistan’s cities.