Siberia holiday, nature and culture

Siberia holiday, nature and culture

How this holiday makes a difference

Environment

This tour travels through some remote and often pristine environments. We make a point of ensuring that we do not leave any permanent traces of our stay behind, making sure that we take all litter with us.

The camps and local homes that we stay in use predominantly local produce in the preparation of meals, avoiding as much as possible bringing food from far away and thus reducing carbon footprints. The yurt camps are equipped with biological toilets to reduce the impact of visitors upon the local environment.

We work with our local suppliers to highlight best practice in terms of environmental issues, an important effort in a country where the environment is often taken for granted.

Community

On this trip we are staying in areas that see very little tourism, some of which have strong cultural traditions. We ensure that our clients are carefully briefed on local customs in order that we do not inadvertently cause offence. When visiting villages and settlements we make use of local guides from that region, who are able to explain to us the cultures and customs of the people and ensure that we do not unwittingly offend our hosts. This also helps to provide employment and income for rural communities.

We spend a night in the small village of Tanzybey, as guests of a local family; usually well off the tourist trail, the inclusion of a night here helps a remote community realise a benefit from small scale and sensitive tourism and fosters a greater sense of cultural exchange.

We visit a number of important archaeological sites on this tour and the entrance fees that we pay at these sites helps fund their preservation and ensure that this aspect of Russia’s cultural heritage remains for others to enjoy in years to come. In addition to this we visit sites that contain ancient and fragile rock paintings that are very susceptible to damage. We make a point of advising our travellers not to touch these valuable paintings to ensure that they remain as they are.

Our philosophy is to only use small and locally owned suppliers, meaning that the income remains within the country and creates a real economic contribution. We also feel that the passion inherent within such suppliers means that your experience will be enhanced. We also try to engage with our suppliers on an equal basis – getting the lowest possible price usually isn’t the best outcome for local communities and is ultimately unsustainable. We aim to always treat our suppliers fairly and with respect; they are after all part of the key to our success and to us working together is much more than just a business arrangement, but an ongoing relationship that we aim to ensure truly benefits everyone involved.

We believe that tourism is a double edged sword that needs to be wielded very carefully. Our philosophy is to have a limited amount of departures - usually between one and three a year - for each of our itineraries. By limiting our presence in areas where local culture can be quite fragile, we hope to avoid as much as possible the phenomenon whereby an area changes in character due to repeated and prolonged exposure to tourism. We want to visit an area as friends, not intruders and to ensure that what we see will also be there for others to enjoy for many years to come.

We only employ local staff and unlike many operators we believe that to send a foreign Tour Leader along to accompany your trip is an unnecessary burden on your wallet and our carbon footprint. We believe that locals know best. Our local operators only use locally owned accommodation. This means your money stays in the area to benefit the local community. When possible we use local transport, (i.e. rail or bus) and we always use local restaurants, markets and shops and encourage our clients to interact both financially and socially with the communities that they are passing through. In doing this your travels are supporting and encouraging the development of local services.

Siberia holiday, nature and culture