Indian Himalayas cultural tour, foothills and faiths

Planet

On this tour in India, to help protect the environment, we avoid any domestic flights and build in journeys from Dharampur Himanchal to Shimla, Chandigarh to Haridwar and Haridwar to Delhi by train, as a way of both seeing more of the country from a different viewpoint as well as covering large distances in an efficient and environmentally friendly way.

Drinking water and the waste associated by single use plastic water bottles is something we are working hard on in India as well as other destinations. All travellers are encouraged to bring their own refillable water bottles and we are rolling out a program of providing large water canisters in our vehicles on group tours to take refills from. We are also offering water filtering bottles to travellers, all of which can vastly reduce waste generated by our customers both during the tour and on an ongoing basis.

Our India guides are strict in monitoring and preventing littering to protect the sites we visit and waste bins are provided in all vehicles.

Many of the sites we visit are incredibly important historical and natural wonders, and we encourage our travellers to treat these sites as such, sticking to marked paths, not climbing on ruins, picking wild plants or flowers, and avoiding disturbing the local wildlife as much as possible.

People

In India, we support local crafts makers and artists by visiting a couple of carefully selected local shops. Here travellers can learn about the historic methods of producing silk fabrics, marble, pottery and other crafts, as well as purchasing souvenirs if they wish. All products sold in these shops are sourced from the surrounding local communities.

We use only India guides and drivers, all trained and qualified which not only contributes towards the local economy and provides much needed jobs, but provides an insight into Indian culture which only a local could do.

All our India itineraries aim to provide a mix of classic sites and more out of the way places. To provide a more in depth experience of Indian culture, we explore on foot wherever possible and regularly stop to buy traditional local snacks and fruits from street vendors. We also aim to provide direct income and support to small businesses, families and accommodation owners in a variety of ways.

On this tour we explore the little visited Heritage Villages of Pragpur and Garli, walking through the winding cobbled lanes and discovering great examples of regional and colonial architecture. We stay in a converted chateau in Garli, and local guides to provide a better understanding of life in these fascinating villages.
While in Amritsar we spend an hour assisting in the community kitchen at the Sikh Golden Temple before dining with the pilgrims there.