Jim Thomas, July 2004

Staying in traditional gers - The amazing granite mountains at Khogno Khan - Fascinating Buddhist monasteries and temples - Riding horses in the valley where Genghis - Khan established the capital of the Mongol Empire - Eating pizza in a Mongolian restaurant - Spending time with a nomadic family and seeing how they live. Riding on their yak and cart - Riding camels and playing in big sand dunes - Having a special Mongolian / English child guide for the children

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

From	To	Description	Num Days	Price	Booking
04-Aug-2012	13-Aug-2012	Price for adults is euros 1395 Price for children under 16 years old is euros 1295 Departure dates August Please enquire now for scheduled dates and availability	10	£1126.00 what's included? Kind Points:253
Included in the price: Accommodation Activities Activity equipment hire Airport transfers All meals All meals and activities Arrival starter pack Breakfast Cots Entrance/ Admission fees Ferry International flights Logs Spa Treatments Telephone calls & personal items WiFi NOT included in the price: Bed Linen Dinner Electricity Government Gratuities and tips Insurance Internal flights Transportation Visa and vacination charges

• Bank Transfer

Visits to local families are spontaneous, not artificially created experiences packaged for tourism. This is a nomadic population and we do not know beforehand where families will be. If possible, earlier in the day before the group arrives, we send one of our staff ahead to check that the family is happy to receive foreign visitors and not too busy. For example, whilst the group are eating breakfast, the tour leader might go to one of the gers in the area to speak with the family. The tradition of hospitality and sharing of news by passing travellers is such that a visit like this is quite normal within the culture and not viewed by the hosts as an imposition. In fact it is quite likely that they would invite our group into their home anyway, without us asking.

We suggest to our clients that they bring photographs of their own homes to show and small gifts such as souvenirs from their own town. According to the situation, we may give a suitable amount of money to the host family. This would be done by the tour leader only and is taken to be a gift rather than payment for services given.

Our group sizes are small, normally not more than 12 people. This reduces the impact we have socially and environmentally.

Accommodation during the tour is at ger camps, authentic ger tents set up for tourists and furnished with beds and a stove, with toilet and washing facilities on the site. The ger camps are owned, and have been developed by, local entrepreneurs and the staff are all people from the vicinity or students from town, who benefit greatly from the opportunity to get a modest cash income during the short tourist season. Some of the ger camps use solar power to heat water for hot showers, but at the Tsenkher hot springs the mineral water comes directly from the mountain. Each ger has a wood-burning stove which staff will light if requested. We encourage our clients not to use this facility if it is not very cold because the fuel used is trees cut down in the nearby forests.

The ger camps are set up for the summer season and dismantled during the winter. They are located in places of particular beauty and importance. Each place we stay at is quite different from the rest and we will enjoy mountain, steppe, forest and desert scenery. During the summer the wild flowers are beautiful, especially in the mountains. The birds and other wildlife are also interesting, as are the domesticated herds of Mongolia’s five animals: horses, camels, cows and yaks, sheep and goats. There will be opportunities to ride the horses, camels and yaks during the trip, so you can experience travel as the locals do.

When passing through Tsetserleg town we visit a felt making project with demonstrations of how felt is made on a small scale and can buy felt products made for the tourist market. This project has been set up to create employment for local people, to educate tourists on this traditional craft, and to increase the income from tourism. The restaurant that we use in this town is the result of another successful project intended specifically to provide employment in a town where many people do not have jobs.

When passing through certain areas of Mongolia we are obliged to pay a “Protected Areas Service Fee” on behalf of each tourist (already included in price of tour). The fee contributes towards the following services: (i) Introduction of the activities of the information centre and eco-ger and provision of information on legislation and security activities of the protected areas, (ii) Regulation of camping places in these areas, (iii) To provide tourists with information, brochures, booklets and warnings, (iv) garbage disposal.

At Tsenkher Jiguur hot springs, a fee is paid (already included in the tour cost) to bathe in the outdoor hot mineral baths. This goes towards the cost of paying local staff to maintain the pools. Similarly, when we visit Erdene Zuu monastery at Kharkhorin, an entrance fee is paid (included in tour price) to go towards the cost of local staff.

The company is owned and run by Mongolians with small offices in Mongolia, UK and Germany. The itinerary for this trip, and indeed the whole brochure, can be downloaded from our website, reducing the need for printing in most cases. Upon booking a tour, clients are given a Tour Dossier which includes a section on attitudes and behaviour. We explain some of the most important issues so that tourists will not be embarrassed nor locals offended. During the tour, the leader or interpreter will educate the group on the more important points of Mongolian etiquette so that everyone feels more comfortable when we enter a local home or temple.

By introducing our clients to the Mongolian people, we inspire them (the clients) to achieve more important goals and a greater understanding of life. The generous hospitality, lack of material wealth, practical survival skills and pride of the Mongolian people are instrumental in this. It is our policy to offer every opportunity for travellers to enjoy spontaneous interchange with the local people.

To demonstrate that visitors to Mongolia are looked upon and treated as guests, by the staff as well as local people we meet along the way.

To travel through Mongolia causing the very least amount of change to the environment and by the behaviour of the tourists to influence actions of the local people, especially with regards to disposal of non-biodegradable rubbish.

To provide the best possible working conditions for our employees.

Income from the business benefits only people in Mongolia. We have small offices in UK and Germany which are staffed by Mongolians and have negligible overheads.

All accommodation utilized, both hotel and ger camps, are owned by Mongolian people / companies.

During the short tourist season (June to September) permanent staff are given a salary that is equivalent to an annual salary for a person with their qualifications

Temporary staff such as local guides and horsemen are paid a fair wage and provided with the same food and accommodation as regular staff.

Local people providing horses, camels or yaks, are paid a good rate.

Tips donated by clients at the end of a tour are distributed equally among all the staff who accompanied that tour.

Tourists are encouraged to purchase souvenirs (Mongolian handicrafts) that are made by local people in the places we visit, thus supporting the local economy.

Where possible we include in itineraries visits to projects of interest to tourists which have been set up to create employment for local people. For example, when passing through Tsetserleg town we see a felt making project with demonstrations of how felt is made on a small scale and felt products made for the tourist market.

All the accommodation we use on tour, be it hotels, guest houses or ger camps, are owned and staffed by Mongolians. They are all quite small local enterprises and employ local staff. One particular restaurant and guest house that we use in Tsetserleg town is the result of a successful project intended specifically to provide employment in a town where many people do not have jobs.

Tourists are informed before the start of the tour about the most important environmental considerations. This includes use of drinking water, washing in lakes or rivers and rubbish disposal.

Staff are trained to take responsibility for their actions re: water usage, contamination of rivers and lakes, rubbish disposal, vehicle maintenance and fuel consumption, use of fuel for cooking.

Rubbish is carried with us until we reach a town or village which has proper facilities for rubbish disposal.

On camping tours a pit latrine (with toilet tent) is made at each site. Before departing, used paper is burned and the pit closed.

Clients are instructed before arrival in Mongolia of the requirement for biodegradable soap, shampoo, etc. for camping tours because washing is often in rivers.

Clients are only allowed to light camp fires when permission has been given by local people to use windfall.

Our complete brochure can be downloaded from our website, saving plenty of paper and printing materials.

At most of the ger camps where we stay hot water showers are provided and water is heated using solar power.

At ger camps each ger has a wood-burning stove which staff will light if requested. We encourage our clients not to use this facility if it is not very cold because the fuel used is trees cut down in the nearby forests.

Some of the ger camps that we use have built very clean wooden pit-latrines and use sawdust to prevent flies and smell.
Upon booking a tour, clients are given a Tour Dossier which includes a section on attitudes and behaviour. We explain some of the most important issues so that tourists will not be embarrassed nor locals offended.

During the tour, the leader or interpreter will educate the group on the more important points of Mongolian etiquette so that everyone feels more comfortable when we enter a local home or temple.

We do not take advantage of the need of financially poor nomadic people to make money by inconveniencing them unnecessarily. We put our tents beside a nomadic family’s ger rather than clients sleeping in a family ger and displacing family members.

Staff are treated fairly. They are provided with good quality, well maintained equipment and appropriate clothing.

Staff are given good and safe working conditions with quality tools and equipment.

The health of our staff is a high priority and the company assists with medical costs when appropriate.