Yoga retreat in Bulgaria

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION

This mountain yoga retreat has a primary eco focus. During this holiday we will visit the hotels and places owned/maintained by local people who are committed to an ethical and moral responsibility to minimise negative impacts and maximise benefits of close touch to nature with respect to the environment.

Our Accommodation during this holiday is in a typical Bulgarian house /chalet in a Bansko resort (private and shared rooms). The house combines the traditional alpine style exterior with original features such as a large open log fire, restored wooden flooring and exposed beams, creating a warm, homely ambiance – designed to inspire comfort and relaxation.
The house offers guests seasonal food, vegan and/or vegetarian dishes with the ingredients from the local farms, which helps a lot for the economy and stimulates the local communities.
The variety in the local gardens is huge – tomatoes and cucumbers, watermelons and melons, zucchini and salads, green beans, potatoes and many others.
Almost all of the wild herbs of Bulgaria can be found right here – at our beautiful valleys, in the foothills of the Pirin mountains. Inspired by the intoxicating aroma of mountain herbs, our host in the house has created their own signature recipe for the perfect homemade dishes.

Transportation during the holiday. We provide all our guests with an information pack in advance regarding the local rules or guidelines that will affect them.
We are strongly determined to use environmentally friendly and electric vehicles for the transfers and where possible public transport and avoid use of internal flights for the transfers., which we believe that helps a lot to reduce the carbon footprint.
Therefore 90 % of our day activities are by human powered transport (Walking), avoiding using as many vehicles as possible.

ENVIRONMENT & WILDLIFE

This retreat takes place in a Bansko - Pirin National Park (UNESCO World Heritage) is a picturesque town located in the foothills of Pirin natural reserve. Its beauty and natural treasures – thousand year old forests, mountain lakes, mighty peaks, thermal springs, wild berries make it a piece of paradise on earth. In summer it is sunny and quiet and it is a perfect place for a break from the city madness, connection with nature and self-discovery.

The park managers aim to preserve and maintain the biological diversity, to protect the wild nature and provide opportunities for scientific and educational activities, development of tourism and ecological way of the population’s life.

Therefore, our local trip leaders (certificated yoga instructor and mountain guide) considered it of great importance to give correct information on how to avoid detriment to the natural environment and wildlife, avoid human footprint, be environmentally friendly and be a very positive example for the locals.
Remind guests to minimize the trace throughout the holiday. Usually, the most places we pass through have recycling options, so we encourage everyone to use them for specific items. When this is not possible, we carry back all rubbish at the hotel and throw it in the correct waste bins.

We encourage our guests and the owners of the accommodations to have good waste management (i.s. water waste, plastic bags and bottles). We explain to our guests the need for water conservation worldwide and advise them on how to minimise their water waste.
As the water from natural springs in all areas is drinkable we encourage our guests to bring refillable water bottles.

All the hiking routes used in this holiday have been existing, marked and regularly maintained trails in collaboration with local authorities and local communities.
This helps people use the intended routes and reduces any possible damage to the surrounding wild areas.
Therefore, in this walking holiday by using local services/facilities we donated to the local communities to maintain the trails, churches, monuments, plant trees, place new bird boxes and other wildlife in a national park.

Everything starts at home. As a company orientated to the green tourism, we maintain strong recycling policies (Waste electronic equipment, batteries, toners and ink-jet or fax cartridges will be recycled back to the company of origin wherever possible), energy conservation measures, avoiding using paper tickets and paper advertising materials to all of our activities.
We engage our operatives with regular training in the way to improve our vision of reducing as much as possible the pollutants and be very positive examples to our guests and locals.
The various education activities run by the company to the operatives and partners such as avoiding waste, cutting food waste, plant trees, use of reusable bags, drive less etc, helps a lot to run this holiday in an environmental and wildlife friendly way.

People

LOCAL ECONOMY
 
Mountain retreats are perfect for someone who just wants to let go, recharge energy, be active in nature or simply relax and have fun. Regardless of your Yoga level or sportive skills, everyone is welcome!

These retreats will take you on a journey to connect with yourself, nature, new people, a new culture and new practices.
Also, this holiday encourages guests to have a positive effect by engaging with locals, using local facilities, locally owned shops, mini-markets, bakeries, restaurants and investing in traditional gifts and local produce.
 Part of the income from visitors is used to maintain footpaths, churches, local museums and cultural monuments from being damaged.
-Maintaining and restoring biodiversity.
-Protection and restoration of natural habitats and populations of plant and animal species or the conditions in their habitats.
-Conservation and management of landscape components.
-Regeneration of forests and protection against erosion and maintenance of architectural elements for recreation and tourism.

All those projects help a lot for national parks and restricted areas to combines adventure and sustainability perfectly.

In this mountain retreat we make sure that we are working with local partners who have same vision as us, helps develop the local economy by spending money for fair wages to the locally hired staff, facilities, running education programs for developing green tourism every year and useful reduce the pollution which have essential role in contributing to the local economy.
 All suppliers and ingredients come from the local farms and small and mostly use of the seasonal food, agricultural and livestock production of the region of Pirin mountain.
 
EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY AND DIVERSITY

The main goal in this holiday is to inspire people to live healthier and happier lives, aware of all the boundless possibilities of self-improvement that nature and yoga can give us.
 
Responsible travel and sustainable tourism are fundamental ideas that we have been running since we began our activities.
These are the main leading points when employ/hire or working with other third-party partners.
We make sure that our operatives are selected by location where the experience takes place and have knowledge, love and attitude to truism and nature. For us everyone is welcome in a club of truism and nature lovers, no matter the background such as Cultural, Age, Racial, Gender, Sexual, Disability, Religious.
Another very important part of our company policy is our operatives and partners to be satisfied with the services provided by them. Therefore, the payment of Fair wages according to local authorities is one of the key factors to stimulate the operatives and partners to maintain and improve their skills and abilities of commitment to responsible tourism and helping to preserve the local areas.
Our experienced local tour guides /yoga instructors have a lot to share with you regarding the local nature, traditions and history, sharing with you their ideas and love for their land. You will feel more like a part of the community and less like a tourist.
Very often in the region where our activities are, if you ask where you are staying, the answer of the locals will be to let you know you are very welcome.
 
By taking part of this mountain retreat or any other of our established tours you will bring work and income to the local communities, social projects that we and our local partners support including school for orphans, refugee camps, homeless people and various programs of for education regarding responsible travel and attitude to the nature.