India, Nepal and East Himalaya adventure holidays
| country: | India, Nepal |
| departures: | These trips can be tailor made throughout the year and can be adapted to suit your interests, budget and requirements as necessary |
| price: | From £675 - £855 (14-22 days) excluding flights. Price depends on choice of trip, see below for details |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
The Green Circuit is a combination of four fantastic adventure trips around the Himalayan region and Indian subcontinent. You can choose to combine all four trips for the full circuit, or pick and choose just one or a combination of any of the four. The Green Circuit experience tries to bring together some of the best 'responsible' products in the sub-continent together in a circuit, which can then be offered to travellers all around the world.
From £712 (14 days) ex flights.
Price includes: Accommodation, some meals, all local transport including airport transfers in an A/C vehicle, activities and entrance fees/interpreter/jungle guide for Jungle safari, Spice Tour, Thoni Cruise, Music Trail, Folk Expressions, Uravu centre visit, guided tour in Fort Cochin, all taxes.
This is a Kerala where the everyday and exotic merge seamlessly.
Malabar was once a British Principality of India. After Independence, Malabar as a state was no longer recognized and the region was divided to form the northern part of what is today called Kerala. Though Malabar has no geographical boundaries, no presence on a map of India, it still exists as a state of mind: laid-back, slow, to live and let live. This is the spirit we capture in this package that begins with Cochin and goes along backwaters, River Nila, Mountains of Wayanad, and ends at the virgin beaches of Kannur in Malabar region.
While most of Kerala is recognised as a traveller’s must–visit destination, Malabar is yet to be discovered. And hence to the uninitiated offers a plethora of delights ranging from a river cruise to legend trails to spice tours to tea estate visits to craft villages and heritage sites.
For a traveller who is weary of experiencing shrink wrapped plastic package tours, the Malabar leg comes minus hype and spin and instead is a way of life that asks little of the traveller except an open mind.
East India: Orissa Odyssey
From £855 (15 days) ex flights.
Price includes: Accommodation, 4 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 4 dinners, activities. Please allow approx. €10 per day for additional meals.
An epic adventure through timeless India.
Stretching from the bustle of India’s renown cultural capital Kolkata, through vast tracts of pastoral plains and palm-fringed paddies, to dense mangroves and tranquil boat rides twisting though the tangled mangrove forest of Bhitarkanika National Park, this trip is an adventure through this beautiful country. From natural wonders to the irrepressible man-made marvels of ancient India’s earliest temples at Bhubaneshwar and Konark to the sea swept coastal town of Puri, one of India’s Char Dhams (four holy hotspots of Hinduism). Cruise along Chilika Lake, Asia’s largest salt lake lagoon and camp under a starlit sky.
Join festive weekly markets where indigenous cultures converge; interact with peoples imbued with centuries of independent traditions. Traverse rustic countryside and tap into the simple pleasures of village life in timeless rural India.
Nepal: the Tamang Heritage Trail
From £675 (17 days) ex flights.
Price includes: Accommodation, activities, transport
An adventure of heritage sightseeing, moderate trekking and jungle safari.
About 150 years ago, Nepal fought Tibet over salt, and some of the biggest areas where this war took place is in the Langtang Region of Nepal, wherein lies the third most popular trekking trail in Nepal. This area is connected to Tibet and the trails in this region were used by traders from Tibet bartering in Salt and mountain goats for meat (changra) with foodstuffs from the south. Developed by the Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Program, the "Tamang Heritage Trail" is the newly developed tourism product, off the beaten track, which highlights an ancient lifestyle combining it with picturesque scenery and healing baths in natural hot springs.
This trip will be preceded by a trip to Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, as you come across from India into Nepal. Once the trek is over, we will take you to the famous Chitwan National Park for some game viewing and jungle activities including Elephant back safari. You will also visit a project on papermaking from Elephant dung.
Eastern Himalaya: Red Panda Tea and Elephant Trail
From £840 (22 days) ex flights.
Price includes: Accommodation on twin share basis, all meals, transfers and excursions by dedicated SUV, acompanying English-speaking guide, basic porterage for the trek, entrance and park fees and bottled water
This trip brings together fascinating culture and wildlife with tea gardens!
East Himalaya is a part of one of the Eight hottest biodiversity hotspots of the world. This is a part of the Indo-Burma region. Other then India, the East Himalaya touches the countries of Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and West Bengal occupies more than 100,000 sq. kms of East Himalaya approx. which is about 25% of the Indian Himalaya.
This shows a major portion of the Himalaya is existent in the East. Similarly, the whole of Nepal and Bhutan are a part of the East Himalaya.
The topography varies from the estuarine landscape, passing through low foothills reaching up to the highest mountains of the world, Mt. Everest and Mt. Kanchenjunga. A massive area is covered with snow glaciers feeding a large network of rivers. The areas below the snow are mainly used for forestry, agriculture, grassland habitations and infrastructure such as dams, reservoirs and roads. The forest cover is about 140,000 sq. kms even after losing about two third of the forest in the last few decades. The East Himalaya is the home of more than a hundred indigenous communities, with unique cultures & origin.
Keeping in view whatever little that has been described, the ecological importance of the region is beyond question. The ethnic diversity is so vast that more than 50% of the population and their cultures are still waiting to be explored. Mt.Kanchenjunga, towering at 28,156 feet, the third highest mountain in the world is considered as the Guardian Deity of the region and dominates the landscape of the whole area including Darjeeling Hills, Dooars-the foothill forests, Sikkim state and the Kingdom of Bhutan.
Your experience in this tour includes unique opportunities to visit the picturesque and remote Himalayan villages, Tea Plantations, and some of the outstanding ecological sites, and interact with the local community. Enjoy a taste of their lifestyle and be a part of it while staying with them, experience local crafts, cuisine and even be entertained in their local cultural tradition. The people of villages are your hosts. They have proudly retained most of their cultural tradition and self-sustaining lifestyle.
trip outlines
South India - The Malabar Holidays From £712 (14 days) ex flights.
Price includes: Accommodation, some meals, all local transport including airport transfers in an A/C vehicle, activities and entrance fees/interpreter/jungle guide for Jungle safari, Spice Tour, Thoni Cruise, Music Trail, Folk Expressions, Uravu centre visit, guided tour in Fort Cochin, all taxes.
This is a Kerala where the everyday and exotic merge seamlessly. Malabar was once a British Principality of India. After Independence, Malabar as a state was no longer recognized and the region was divided to form the northern part of what is today called Kerala. Though Malabar has no geographical boundaries, no presence on a map of India, it still exists as a state of mind: laid-back, slow, to live and let live. This is the spirit we capture in this package that begins with Cochin and goes along backwaters, River Nila, Mountains of Wayanad, and ends at the virgin beaches of Kannur in Malabar region.
While most of Kerala is recognised as a traveller’s must–visit destination, Malabar is yet to be discovered. And hence to the uninitiated offers a plethora of delights ranging from a river cruise to legend trails to spice tours to tea estate visits to craft villages and heritage sites.
For a traveller who is weary of experiencing shrink wrapped plastic package tours, the Malabar leg comes minus hype and spin and instead is a way of life that asks little of the traveller except an open mind.
East India: Orissa Odyssey
From £855 (15 days) ex flights.
Price includes: Accommodation, 4 breakfasts, 5 lunches, 4 dinners, activities. Please allow approx. €10 per day for additional meals.
An epic adventure through timeless India. Stretching from the bustle of India’s renown cultural capital Kolkata, through vast tracts of pastoral plains and palm-fringed paddies, to dense mangroves and tranquil boat rides twisting though the tangled mangrove forest of Bhitarkanika National Park, this trip is an adventure through this beautiful country. From natural wonders to the irrepressible man-made marvels of ancient India’s earliest temples at Bhubaneshwar and Konark to the sea swept coastal town of Puri, one of India’s Char Dhams (four holy hotspots of Hinduism). Cruise along Chilika Lake, Asia’s largest salt lake lagoon and camp under a starlit sky.
Join festive weekly markets where indigenous cultures converge; interact with peoples imbued with centuries of independent traditions. Traverse rustic countryside and tap into the simple pleasures of village life in timeless rural India.
Nepal: the Tamang Heritage Trail
From £675 (17 days) ex flights.
Price includes: Accommodation, activities, transport
An adventure of heritage sightseeing, moderate trekking and jungle safari. About 150 years ago, Nepal fought Tibet over salt, and some of the biggest areas where this war took place is in the Langtang Region of Nepal, wherein lies the third most popular trekking trail in Nepal. This area is connected to Tibet and the trails in this region were used by traders from Tibet bartering in Salt and mountain goats for meat (changra) with foodstuffs from the south. Developed by the Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Program, the "Tamang Heritage Trail" is the newly developed tourism product, off the beaten track, which highlights an ancient lifestyle combining it with picturesque scenery and healing baths in natural hot springs.
This trip will be preceded by a trip to Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha, as you come across from India into Nepal. Once the trek is over, we will take you to the famous Chitwan National Park for some game viewing and jungle activities including Elephant back safari. You will also visit a project on papermaking from Elephant dung.
Eastern Himalaya: Red Panda Tea and Elephant Trail
From £840 (22 days) ex flights.
Price includes: Accommodation on twin share basis, all meals, transfers and excursions by dedicated SUV, acompanying English-speaking guide, basic porterage for the trek, entrance and park fees and bottled water
This trip brings together fascinating culture and wildlife with tea gardens! East Himalaya is a part of one of the Eight hottest biodiversity hotspots of the world. This is a part of the Indo-Burma region. Other then India, the East Himalaya touches the countries of Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and West Bengal occupies more than 100,000 sq. kms of East Himalaya approx. which is about 25% of the Indian Himalaya.
This shows a major portion of the Himalaya is existent in the East. Similarly, the whole of Nepal and Bhutan are a part of the East Himalaya.
The topography varies from the estuarine landscape, passing through low foothills reaching up to the highest mountains of the world, Mt. Everest and Mt. Kanchenjunga. A massive area is covered with snow glaciers feeding a large network of rivers. The areas below the snow are mainly used for forestry, agriculture, grassland habitations and infrastructure such as dams, reservoirs and roads. The forest cover is about 140,000 sq. kms even after losing about two third of the forest in the last few decades. The East Himalaya is the home of more than a hundred indigenous communities, with unique cultures & origin.
Keeping in view whatever little that has been described, the ecological importance of the region is beyond question. The ethnic diversity is so vast that more than 50% of the population and their cultures are still waiting to be explored. Mt.Kanchenjunga, towering at 28,156 feet, the third highest mountain in the world is considered as the Guardian Deity of the region and dominates the landscape of the whole area including Darjeeling Hills, Dooars-the foothill forests, Sikkim state and the Kingdom of Bhutan.
Your experience in this tour includes unique opportunities to visit the picturesque and remote Himalayan villages, Tea Plantations, and some of the outstanding ecological sites, and interact with the local community. Enjoy a taste of their lifestyle and be a part of it while staying with them, experience local crafts, cuisine and even be entertained in their local cultural tradition. The people of villages are your hosts. They have proudly retained most of their cultural tradition and self-sustaining lifestyle.
travelling with a local operator
This holiday is operated by a company based in the holiday destination and they will be able to provide expert local knowledge. They will be able to tailor make your holiday to suit your requirements not only concerning the dates of travel but also typically the standard of accommodation, and thus price. It is rare for local operators to be able to help with the booking of your flights.how this holiday makes a difference
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These trips showcase the best of East Himalaya and the remarkable National Parks and protected areas where some of the most endangered and outstanding wild species are thriving in their natural habitats, and where the local communities are committed wildlife conservationists.
Apart from visiting important heritage sites, cultural sites and wilderness areas you will spend a considerable part of your trip volunteering in various areas to help the local villagers in their social development and conservation efforts. In addition, you will interact meaningfully with the local people in their daily life, and get to go on numerous bird and game adventure trips through these remarkable ecosystems. Your experience in the trip does not end with the wildlife: you will have the opportunity to visit the villages and interact with the local community. Enjoy a taste of their lifestyle, local crafts, cuisine and even be entertained in their local rural culture and festivals. Community Your visit contributes to a great extent in supporting the sustainable development of the local community and the conservation of the forest and the wildlife. The entire trip engages the local villagers as staff, guides and service providers; for transportation, camping, cultural performance, village experience. Local grass-root organizations, community groups, self-help groups will organize and lead your volunteering and conservation activities. The local organizer of the trip is a pioneer in Responsible Tourism in India and is well-known for their leadership in spreading the benefits of sustainable tourism in the region. Environment The trip strictly follows the responsible wildlife watching and environmental policies. The food served in the trip is mostly organic and sourced completely locally. Waste management and waste disposal are maintained with paramount importance. The lodges used in the trip are known for their stewardship in Responsible and environment-friendly tourism and are made in local style using local materials by local artisans and craftsmen following sustainable design. More than 70% benefit of the trip goes straight to the communities and is spent for protection of natural and cultural heritage of the sites and also for various social upliftment programmes. Orissa Odyssey At the root of our operations is our sense of responsibility toward the communities and the natural habitat we invest so much time. Our ground practices are aimed at respecting places, people and their diverse cultures. On the Orissa Odyssey we traverse Bhitarkanika National Park’s dense mangrove forest by private boat. This allows us to penetrate deep into the jungle without disturbing the fragile ecosystem. In the untapped forests of South Western Orissa we respect the ancient walking tracks set out by indigenous people centuries ago. Following their footsteps keeps erosion to a minimum and ensures we meet these communities at their comfort level. We take advantage of the opportunity to camp at Chilika Lake and on the fringe of a tropical jungle, both places of spectacular natural beauty. When camping we take the support of the local community and maintain a respectful distance from the village. The community appoints a representative responsible for our welfare throughout our stay and with the help of local villagers co-ordinates various interactive activities. We visit a local potters village where after a demonstration we have the opportunity to mould the clay with our own hands. The village gets a real kick out of an inevitable recognition of their skills. Similarly we draw attention to other marginalised communities providing opportunities to folk artists, crafts men and women and tribal communities to share their indigenous knowledge and reaffirm their unique (and in some cases endangered) cultures. Our cooperation with these rural and tribal communities is an essential recognition of their valuable traditional culture and provides a supplementary income through responsible tourism. Local leaders accompany all our journeys. They facilitate greater local interaction and coordinate with rural and tribal communities throughout to give you remarkable authentic experiences. All Grass Routes employees are from the local area. Furthermore we employ local experts along the way to spread educative and economic benefits throughout the greater community. We promote local and indigenous handicrafts and provide opportunities to purchase directly from farmers, weavers and crafts people. We have designed this tour around vibrant weekly markets that showcase season local produce conscientiously supporting organic farming, hand crafted wares and fair trade. Tamang heritage Trail Travel through this company makes a direct impact in the economy of Nepal. We also try to maximise our contribution to the local economy by hiring local guides and porters for these trips and staying in smaller lodges to spread the income. The company does not vertically integrate and sub-contracts all support activities like transportation, lodging etc so that the money gets spread in the economy. It conserves on paper minimising paperwork in the office and by giving out electronic brochures. When required, brochures are printed on both sides of the paper and are in a folder format so that only relevant inserts need be given. We have also put in place a development support system whereby 10% of our profits go to charities like the Joy Foundation Nepal who conduct free cataract eye camps in rural areas of Nepal and Antardristi Nepal, which is developing a fund to start a incest and rape care centre for minors. 10% of the company's profits also goes directly into employee benefits. In the field, guides, porters and clients are all oriented in responsible travel. A zero litter policy is in place so that it minimises wastage in the region. We also only takes out very small groups with a maximum of twelve participants per group. All trips also focus on culture. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |