Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan, lying at the heart of Central Asia on the old Silk Road, is a vast country the size of Western Europe yet with a human population of just 17 million. It is a land of great stone and sand deserts and grassy steppes fringed by the towering snowy peaks of the Tien Shan Mountains, a northern extension of the mighty Himalaya.

On this 16-day botany and birdwatching holiday, we travel in a small group of between 6 and 16 and are escorted from the UK by an expert British ornithologist. We are additionally cared for by one of Kazakhstan’s leading botanists, plus a large team of local drivers, guides, cooks and camp staff, since the lack of accommodation outside the capital, Almaty, generally means that we have to set up our own fully serviced tented camps to enable us to access the best of Kazakhstan’s unpeopled deserts, steppes, lakes, marshes and mountains.

The exception is in the Tien Shan Mountains, where we are fortunate to have the use of a most hospitable family-run guesthouse, close to Aksu Dzabagly Reserve, as well as rooms offered at a fascinating Astronomical Observatory where we may use the incredible former Soviet telescope to observe the night sky. This tour promises spectacular scenery, exciting birdlife and colourful flora, as well as the chance of encountering a few of the specialised mammal species such as the rare Goitered Gazelle. The tour’s avoidance altogether of purpose-built tourist facilities, and reliance upon local staff to support our every need, makes this a particularly low impact tour… yet one that is most beneficial to the local economy.

As a company we have achieved AITO’s top level, 3-star Responsible Tourism accreditation and we have always tried to operate our holidays in an environmentally responsible manner, striving to contribute to wildlife conservation and habitat preservation at all times.

Our policy includes:

To focus, particularly, on visiting areas which do not benefit from the rewards of mass market tourism.

To minimise environmental damage by exploring in small groups and, as much as possible, on foot.

To use, wherever possible, local guides. 

To involve local communities and to ensure that they receive a fair share of  the benefits of wildlife tourism.

To use, wherever possible, small, locally owned accommodations & specialist local agents/ground operators. 

To purchase, where possible, local produce.

To develop and commit to long-term plans to visit rural areas and support the local communities.

To contribute financially to projects local to the areas that we visit (ie. schools, hospitals, etc.)

To educate the local people on the importance and long-term benefits of wildlife tourism.

To keep our clients well-informed on aspects of wildlife management and conservation.

To work with British and overseas conservation organisations to develop new wildlife tourism destinations.

To run our UK office in as energy-efficient a manner as possible.

We also encourage our clients to offset their carbon dioxide emissions.