Kyrgyzstan Salbuurun Festival holiday

Planet

CARBON REDUCTION

Transport on this tour is done entirely by road or on foot, as it has been designed to eliminate the need for internal flights. In addition, by keeping our groups to a maximum of twelve people we can utilise minibus style vehicles instead of large coaches.

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. We utilise local restaurants wherever possible, as well as meals taken with local families who are often using Kyrgyz-grown products in their food preparation.

ENVIRONMENT & WILDLIFE

This trip encompasses a broad array of environments in the North of Kyrgyzstan. We always 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 these spaces. The Kyrgyz people have a deep respect for the mountain regions they call home, and we ask that you respect these places as though they were your own.

One fascinating part of this specific trip is a visit to a local agricultural farm in Tepke, just outside of Karakol, that provides insight into the local environment through traditional agriculture and farming practices. The hosts here are very passionate about improving the environment in Kyrgyzstan, and are doing their part in demonstrating organic farming practices onsite as well as educating local farmers.

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.

Your tour will be led by a fantastic local guide, and your transport managed by a local driver.

We include many different visits that support the local economies here, from the yurt-makers in Kyzyl-Tuu and Salbuurun Festival itself, to the agricultural farm in Tepke and women's cooperative of Altyn Kol in Kochkor. There are also multiple stays with local families for cooking demonstrations and overnights in some wonderful guesthouses.

The accommodation on this tour is almost always locally-owned properties, where your stay directly connects to the people and place you are visiting. A fantastic example of this is your stay in the Chon Kemin Valley, where the two guesthouses we use are run by local people in small villages which, twenty years ago, barely saw any tourists. Not only are these properties wonderful places to stay, but they also support extended families and villagers through their economic chain.

EMPLOYMENT, INCLUSIVITY, AND DIVERSITY

A key highlight of this tour which supports employment inclusivity is the visit to the Altyn Kol Women's Cooperative. They are an NGO formed in 1997 that support the social and economic success of Kyrgyz women through the traditional art of rug making. These women earn a way by working on their projects at home or from the space they have in Kochkor, and their finished products are available for sale in the local shop as well as online. The cooperative also earns additional income through their felting workshops, which are a great experience for our groups

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. In Kyrgyzstan we work with a local company that is women-run, based in Bishkek, and who employ Kyrgyz people.

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.

Our partners employ women guides in all countries, 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.