Environmental & Ethical Travel
ETHICAL TRAVEL
We have a strong social consciousness towards our team and the local villagers who we are blessed to spend time with in their homes and their company. We only employ local staff and leaders as this benefits everyone with greater opportunities and economic benefits for local communities, and travellers get more under the skin of the country they visit.
Seeing a place through the eyes of those who call it home is priceless…..all our guides have a passion for history and landscapes and give you insights and experience of the heritage and culture that only locals can. We aim to educate travellers and villagers alike on responsible tourism. We have adopted principles for responsible tourism. We work solely with partners who thoroughly practise responsible tourism. Responsible tourism is about creating better places for people to live in and to visit. Himatrek is about educating people in responsible tourism at the grassroots level. We want to spread the knowledge about how responsible tourism can be implemented by all in Nepal.
We use locally owned transport, family-run accommodation and local restaurants. And we always buy our supplies from local operators.Again, this both benefits local communities and makes for better travelling experiences, helping you get closer to different cultures.
Our endeavours are to:
- Minimise negative economic, environmental, and social impacts;
- Generate greater economic benefits for local people and enhance the well-being of host communities.;
- Make positive contributions to the conservation of natural and cultural heritage, to the maintenance of the world's diversity;
- Provide more enjoyable experiences for tourists through more meaningful connections with local people, and a greater understanding of local cultural, social and environmental issues;
- Be culturally sensitive, encourage respect between tourists and hosts, and build local pride and confidence.
ENVIRONMENT
We work hard to ensure our impact on the environment is minimal – training staff and business partners, providing guidelines for local businesses, ‘leaving no trace’ when camping, keeping our distance from wildlife, and of course advice for everyone who travels with us. We always aim to leave campsites in as good or preferably better condition than how we found it. We aim to locate tents at least 30 metres from streams and lakes and to prevent erosion, we don’t dig drainage ditches around tents.
Plastic water bottles are a serious problem for waste disposal in the Himalayas. We encourage our clients to steer away from buying plastic bottled water along the way to reduce the waste problem. Alternative options are some tea houses now have Water Filtration devices and this is a considerably cheaper option than buying a plastic bottle of water. There are also the handheld options of taking your own Steripen, a UV purifier (www.steripen.com) It uses ultraviolet light to destroy viruses, bacteria and protozoa (including Giardia) - they soon pay for themselves as bottled water can go as high as $3 per 1.5 litres at higher altitudes, due to the manual intensity of having to get them to these locations. On our camping treks, water will be boiled and your water bottles will be filled in this manner. Chemical treatments such as Iodine are also another alternative, although they don’t taste very good.
Hemingway’s Journeys and Himatrek's main focus is to leave a positive impact. Himatrek is well respected in the Himalayas due to its social interest and its respect and love for the country. “Take photos and leave footprints only” is a motto that should always apply in the majestic himalayas and we endeavour to always leave a positive impression in the villages, leading by example.
