Chile walking tour, lake and volcano district

Planet

We recycle all glass, cans and plastic waste. Luckily there are many recycling stations where we operate our tours. Moreover, when we do grocery shopping, we always bring our own non-plastic reusable bags. We try to buy in bulk as much as possible (to avoid unnecessary packaging), and use reusable plates and silverware during all our delicious picnic lunches.

Our tap water is not only safe, it tastes great, so we do not buy bottled water. We use big water containers to carry the water and encourage all our clients to refill their bottles with tap water from the Lake and Volcano District.

We are fully committed to the people of Chile and the World in order to conserve the ecosystems that are present within the Chilean territory. This commitment goes much further than just respecting these ecosystems during our tourist operations. Our company leads and supports projects that are directly related to the industry’s sustainable development, as well as those associated with wilderness conservation by private and local communities’ Land Trusts throughout Chile.

People

One hundred percent of our guides and drivers are local, and live with their families in the area they work and guide in. They all have a legal contract with us and we pay them wages well above average in the local tourism industry.

We work side by side with the indigenous communities of the Desert of Atacama. This is reflected in our visits to Likan Antay communities, where we pay fair prices (usually more than what they charge) and do not ask for “cultural” demonstrations. We let them decide when and what aspects of their culture they want to share with our clients. We encourage them to be genuine and include everyone in their families. We love having lunch or dinner cooked and presented by the indigenous women and usually share a “yerba mate” with the elders of the community. They have amazing stories to tell.

We take our guests to local markets, only when we know who the artists are and that their handcrafts are made in a sustainable way. Getting to know the people behind the product usually makes the tourist buy more and pay more.