Nepal and Bhutan small group tour, 14 days

Planet

These are some of the most beautiful countries on earth, and that beauty is what brings travellers here. Our guides encourage everyone on the trip to keep the places we visit clean and to carry out or properly dispose of their waste. Litter, and plastic in particular, is what we care about most. Nepal has limited recycling capacity, and discarded plastic is a common sight in the countryside, so every bottle you don't buy helps.

That's why we ask you to avoid bottled mineral water. Our guides know where you can refill your reusable bottle, and we treat all refilled water with purification tablets. In the larger cities, where bottled water is sometimes unavoidable, your guide will help you find a way to dispose of the bottle properly.

Please never feed wildlife or leave food where animals can reach it, as this can make animals reliant on people and put them and local villages at risk. We don't include activities involving animal rides or performances.

Some teahouses and guesthouses along the route use solar power. A small solar panel is a good way to charge your own devices on the go.

People

We're a local company, and wherever we can, we put your money into local hands: family-run homestays that give households a welcome second income, locally owned guesthouses and teahouses rather than international chains, and food bought from local growers.

We'll often encourage you to eat at the local kitchen. Order dal bhat and you're eating what the country eats, and it changes from one valley to the next, with the same name carrying many different flavours, washed down with sweet masala tea. Our gentle challenge: for the length of this trip, eat local food, stay in local places, and travel humbly. You learn far more about a place by stepping into its life than by watching from outside.

We believe these cultures are worth respecting on their own terms. When a festival or ritual falls during your trip, we invite you to take part respectfully, as a guest rather than a spectator.

We keep our groups small, which makes it easier to build real connections with the people who host us and to tailor each journey to the travellers on it.