Janet Wallace, September 2008

Big granite mountains with bizarre rock formations - Amazing pink and white limestone cliffs - Hike into "Vulchur's Mouth" canyon in the mountains above the Gobi Desert - Ride camels in the big sand dunes - Forest of Gobi saxaul trees - Flaming Cliffs where Roy Chapman Andrews discovered dinosaur eggs

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From	To	Description	Num Days	Price	Booking
15-Aug-2012	24-Aug-2012	Euro 1295 Price includes 2 nights hotel in Ulaanbaatar, 7 nights traditional ger camp, all meals on tour (but not in Ulaanbaatar), transfers and transportation in 4 x 4 jeep, entrance fees, permit to enter restricted area, hire of camels. 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 Airport transfers All meals All meals and activities Arrival starter pack Breakfast Cots Electricity Gratuities and tips Insurance Logs NOT included in the price: Bed Linen Dinner Entrance/ Admission fees Government International flights Lunch

• Bank Transfer

The ger camps where we stay in the countryside 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.

One or two places that we go to in the Gobi, for example Yoliin Am and Bayanzag, are the highlight of any tour to the Gobi and have quite a number of tourist visitors each day. This has encouraged a few local people to station themselves at these places and sell small souvenirs that they have made, for example wooden carvings or felt handcrafts. These make wonderful reminders of your holiday and in buying them you can be sure that you are making a positive contribution directly to the family who is selling the items. These people live in an almost cash-less economy and have little opportunity to make money to buy essentials such as flour and tea.

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.

The staff on this tour are all Mongolian and their salaries make a considerable financial difference to their families since unemployment in Mongolia is high and for those employed by the State, salaries are low. People joining this tour will enjoy the country and the people in the knowledge that they are making a positive contribution to the local economy.

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.