Corsica walking holiday

This is a week's walking based at a hotel called 'Les jardins de la Glaciere'. The hotel is locally owned and situated at the entrance of the Restonica Gorge beside a pounding mountain torrent. The hotel is so named because historically it was the place where large slabs of ice were made. Before the time of fridges and freezers, the ice was sold all over the island. The proprietor, Jean Christophe Barrau, is a local Corsican and with the help of his family, he has worked on the original building to create a rural oasis of calm using local materials and labour. The rooms are rustic and comfortable and the garden has a lovely swimming pool and jacuzzi, as well as a large rock pool ideal for an invigorating dip.

The hotel uses a palette of cleaning materials that are all Bio friendly and are used in small individual doses to avoid using excessive quantities. On arrival at the hotel, each client is offered an eco friendly option. If you choose this, your towels are changed when they are dirty and not systematically every day. Equally, the soap is replaced when necessary and not daily. A local company in the nearby area that produces cheeses and charcuterie on a small scale supplies the food at the hotel. This provides direct employment within the hotel, and has the effect of percolating money beyond to small businesses that supply the hotel and in this way money is spread throughout the region we visit. Walkers buy their picnics in town from the local market; produce consists of seasonal fruit and vegetables, a multitude of smoked meats and a selection of different cheeses. By doing this we support local commerce, growers and shepherds.

The Restonica valley is one of the most spectacular glacier gorges in the Mediterranean. The groups explore on foot to ensure minimum impact on the gorge, which is a protected area and classed as a site of world beauty. The guides themselves explain to the groups the various approaches to environmentally conscious tourism and to ensure they are sensitive to their surrounding environment e.g. carrying out everything that is taken in on the walks such as unsightly banana skins, orange skins and toilet paper. The valley has a huge bio diversity and is home to many birds some of which are endemic to the island. The valley also boasts a rare couple of lammergeiers, as well as golden eagles and mountain chouffs.

As well as the above, we support a variety of charities and projects worldwide which support vulnerable communities and habitats including Friends of Conservation, Hope Worldwide and Send A Cow. We are also actively engaged with UK travel industry bodies which promote best practice in responsible tourism, such as Tourism Concern, The Travel Foundation and AITO. Our commitment to responsible tourism is not limited to our overseas operation and we have measures to ensure our UK office operates according to our responsible tourism policy. Carbon offsets for all flights booked with us are included in the tour cost.