Eco Holidays

posted by Catherine on Mar 7

Going on a riding holiday can throw up a few uncertainties for you.

Rather than just book anything and turn up with just your suitcase, you really need to consider a few important things before cantering off along the beach!

So the following 10 tips might answer a few of your questions:

1) The Horses:
Make sure that someone you can trust has either been there themselves or has seen or heard about the horses used.  You really don’t want to be funding an organisation that doesn’t care for their horses as you would care for your own.

2) The Human:
Make sure that you haven’t over estimated your ability and comfort zones!  Could you really sit on a horse for hour after hour crossing mountains or rivers?  Can you keep up with everyone else if they are going to be galloping up hills and around the edges of volcanoes?

It’s not just the horses that have to be fit for these adventures!

3) The Weather:
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to check the weather for your destination as people do better in certain environments - and getting wet isn’t any fun either.

Will you get sunburnt the higher you go up a mountain?  Will you get sand blown on your eyes if you are cantering across a desert?  Will it be raining or misty when you head through the cloud forest?  Make sure you are prepared for it all…..

4) The Facilities:
Depending on where you want to go riding, there will be different facilities - and you need to be happy with this - as rather than releasing in a nice hot bath after 6 hours racing through the wilderness - you might only get a warm shower and a night in a tent!

And, make sure the clothes and toiletries you pack take this into account to - and throw in some extra first aid supplies too!

5) The Agenda:
If you are going to spend your money on your perfect holiday, then make sure you only settle for what you want rather than something that looks ‘ok’.  For example, if you want to ride from one accommodation to the next every day rather than returning to the same place day after day, then don’t settle for something else because the rooms are nicer or the price is cheaper.

You might only get one holiday like this for a year or 2, so spend the extra and get what you want out of it.

6) The Room Mate:
Is your accommodation going to be for just you, with a friend or with a complete stranger.  Maybe it is is bunk beds shared with everyone!

Check these things out in advance - as for a small amount extra you could plan alternative arrangements before you arrive.  However, if you don’t realise this until you arrive - it could be too late to make changes.

7) The Food:
If you have dietary requirements that stray from the ‘I’ll eat anything’ rule, then make this clear when booking your trip.

Most companies can be flexible with food and make vegetarian options almost as standard, but never assume anything and make sure you check the alternatives or nearby restaurants you could use instead!

8) The Equipment:
It is always recommended that you take your own riding hat, as although these will be supplied by the riding centre, they may not be certified to your home countries high standards if you are riding abroad - but even riding at home could mean wearing a hat that isn’t quite the right size, but was the best fit at the time!

Your own riding clothes and gloves are essential for your own comfort, but crops, reins and spurs may or may not be accepted.

9) The Insurance:
It might be worth checking out the riding centres insurance policies with regards to any injuries to the horse.  If you are riding a horse when it becomes injured, are you free from all costs - or should your insurance cover this? 

Have you even checked that your holiday insurance covers horse riding without exclusions?

10) The End Result:

 Make sure that this is really what you want to spend your money on!  There will be a lot of things to consider on a vacation like this, so make sure that you want to even start with a long trip, especially if a) you have never used this company before, and b) if this is the longest horseback trip you have been on in a while!

Use your holiday time and money wisely, and you can make even a great holiday even greater!

posted by Catherine on Nov 5

It doesn’t have to be an Eco Holidays Show - but there are people there to answer your questions!

These large-scale travel shows are a fantastic place to get some real info on eco holidays and adventures! But also to get some opinions out there.

Not only will you have all day to wander around asking all the eco questions you ever wanted to ask, and to buy some fantastic gifts or equipment at discount prices, and to speak to people who have already been there - done that, but you will be able to make one huge contribution to the eco holidays movement!

What’s that you ask?
Well, if all the big names in holidays are here in one place, listening to consumers and offering their services - then what better place for you to voice your opinions and concerns about the way holidays impact the environment, tours affect communities and the way profit is spent!

If the companies at the show hear person after person asking about their eco credentials and how their packages and tours support the people and wildlife they visit - they will start to improve on those areas to keep the customers?

Imagine if a person approaches ‘Company A’ and asks them whether or not they employ local guides on their tours. If they don’t, then they will find themselves in a sticky situation, but could still answer you politely enough for you to carry on at their stall and that might be the end of that. No one else gets to hear of it.

But what if 50 people ask that same question?

How will that company feel after a day of saying ‘no’? I’m sure that there will be some serious re-thinking of their tactics for the next day - and I can almost guarantee that this feedback will get back to the people who make decisions. Hopefully spurring some change.

Now imagine the positive buzz around those companies that can answer ‘yes’ to that question.

We all know that the companies which survive are those that offer what their customers want or need. So, if they offer holidays that encourage eco tourism, habitat conservation and community development - they will get your eco dollars!

If they can’t answer your questions positively or they blatantly offer tours or cruises that offer no benefits at all to the destination - then they won’t see your money - and hopefully they will have empty seats on their trips!

If people don’t ask for things - they won’t get them.

So, get your questions ready and make a difference!

posted by Catherine on Sep 30

Staying on a working farm that promotes wildlife has got to be good!

I recently stayed in a holiday cottage in the Weald in Sussex, England for 2 weeks, more out of urgent necessity than anything else (we needed to move in tonight!)

Therefore, my eco wants and needs were rather pushed to one side with the need for somewhere to sleep in the south-east of England with Internet access!

We called one place that looked adorable but was full for most of the 2 weeks, but the owner very thoughtfully and totally of no gain to herself, recommended a friend of hers that was just starting out so would no doubt have spaces! 

I called them hesitantly, knowing that my first concern was the Internet, then availability then price.  In that order.  (Some of the cottages are so highly priced that even if they came with free food the whole time you were there and a complimentary pony, it wouldn’t be worth it!)

Anyway, I called up a friendly man who answered all my questions and gave me his website address to view the cottages.  We had been viewing others and had found that a great many were just large sheds in some-one’s back garden - not ideal really in terms of the freedom to wander about and come and go as you please without the curtains twitching!  However, his cottages were in the middle of the countryside and a delight to look at, so we called back and said we’d be there by 5!

The Cottage:
It turns out that these 3 cottages are part of a rescued 150-year-old barn on the farm (now a fully functioning equestrian center), and had been very thoughtfully renovated up to a high standard and carefully furnished.

They all had a countryside feel to them, with paintings and pictures or the local art and landscapes.  The inside was spacious and showed the beams of the roof space and had a mezzanine bedroom on top.

There were some eco features including a half-bath, reclaimed furnishings and furniture and all modern appliances including an efficient microwave, condensing boilers, gas stove, nicely they had limited electronics but plenty of books magazines and board games instead!

And it turns out that the cottages aren’t the only thing that the landlord thinks are important.

Nature Comes First!
Since taking over the farm, the owner has focused on keeping it preserved.  Based in the Weald - an area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) - and with centuries and centuries of history behind it, there was a good basis for him to start from.

His ancient hedgerows divide his 80 acres of pasture and woodland, and many were almost 1000 years old from my estimations of noticeable species present (oak, hawthorn and ash to name a few).  He also leaves a good 6 feet of untreated land on each side of the hedges to promote their use as a wildlife haven and hasn’t removed any of them at all - I found his farm on a map from 1880 and they were all still there today.

He had also banned hunting on his land - which has got clear traces of pheasant farming and many a spent shot gun cartridges from the past.  In fact he does the opposite - he helps release animals back into the countryside from his farm. 

He has already released whole families of badgers and hedgehogs, has re-homed a flock of battery-farmed chickens (of which he gave us plenty of tasty eggs from) and has re-homed 2 lovely dogs and 4 feral cats into his clan!  However the 2 owl boxes in the main barn haven’t yet been used permanently - but the pair of tawny owls in the woods make up for that!

A Work/Life Balance.
Being a working farm, he has of course, got plenty of farm machinery all about the place and no doubt his isolated location brings many large vehicles some distance from towns to run a successful business - but I think it is worth it.

Most guests here no doubt never traipse around the countryside like we do, and so all of his land hardly gets disturbed by man - and how frequently we saw fallow deer and how close we were able to get to them before they crashed off through the woodland shows that they are at home here - they like it here!

He has created a veritable British wildlife reserve here, and so what if he hasn’t got composting toilets or a wind turbine?  He has ’saved’ this little piece of the countryside for the next generation, creating a safe corridor for wildlife travelling around this area which include Ashdown Forest to the north and the South Downs National Park to the south.

And anyway, does ‘eco’ have to mean completely self sufficient?

If you are in this area and want a great place to stay for wildlife and peace and quiet in a beautiful landscape then use this link to get more information on this farm stay.

posted by Catherine on Sep 6

How can you stay healthy abroad when you try to be eco friendly?

I recently returned from a trip to somewhere a lot warmer than I was used to and I found that I broke nearly all the normal rules of eco friendly living!

We all know that it is not always possible to act as green as you usually do when away from home - but I found myself slipping up on holiday with many basic health issues. And I am a hardened eco girl!  However traveling with no-so-eco people made it harder.

Cold Drinks!
No matter how well prepared we thought we were, we nearly always needed to buy cold bottled drinks when we were out.

We had taken a thermos flask to keep our own drinks cool which we prepared in the rooms before we left - but we were not able to ever carry enough cold materials. This then resulted in us buying bottle after bottle of ice cold drinks.

This had more than 1 thing wrong with it as well.

1) It had to be cold otherwise it wouldn’t stop us from over-heating - so therefore it had to be kept chilled in the stalls and cafes we brought them from.

2) It was nearly always a small ‘handy’ size bottle as they tended not to keep or chill the larger bottles.

3) The stalls didn’t offer many brands that were not international brands. Some were bottled in the country but most weren’t - so we were feeding global companies.

4) There were very few recycling facilities by these stalls so once drunk (straight away as we were so hot) if it wouldn’t fit in our bags - it had to be thrown in the normal litter bin.

Air-Conditioning:
I know how bad using the air coolers are - and I rarely like to use them anyway - but other tourists have demanded them over the years and so they are ever present.

Annoyingly as well, retail customer service also seems to entail that stores leave their doors open to seem ‘welcoming’ so allowing all the cool air to flow out into the streets. Additionally, stores that didn’t have air-con were chilling all the western foods like chocolate (in mini but open fridges) so that we would feel more at home.

It felt awful to have been a part of creating that. However, it was virtually impossible to avoid stores that were using too much energy as nearly every store was doing so - and walking to a more environmentally conscious store to make me feel better would have physically made me feel worse - as it was so hot!

And no doubt I would have had to have brought another cold drink on arrival and then risk my shopping being ruined or melted by the heat while I walked home!

What To Eat?
While we did try our hand at the local foods and the local restaurants, we were self-catering and so had the opportunity to eat what we wanted - however not being at home or having the luxury of our normal kitchen equipment, we found ourselves buying small packets of pre-packed items rather than larger and fresher bulk items.

We also ate out a few times, only to find ourselves looking for the most frequented destinations - which happened to be filled with other tourists.

And to a certain extent the local products had no ethical buying chain that I could check out. I mean buying a locally made pizza slice could have a whole ‘bad’ process behind it.

For example, I had no way of finding out if all the ingredients were imported and if so where from. How were they cooked, stored or transported? How were the animals treated before they were used for my topping? Was it better to buy a western brand that I knew was flown across the globe but had acceptable preparation standards - or buy unbranded foods that could have been created with meat that was not ethically sourced, for example?

My Eco Dilemma continues in a few days with Part 2

posted by Catherine on Jun 17

This amazing and secluded eco retreat is the perfect haven for those seeking to get back to nature or just to get away from everything. A perfect eco holiday!

Nestled in a valley and surrounded by great mountains is the Kw’o:kw’e:hala eco retreat. This eco retreat will no doubt be a world away from where you are at the moment!  Surrounded by wooded hills and Indian Reserves on the Coquihalla River and just across the US border on Highway 1 - you won’t have to fly here - your journey being park of the vacation.

What Makes It ‘Eco’?
Their theory of ‘back to basics’ is a great starting point for this resort, as it suggests that there is a stepping back if you like from the compulsive and consumer world that we face everyday.  There is very little here to stress you out!

They also offer the chance to live in an environmentally friendly way as everything you require on your vacation has been chosen specifically for it’s eco-credentials.  You don’t have to worry about the consequences of this or that - they have done all that for you.  You know that you can relax and enjoy yourself without destroying the very place you are visiting.

Food is another pleasure here.  They offer slow food, whole food, simple food - all organic of course and much grown on site!  With their chefs working for you - all the meals are not only good for the planet - but healthy for you too!

They even offer vacation packages that include your choice of ‘learn a new eco skill’ courses.  For example, a course on how to make home-made gifts, how to grow your own vegetables and how to make jams and jellies!

What Can You Do There?
Well, the main attraction could be to do absolutely nothing there!  Just to relax in this isolated location beside the creek and away from anything disruptive or noisy.  The resort only has a handful of buildings here so it has a low impact on the area and guests can only hear to sounds of the forest rather than hoards of other guests charging around!

The relaxing Wood-Fired Sauna which stores it’s heat for days is included in most of the packages, along with the wood-fired hot tub.  There are riverside hammocks, shared washroom block, central kitchen and dining area.

The Accommodation:
There are 3 main cabins around the grounds, as well as the shared buildings.

Forest Cottage is surrounded by trees - as it’s name suggests, and is the most private of the 3 cabins here.  It is actually an entirely recycled building so to speak having been moved from another site and upgraded using unwanted wood from a nearby mill.

Homestead Log Cabin is the largest cabin and is in an open area to allow you the views of nature and everything passing by.  The cabin was built nearly 100 years ago and has quite a local history!

Othello Cottage is the final cabin - but no less eco!  Made from building from the old Kettle railways in the early 1900’s with it’s original Shakespearean name!

It overlooks the river and has an eco toilet and outside solar shower facilities to tempt you outside! 

There is also the The Riverside Nest, which is a large tented ‘room’ outdoors where you can sleep under the stars - day or night - just you.

Anything Else?
The resort has won a Responsible Tourism ‘Ethical Escape’ excellence award, and is part of the WWOOF Canada association of organic farming and outdoors.  Recently, the Organic Earth Magazine voted Kw’o:kw’e:hala as one of the ‘5 Best Eco Getaways’ in Canada and it has also been awarded 5 Stars by Eco Hotels Of The World.

On a more personal note, they offer advice to all guests on the use (or the non-use) of electrical appliances like hair dryers and straighteners - and also over zealous toiletries and perfumes!

There is also the added bonus to those seeking peace and quiet that it will be children-free!  Unless the whole site is booked by 1 family or group - children are not allowed on site - all 7 acres of it. 

Quiet.

posted by Catherine on Apr 14

What makes an Eco Lodge an Eco Lodge?

Most people would reply: A log cabin in the middle of a rain-forest clearing, with huge verandas and a river nearby. It would run on solar power and grow all it’s own food on-site. No doubt, monkeys and other animals would be wandering around outside and the local hosts would be teaching you the lingo!

However, we need to be a bit more realistic about what eco accommodation is, and where it is can make all the difference. Not only will the country you are heading to change the variables - but in what setting it is in can also alter the way it can be compared to other ‘eco’ properties.

For example, if the hotel is crammed in a busy town center, it cannot change its percentage land use or have extensive areas for wildlife to live and breed. However, if it is set within acres of rain-forest it can afford to have vast areas ‘untouched by development’.

In addition, if it is an existing accommodation being transformed into a more eco-friendly location it can only do so much with what it has - as demolishing it and rebuilding might be more wasteful than just modifying what it has! However, a new development has an empty canvas - so it can immediately have a beneficial impact on the environment.

However, is a new build resort that eco-friendly in the first place? Did it need to even be built when that land could have been left un-developed and a brown-field site used instead?

So many factors…….

Where to start:
I think you can only really set your own standards depending on the type of accommodation and the location you are hoping to travel to.

If you are visiting a city, then your expectations will need to be reined in and comparisons can only be made with other city accommodations - also less individual travel as the airport/bus station will be close.

However, if you want isolation and low impact countryside living, then development, alternative power, local impact and wildlife disruption need to enter the equation! And don’t forget the distance you have to travel on top of your international flight or bus journey to get to the middle of nowhere…..

You also need to decide whether the impact of your journey there is worth all the fuss - for example if you were to camp nearby to your home that would be a real ‘eco holiday’ (less travel, less resources, less impact) - but it really wouldn’t be an adventure.

However, if you want to impact positively on distant communities and experience different cultures then you must breach the whole ‘carbon emissions’ dilemma of getting there in the first place!

Comparisons:
Basically, whenever searching for accommodation for your eco holidays, make sure you take a good look at whats out there before booking.

Don’t be too hard on yourself to find the ultimate eco destination otherwise you could be taking all the fun out of your trip! However, make sure you set your lowest factors before searching (for example - no all inclusive packages or no international hotel chains, etc) and go upwards from there.

Making your impact there can be just as important. If you go to a city and select an eco hotel and then hire a car and eat in Burger King then why take ages choosing yourself an eco hotel?

At the other end - you could book yourself into a hotel that does the basic eco activities and then make your actions more ‘green’ For example you could stay longer, volunteer within the community, shop ethically, eat locally with local establishments, don’t drop litter or leave waste and use resources sensibly - more than making up for your accommodation using mains electricity.

The End Result:
Don’t forget that it is a holiday after all - so if you aren’t going to enjoy yourself - there is no point in going.

If the most eco friendly hotel isn’t in the place you wanted to go then you need to make a choice. If the hotel you love has everything you want and need but doesn’t recycle - again, the choice is yours.

I’m sure your house back home isn’t the most responsible house in the world - but you have done your best with what you have and what you think is important. Your hosts may have done the same.

Also - should you only support those companies already offering the best eco solutions or should you help fund those companies still trying to achieve them? Your money as a guest can make all the difference to a growing firm improving the whole area not just over-booking the one resort.

Don’t stress about it to much - vacations are for enjoying!
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posted by Catherine on Mar 21

How To Reduce The Impact Of Your Eco Holiday:  Toiletries.

I’m not talking about refusing to wash for months and growing dreadlocks - I want to discuss some effort free ways to make more of an eco-impact on your chosen destination.

People travelling today don’t want to have to lower their standard of living to be environmentally friendly - there are of course many people who are happy to live out of a rucksack and wear the same clothes for days on end! 

However, if you don’t want to lower your standards to help save water and become more eco-friendly - then take a look at some of the following tips  - and they don’t include the well-repeated ones like ‘turn off the tap while brushing your teeth’!!!

1) Try to source biodegradable toiletries.  This way you can still have your luxury thickening, gloss-inducing shampoos and your extra invigorating shower gels - but you know that they won’t wash off you and into a sensitive water course affecting wildlife and landscapes.

2)  Make sure you locate yourself some biodegradable suncream too- as this is likely to wash off of you and straight into the sea and rivers - now there’s a nasty thought.  There are many adventure parks and natural waterways (like the cenotes in Mexico) that will check your sun cream before entering - making sure they are biodegradable!

3)  Find yourself a brand of leave-in hair conditioner that you like.  This will save plenty of water as you won’t need to use water for the rinse part.  Many people leave the shower head running while rubbing their normal conditioners in before rinsing - wasting even more water!  Why not leave the product protecting your hair for longer as well as making a difference.

4)  And why not leave all other toiletries at home that aren’t essential.  Do you really need to be moisturising your fingernail cuticles while trekking through jungles?  Or changing the color of your toenails midway across a desert (after using nail polish remover!!!)?  No you don’t.  Take essentials only or buy multipurpose products to do the same jobs.

5)  It’s a great idea to save small bottles during your everyday life especially to travel with.  These smaller bottles are perfect for travel toiletries without taking up too much room in your luggage - and you will use them again and again rather than dispose of them abroad. 

Many people take half empty larger bottles from home, planning to dump them on vacation and make room for souvenirs on the way home!  This may well put too much pressure on your destination and could rule out a return visit in the future….

6)  As a man, why take all your shaving paraphernalia if you are travelling about?  Why not grow yourself a beard while you are away and keep a photographic record of it’s journey with you!  Maybe get on a social networking site and have your friends see you like never before - I mean could you keep your job at the bank with a great big bushy beard? 

No such fun possible for the ladies - but why not let your hair go natural if you normally tame it down at home.  Ne need for straighteners and anti-frizz potions - just get yourself some great head scarves or bandanna’s and change your look for the vacation.

7)  Another one for the ladies would be personal hygiene.  Make sure if using towels or tampons (non-applicator of course) that you use the lowest possible protection to reduce the amount of waste created.  By using products designed for ‘extreme conditions’ when there is really only a need for ’standard protection’ requires a larger product and more resources - it also means more ‘rubbish’ to be disposed of by your hosts.

Never flush anything like this down the toilets (even back home) as most developing countries ’sewers’ barely work with just toilet tissue in the first place.  Make sure you dispose of them carefully and hygienically and warn you hosts if close contact may be encountered!  Don’t dispose of them outside either as they will attract vermin and dogs.

8)  Another thing never to throw away or flush down the toilet are medications or any sort.  They could poison not only wildlife - but people as well.  Always take unwanted medicines, treatments and contraceptives to a chemist who will dispose of them safely.  Try not to take too many with you in the first place - generic named products are available almost everywhere you go - and are probably cheaper anyway!

9)  And finally - try to find an alternative to every-day disposable contact lenses!  The waste involved in this is not good for any environment - but especially not in developing countries - unless you bring them all home with you.  Decide on an alternative that suits you, either monthly lenses or your old-fashioned eye-glasses!!

Now get packing……

posted by Catherine on Mar 11

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The One Life Live show is on in London this weekend, and will be a great place for you to find inspiration and advice for your eco holidays.

Although the actual show is about making that change to get a better work/life balance - there is plenty there to offer the eco traveller!

Many travel and volunteering companies will be there to offer you travel plans, charity treks, responsible tourism advice and to basically make sure that if you want to travel you will get the chance.

The Show:
There are 8 zones for the show offering all sorts of companies up for a chat with you - and if you come well prepared you can get all your eco answers in one sitting.

There are also many free seminars on offer throughout the few days covering topics about volunteering, life changing adventures and advice on planning that grown up gap travel - even some on how to make money while you travel and getting qualified to teach abroad too.

What’s It Like?
Well, I have been several times myself, and it is a great (but tiring) day out as there is so much crammed in!  There were so many companies there that I hadn’t heard of - or some I knew that were offering something different!  There was a whole overland adventure vehicle for you to explore, yurts and canoes - plus the chance to sign up to adventure travel magazines at a massive reduction.

Of course there are also people running the stands that have already done what you are planning, and many who have even lived in the countries you want to go and visit - so make sure you talk to as many people as you can - and make sure you live the only life you have.

This one right now!!

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posted by Catherine on Mar 4

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If you want to visit Bhutan - you need to pay at least $200 per day for every day of your trip!

Basically the King of Bhutan decided that levels of tourism should be controlled by high taxes - and these taxes should be used to fund the national health care system in Bhutan and to increase levels of education. Good idea?

Well, there is a certain amount of ‘eco’ to it, in that the country isn’t over-run with back-packers and package holiday hotels churning out buffet lunches and free drinks 24 hours a day. The airport can be kept small and no chain stores will set up in the departure lounge!

However, if tourism is so ‘damaging’ should you even go there in the first place?

Bhutan:
High in the Himalayas sits the Kingdom Of Bhutan. 70% of the country is forested and 60% is protected for life by law for future generations. The population are all Buddhists.

National Parks cover 25% of the land and there are some endemic species that aren’t really found anywhere else. The landscape is amazing and beautiful - and virtually untouched by technology and modern accoutrement’s. Cattle draw the ploughs, farmers tend the fields and national dress is seen in every village and homestead. Mobile phones and televisions have only just been allowed in the country (in 1999).

The King wanted to preserve the national culture and this pristine environment - and after watching the influx of hoards of travellers to neighbouring Nepal - he wanted to prevent that in his country - so he set up the current visa system for tourists.

He also gave up his complete power over the country, by becoming a constitutional monarchy where the countries citizens could make the decisions. They haven’t changed anything yet - so he obviously got something right!

Bhutan is currently held up as the best example of sustainable development and responsible tourism in the world.

Travel In Bhutan:
In an extreme version of forced ‘responsible tourism’ everything must be book through a Bhutanese travel agent and there are many other clauses that make sure that all monies stay within Bhutan and all services used are with Bhutanese people. The cost of the visa covers all you expenses when in the country - unless you book luxury hotels or extras that will take you over this lower limit!

Flights- The country only allows their own airline (Druk Airlines) into the country’s airport. Druk Airlines are not affiliated to any other airline so all flights into the country must be booked through them. Basically you need to book a seperate flight to one of their destination airports that Druk Airlines fly to, to be able to then catch their flight into Bhutan.

Accommodation And Food- All hotels, hostels, homesteads or other accomodations must be booked in advance through a Bhutanese Tour Operator - as with all food and drinks. All these locations involve living with local people or staffed through small local businesses therefore keeping the money in the country.

Basically, you need to give details in advance of where you want to stay during your holiday here and who you are going to using for your food and drink supplies. You will not be granted the visa for your trip here unless all this is booked in advance. For some of the more recent luxury hotels, you will need to pay more than the $200 per day for your stay.

Guides And Tours - Again, these all need to be booked in advance of your trip and can be included in the visa cost - as are National Park entry fees. You need to pay for and be escorted at all times by your local Bhutanese guide, and you cannot visit national parks or certain landmark sites and locations without one.

Extreme tours and helicopter rides for example may well be charged as extras on top of the visa fee.

In Summary:
There is no point planning a visit to this country unless you are serious about seeing specific things within the Kingdom. With a 3 day trip here costing a minimum of $600 it will certainly put a dent in the budget of a long-term traveller.

But travelling there just for a few days could cause more environmental damage than benefits - and the pleasure of taking a longer look at what’s here to be discovered. A flight in and out of Bhutan for just 3 days will rack up your carbon footprint, but will be benefiting the people no end with 35% of your costs going into the government projects, and most of the remainder going to help local communities and pay individual wages.

However, if you don’t visit this nation now, you will miss out on the sheer excitement of being one of the first and the few visitors who step into this magical world.

The Trips:
There are several companies that come up ‘green’ in Bhutan and can offer very different services:

Nature Tourism - specialising in the natural world, they offer birdwatching and botanical tours, entomological tours are also available as are many other niche interest groups. They also take part in community work, forestry projects and river cleaning.

Snow White Treks & Tours - specialise in cultural tours - and can offer some of the best home-stays and festivals while in Bhutan. They offer a huge selection of cultural tours in the region as well as remote trekking in the National Parks.

Yangphel Tours- offers a whole range of diverse trips and tours while in Bhutan and is one of Bhutan’s leading Tour Operators.

Booking the whole trip yourself direct with Bhutanese comapanies can be done but is quite tricky, so try using one of the following companies to be the middle-man and make everything run a bit more smoothly:

UK - www.exodus.co.uk
US - www.mtsobek.com
AU - www.perigrineadventures.com

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posted by Catherine on Feb 28

After years and years of campaigning - we are still trying to save the tiger! Some species have been saved in recent years - for example the Amur Tiger which was basically brought back from extinction in the 1940’s.

There were an estimated 40 Amur Tigers left in the wild when a project was set up to reverse this dangerous trend - and it has taken over 60 years for the population to reach today’s figure of around 500 tigers today. It wasn’t easy and it leaves the species open to a genetic bottleneck where there is such a small gene pool for future generations. But the animals live on.

We can stop this happening to other species of tiger in the world if we start now, and do it properly!

Tigers 2009.
It is estimated that there are now only around 4000-7000 wild tigers left in the wild today. This is very low compared to recent history.

There are now only 5% of the total number of tigers that have lived in the past on earth today, with the stronghold being in India. It’s historic range - the area where it previously lived has shrunk by 93%, leaving only restricted pockets across the Asian continent.

As with many other species - they are illegally poached. Tigers are hunted and killed for their amazing skins and for apparently ‘medicinal purposes’. However, they are being wiped out faster than they can breed and of course the rarer they become - the more they are worth so it is a self-perpetuating spiral!

Another reason their numbers are dwindling is their competition with humans. They compete for the land and the resources, and unfortunately the humans are winning! When the tigers land is taken or destroyed by humans, the tigers will sometimes need to pass close to settlements and of course if they are hungry they will take livestock. Can you blame them?

However, it is not always livestock that become prey - many humans have lost their lives as these two forces are pushed closer together. If things are going to change, it must benefit the communities as well as the tigers.

What Can We Do?
Well, there are many groups set up and campaigning for the protection of the remaining tiger populations, and many of these are also trying to tackle the human aspect of this environment too.

Preserve:
Saving and protecting the tiger refuges are just a small part of this, as you also need to protect their prey species too, and the food and environment of that prey species. I mean you can’t save the tiger if the deer it eats aren’t there.

Educate:
By working with local farmers to better protect their livestock, charities hope it will reduce the risk of a tiger attack and lessen the conflict of retaliation. Offering a range of different crops and trades to farmers and their families should help to reduce their dependency on livestock and the environment by reducing the need to deplete local resources and ultimately making their lives more sustainable.

Protect:
Stopping or reducing the poaching is also a priority, and TRAFFIC and other charities and NGO’s are petitioning to increase fines and sentencing for poachers that are caught. They are also trying to reduce the market for tiger parts so a dead tiger is worth less.

Improve:
Increasing the money made from seeing the tigers alive is a major advance in the area. If local people are employed in tourism to show them that people are willing to pay big money to see the animals alive, they will do more to keep them alive. A single tiger killed will make money only once - a living tiger will make money every day it is alive. If it breeds, it will only multiply that money for future generations.

Large Scale:
Work with larger businesses and international companies to look elsewhere for resources or to use the land with alternative business. For example, reducing the clearing of forests for palm oil plantations, and increasing tourism-related enterprises.

Tourism is the reason that the tigers and national parks are even here in the first place. If no-one was paying to see them - they probably wouldn’t exist! By advertising travel and tiger safaris to these regions should help to increase their protection and their numbers.

Wildlife Ranger Course:
There is a 12 day full-board trip currently available for you to train as a wildlife ranger (www.discoveryinitiatives.co.uk) in India for around US$3700per person including a $43 contribution to the Global Tiger Patrol.

The cost involves travel to several wildlife refuges - one of which is rarely visited by tourists! You get to see the tigers themselves as well as spend time with local communities debating both sides of the issue. It’s very easy to sit at home and tell people what they should and shouldn’t do - but you only see the whole story when you are actually there.

Can you imagine your reaction if Hindu Indian officials were campaigning to stop us farming their sacred cow in the UK? They would be telling us that we can’t eat beef, drink milk, ferment cheese or wear leather. They will think this is so obvious and easy to do. Just as we can’t believe that anyone would ever think of cutting down a rain forest or killing an extremely rare and beautiful tiger, they probably can’t believe that we would kill a cow and then wear it!

Different cultures believe different things and act in different ways. Ultimately, we are all trying to make a living and keep our family safe - but we all have different challenges and deal with them in different ways. And this course is your chance to step into someone else’s shoes and see how they fit!

It’s not only just about the tigers either - you get to see the whole ecosystem - wolves, jackals, leopards and many more predators all live in the same area - all looking for different prey, but all ultimately dependant on each other. Take one of the fantastic night walks to really see the wildlife!

There are many other trips to the area to see the tigers - but make sure that some of the money actually stays in the area of goes to a sustainable and well recognised charity or other organisation - as unfortunately, many are just like package holidays - with all the money staying in the west and none actually going to fund tiger conservation!

If you can’t take this trip, then you can still contribute by contacting WWF and making a donation, becoming a member, sponsoring a tiger or by requesting tickets for their upcoming Tiger Raffle.

Can you help?

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