Best of Gujarat, India

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION

The transportation on this tour has been specifically designed so that internal flights are not used. Your journeys will be made primarily by road, and by keeping our groups small (twelve maximum) that means there is no need for huge coaches, and we can instead use smaller vehicles.

All diets can be catered for, including vegan and vegetarian. All we need is advance notice so that we can prepare our local team and the hotels and restaurants you will be visiting; during the trip, your guide will be able to assist with ordering meals that meet your requirements.

ENVIRONMENT & WILDLIFE

Broadly, we use local guides who have intimate knowledge of the places you visit and how they are fairing in terms of restoration, degradation, and therefore how best to navigate them. We always ask our clients to respect our outlook on this, in being mindful of rubbish, and trying to recycle whenever you can.

While visiting the Little Rann of Kutch and Gir National Park, you will head out on game drives to spot some of the incredible wildlife found in this part of the world, including wild ass, blackbuck, antelope, and of course the endangered Asiatic lion. You will be with local rangers that know these animals and their habitats incredibly well, and the financial contribution from the tour directly supports efforts to maintain these amazing places.

We encourage all our clients to bring a reusable water bottle, ideally with a filtration system to replace the need for single-use plastics. We offer a free Water-To-Go bottle (just pay for postage) to all of our UK-based clients when they book, which provides a great chance to try out these amazing filtered bottles in the hopes of converting more travellers to using them on all of their travels

People

LOCAL ECONOMY

As regular travellers, one thing that never ceases to amaze and inspire us is the kindness and generosity of local people, often people who have very little to their name. We firmly believe that they are who make these places special and that they should benefit from our visit so we do our best to ensure that the benefits of our tours reach as widely as possible into the communities where they operate.

This tour features stops in rural towns and villages that see far fewer visitors than other Indian destinations such as the Golden Triangle or Southern States. As such, tourism here brings a significant avenue towards economic growth. For example, you'll visit the Vadiara and Kharapat Rabari tribes, Ambala village, the textile village of Dhamadka in Bhuj, and Banni villages as well. Each of these are opportunities to meet local people and artisans, and should you wish there are opportunities to purchase textiles and local goods directly from the people who produced them.

Our first preference for accommodation is always locally owned properties, which often provide a better boutique experience, but also minimises the economic leakage from tourism spending. The same goes for restaurants and shops.

EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY, AND DIVERSITY

One thing which is true across all of the countries in which we operate, is that we are passionate about ensuring the partners we have on the ground are those with the best knowledge of them. Our local team in India is entirely staffed by Indian people, who are from a variety of regions and cultural backgrounds thus diversifying their expertise and providing equal opportunity to their staff.

All of our guides, drivers, and other staff are paid at least minimum wage, if not a living wage or above for fair compensation of the incredible work they do.

We frequently employ women guides on our tours in India, and we are LGBTQ+ friendly on all of our trips. We are always willing to have discussions with those who may have questions about safety on the ground, visibility, and any other concerns to ensure that our clients are comfortable and confident whilst on our trips.