Luxury Rajasthan holiday, 14 days

Planet

We put a lot of thought in working with local providers, making sure that everyone involved in your trip is committed to sharing advice on how best to leave a lighter footprint. We promote excursions which foster a more sustainable tourism and commit to maintaining small-group sizes to limit negative environmental impacts in accordance to the carrying capacity of the visited site.

We are trying to keep the extra unneeded waste to a minimum in all our tours through our “bring it in, bring it out” policy for litter and rubbish such as food packaging and recycling wherever possible.

We have a recycling policy in our UK and local offices and re-use or recycle the information booklets we provide to every client on arrival wherever possible. Moreover, we do not produce a glossy brochure, concentrating on a comprehensive website, and providing as much information to our travellers as possible electronically, reducing the use of paper and inks.

On your trip we will include transport modes like traditional rickshaws, boat rides or a ride on a horse carriage to the Taj Mahal, which reduces our carbon footprint and will also give you the opportunity to meet and interact with the local people. During your city explorations, we will give preference to slow, possibly non-motorized forms of mobility, such as city walks or bicycles. If motorized forms are unavoidable, we make sure that vehicle sizes are as small as appropriate and proper licensing on vehicles and certifying to national emission standards are maintained.

For your tour we have chosen responsible resorts like the Tree House Resort, nestled among the undulating centuries old Aravali Hills. A percentage of its monthly earnings goes towards various renewable projects in the local area, such as continuously creating awareness amongst team members and guests of the impact of greenhouse gases, using all possible means of renewable energy and energy conservation (solar panels, use of natural stone and lime instead of cement and iron), and advocating the need for water harvesting and recycling (natural landscaping requiring minimum use of water, filtering and recycling water system for irrigation). The Tree of Life Resort works on the principles of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, which form the basics of the work schedule of each and every team member at the resort.

You will also stay at the ecological responsible Leela Palace in Udaipur. The Leela hotel group uses biodegradable detergents in its properties, avoids plastic and exercises strict controls on the usage of electricity, water, heating and lighting, with numerous international and national awards for initiatives towards environment conservation. The resorts implement state-of-the-art waste management practices with the emphasis on conserving all possible natural resources and complying with every applicable legislative and regulatory strictures and procedures. The group moreover landscaped wide swathes of urban property with over 6000 coconut palms and thousands of trees to beautify and cleanse the air.

Through this trip you will contribute to the preservation of precious ancient monuments, knowledge and Unesco World Heritage sites. You will visit the Red Fort for example, demonstrating the exceptional results achieved in planning and architecture. Or you will contribute to the maintenance of the most significant, most comprehensive, and best preserved stone observatory in India, the Jantar Mantar in Jaipur.

People

We make sure we only work with local guides that come from the very region you are visiting. Through this trip you are hence giving back to their families and communities.

While many operators pay per day or per tour, our guides receive an hourly rate which allows a fair and fruitful reward for their expertise. We provide staff with written employment contracts and fair working conditions (e.g. overtime payment, national wage requirements, no discrimination, grievance mechanisms in place and no child labour). Our tour guides also receive special training in how to leave a lower impact on the trips and in regional conservation projects.

We ensure that our drivers do not more than 9 hours of driving per day and are provided adequate accommodation and do not drive at night (with the exception of airport pick-ups/drop-offs). After a driving period of 4.5 h the driver must take a break of at least 45 min.

Through your stay at the hotels we have chosen, like The Tree of Life resort, you will contribute to organisations that are supporting the local community to the most. The Tree of Life resort for example shares the village with families dependant on farming and livestock. The local community has been involved in the hotel project right from the conceptual stage, with the workforce coming from the village itself. The Tree of Life Resort & Spa has adopted the local school and is working towards making the children computer literate by providing computers and training and making efforts to teach them basic English. They are also setting up a local dispensary to provide medical facilities free of cost, especially to young children and the elderly.

By staying at the Oberoi hotel we chose for you in Agra, you will contribute to an organisation which is conscious of its role in the community, supporting social needs and ensuring employment from within the local community. You will enjoy a place where the staff are nurtured through continuous learning and skill improvement; and are respected, heard and encouraged to do their best. The Oberoi Group is recognised as best practice for training and developing its people.

If you want to do souvenir shopping, we will take you to local markets where locals of that very region craft their products to help keep the money earned in that very community. When we take you to local shops or markets we change the selected shops on a rotating basis. Also we make sure food stops are at locally owned cafes or restaurants and give customers recommendations on locally owned shop and restaurants, especially new start-ups.

We ensure customer awareness by familiarizing our guests with local history, culture, religions and traditions, by informing on culturally appropriate behavior, (e.g. dress codes for religious sites, taking photographs of people, language tips, etc.).

On your trip you can live special experiences which will help keep local wisdoms and traditions alive, encouraging local artisan and culture, for example by participating in the traditional Puja ceremony at the Oberoi hotels, the traditional yoga classes or by learning the traditional art of block-printing while making your very own painting or scarf. Or you can experience a traditional ritual ceremony at the 150 year old Shiva temple and a session with the Astrologer at your stay at the Leela Palace in Udaipur.