Adventure vacation in Bolivia

Planet

On this vacation we ask that you bring your water bottle to be filled with drinking water in order to avoid buying plastic bottled water. The Leave No Trace guidelines are followed throughout the vacation and on our treks we leave campsites and trails spotless. Clean-ups along trek routes and local rivers are organized too. On treks reusable cloth bags are used for snacks instead of small plastic bags. Biodegradable soap and dishwashing liquid are used on trek.

At our offices, in the UK and La Paz we limit printing and recycle where possible.

People

In the Salar we stay at community run hotels, where all profits go back to a community in need of additional income from sustainable tourism. We employ local staff.

Our guides explain in detail local customs and culture and provide an insight into how these remote communities survive, and ensure the culture of Bolivia is portrayed well.

For all of our treks we buy fresh local produce. In preference we choose local over imported goods, encouraging the use of local products in our cooking.

We book locally owned hotels by preference, avoiding large chain hotels where possible to ensure money stays within Bolivia.

We are involved in the ongoing training of our trek staff. All our porters/donkey drivers are local to the areas we trek through. They carry a maximum 20kg load, and are provided with tents and food. We pay and treat our staff fairly.

Our Bolivian based partner is a Bolivian company that employs Bolivian staff. The company pays a fair wage and invests a percentage of profits in community-based development and training.

Since 2006 we have been able to support the Huchuy Yachaq community project in the marginalised neighbourhood of Hermanos Ayar, on the outskirts of Cusco, with the help of everybody who has travelled with us. We donate USD 3000 a year to this community project.

The project has been set up by volunteer social workers and teachers to provide much needed social and educational support to the children and families of this neighbourhood. Children are encouraged to attend study and games sessions held each afternoon and participate in vacation projects. Our contributions so far have paid for educational books and games, tables and chairs, improvements to the structure of the basic community owned building and the addition of functioning toilets, materials for the children to take to school, school books, vacation programmes.