Bhutan tailor made tour, 12 days

Planet

Whilst on the road, our local drivers are required to turn off vehicles when idling to minimise unnecessary emissions. This not only helps minimise emissions but also helps keep the cost down for the drivers in a country where fuel is relatively expensive.

Environmentally, Bhutan is incredibly clean and green with locals and authorities alike taking a keen interest in the preservation of their pristine mountain landscapes. All visitors are encouraged to avoid littering and to be as environmentally friendly as possible when travelling through its fragile landscapes. Small things like re-using towels in hotels all add up to make a big difference. The hotels try and use local produce year-round thus keeping food ‘air miles’ down and the money in the local community.

On this trip we visit rural communities and natural landscapes such as the glacial Phobjikha Valley, home to the migratory Black-Necked Cranes. We visit the Black-Necked Crane information centre to provide our guests with more information on conservation, indigenous wildlife and how to behave when viewing it.

People

All food served on the holiday is locally sourced thus supporting local producers and the community - for example, we have dinner at a local Bhutanese farmhouse. Most of the hotels we use grow local vegetables in their own compound which cuts down on transport and emissions and also the cost of going to the market. A very good example could be Dhumra Farm Resort in Punakha which is privately owned by a local family. We go out of our way to support local business through our visits - for example, to the Tashichhodzong and the handmade paper factory in Thimphu and the Nimalung Festival (tsechu) held at nearby Nimalung Goemba. Visitors are encouraged to respect cultural differences and to leave a donation in temples they visit.

The tour also visits local markets and workshops such as the handmade paper factory in Thimphu to allow clients to learn about the local processes involved in making the items but also to contribute to the local economy with their purchases.

Our local Bhutanese agents employ only local guides and drivers and pay fair salaries to all employees and regular training is provided to support future career development. Only local guides who are aware of local customs and cultures are employed which not only keeps the funds paid to staff within the local community but also helps avoid any potential cultural clashes between visitors and locals.

They also support the local charity, Draktsho, a Vocational Centre working to help disabled and disadvantaged youth towards independence. Draktsho strongly believes that everybody has the right to be independent and equal, the power to choose and to live their lives to its full potential. Disability is prevalent in Bhutan and affects all age groups and although attitudes towards disabled people and other minority groups within the country are changing and becoming more positive, there still seems to be an immense lack of understanding about disabilities and the difficulties they impose. Draktsho is the first of its kind in the country, a service-oriented civil society organisation (CSO) which aspires to enhance the living standards of disabled youths through empowerment. One of the greatest challenges for Draktsho is to erase the deeply embedded stigma that the disabled cannot learn and earn a living. So through training and eventual integration into the mainstream population, Draktsho aims to equip disadvantaged youths with the tools to help themselves. For every booking we make to Bhutan a financial contribution is made to Draktsho to help with the important work they are doing at the centre.