Best of Gujarat, India

Planet

We actively support heritage environmentalism, which is why we include UNESCO sites whenever we can. In the little Rann of Kutch, we connect with endemic wildlife, at a healthy distance, such as wild ass, blackbuck, antelope and gazelle. Accommodation-wise, we'll take the family-ran eco resort whenever viable.
This tour of Gujarat would be incomplete without a trip to Gir N.P. at Sasangir. With Asiatic Lions critically endangered, this visit is vital to aid efforts to protect the last remaining big cats, by financial contributions and by exposure. Again, the choice of accommodation here is tasteful, and strictly in accordance with the mantra of low-impact, family-run.
We ensure our guides are mindful about protecting the environment in which you travel, and they do a fantastic job of promoting having a minimum impact to the environment whilst travelling. We ask you to be vigilant about disposing of your waste and recycle where possible. During your trip you will be asked if you have any waste to dispose of when it is a suitable time in the itinerary. This ensures we make it as easy as possible for our travellers to be eco-friendly whilst travelling.

We strongly advise all travellers to bring a reusable water bottle - this is an easy way to save plastic waste and is detailed in our ‘What to bring’ trip notes for all trips to all destinations. Your guide will remind you where and when you can fill up your re-usable water bottle. We also encourage general sustainability - limited use of air-con for instance. Something we focus on as an organisation and try to pass on to our travellers.

People

Given the nature of this tour, our travellers will have ample opportunity to purchase textiles and artisan goods directly from the local people who create them, and in doing so, provide economic support which benefits the local businesspeople and the broader communities they live in. In Gujarat that comes in the form of the Vadiara and Kharapat Rabari tribes. Rural modalities of life can be found in close quarter with Bharward shepherds of Ambala village.
Dhamadka textile village in Bhuj also receives us, the intended consequences of which are generative to the rural economy.
This, being a ethnographic-inspired tour, we further visit Gujarati villages at Banni. At the Vijay Vilas Palace, we round off a long walk with a homemade meal courtesy of present owners.
In these remote areas of India, tourism is an important contribution to the local community, and this is an area where responsible tourism has a positive impact. In addition to textile and goods trade, we endeavour to use local guides offered fair conditions and pay, and locally-owned lodges, shops and eateries for the maximum possible benefit to each and every community we visit.

We support the communities in every location on this trip, large or small, by contributing to WaterAid. For every booking we receive we make a token contribution to this admirable charity. Every day, at least 166 children under five die because of diarrhoea caused by dirty water and poor sanitation. It is particularly tough to get toilets and water to people living in India’s rapidly expanding slums. WaterAid works together with the Government, organisations and communities, to tackle challenges caused by a lack of access to clean, sustainable drinking water head on, and we are proud to support this charity.