For those who do not know yet, every year the prestigious Olympia Exhibition Centre
in London hosts a brilliant event called Adventure Travel Show where visitors
can become familiar with a wide range of choices in active travel and tourism
around the world.
This is
how accidentally I came across the independent Expedition Leaders catering for
those discerning travellers who are passionate about sustainable travel,
ethical tourism and responsible practices. Inside the Incredible Journeys Theatre, it was indeed a great
pleasure to listen to the talk about rural tourism in the subcontinent called:
“A Journey to Rural and Best Parts of India” delivered by Puran.
Fortunately,
this pleasant coincidence enabled me to be immersed in the rich culture of
India’s rural tourism and get so close to the lives of the people who live in
the same geographic area.
Back to
back, the talk was consistent and described what a typical 14 day tour entails,
it consistently mesmerised the audiences showcasing the personal stories behind
the famous train station and the rail service in Shimla.
By the
way, Shimla is a famous hill station historically made famous by the British
Raj establishment when it became necessary to escape the stifling heat season
in the subcontinent. On top of all that, it was also great to learn how it is
now possible these days to cut through the red tape and obtain an e-visa for
India.
Expedition
Leaders are experts in catering for the active and ethically minded tourist who
can clearly benefit from specially created tours and explore off the beaten
tracks by pursuing cultural routes, trekking, cycling sturdy mountain bikes,
thus interacting first hand with nature, wildlife and the local population.
So far,
tourists have enjoyed carefully led expeditions and bespoke tours to Himachal
Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Sikkim, Kerala and Nepal. The
event also presented to the audience Puran’s book entitled “The Himalayan
Bond”, which was inspired by his traditional and humble upbringing due to his own
parents instilling in him the love for Nature from a very tender age.
Feeling alarmed by
the way India’s new generation is neglecting Mother Nature’s real worth and
dismissing the value of the ancient arts and crafts from the rural areas,
whilst being enticed by the higher earning employment prospects and bright
lights of the big cities, Puran decided to raise the issue in order to preserve
India’s ancient heritage and pay cultural homage to the traditional Indian
community of artisans.
By the
way, this is an activity that started first in Himachal Pradesh ( India, 2012)
on a school expedition with Newark Academy students from a school in New Jersey
(USA) and has gained consistent momentum ever since.

Interesting for all travel communities, but more important to sustain life! All travel community need to encourage all travellers to plant a tree for clean air...
ReplyDeleteVery Good
ReplyDeleteExcellent work
ReplyDeleteGreat company to travel with, we really enjoyed our Indian experience with Expedition Leaders
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