Andes wildlife tour in Ecuador

Planet

In Ecuador as with all of the locations we travel to we make sure that all the lodges and resorts that we use on this tour are careful with their waste management and they are very aware of their ecological responsibility. The lodges all use sustainable energy sources and conserve water where possible. We also donate to the World Land Trust which is focused on purchasing large amounts of rainforest to protect from deforestation throughout the world but particularly in South and Central America.
We also donate money to the Andean Bear Project (a project that our director and zoologist escort for this tour holds close to his heart as he has worked on this project at grass root level in the past). This project is concerned with the rescue, rehabilitation and release of bears that have been orphaned or captured for the pet trade, as well as research and conservation of this magnificent species to ensure their continued survival in the rapidly developing Andean mountains.

Wildlife Promise:
We monitor the rare and endangered wildlife we see whilst on the trip and hand this information over to the park and reserve authorities. We also donate annually (depending on how many tours and how many guests we have) to the Andean Bear Project and actively help the project find volunteers for their radio tagging and tracking projects in the Andes. We also donate our pictures to the researchers to aid in their photo identification studies.

People

In Ecuador as with every destination we travel to around the world, we make sure that we employ local guides and other suppliers were possible. The local community benefits from this tour as we employ local guides in all the lodges we use. This ensures that the money we pay these guides, is invested directly back into the local economy. We also choose our accommodation based largely on their contribution to the local community in terms of staff employment, purchase of the food and other consumables they use and if they are involved in any cultural or community projects which help the local people benefit through eco tourism. Thus generating a great financial option against illegal poaching and logging which used to be seen as a quick way to earn large amounts of money. The lodges we use are all eco-friendly which conserve their water use, only use locally produced food and other products look to employ as many local people as possible.
We promote using locally produced foods and handicrafts in the Amazon and encourage our guests to participate in cultural tours and other community programs.