Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing "B2", the most dominant male tiger in Bandhavgar, eating at a kill, washing himself like a domestic kitten, strolling nonchalantly across the track to a watering hole, growling... or perhaps the highlight was getting almost uncomfortably close to tigers from our elephant-back vantage point

Thoughts on Group Leader

Superb.  Harish Kumar has so many years experience of leading tours, often birding and nature tours, in India that his knowledge of the wildlife is encyclopedic; and his relationships with the parks, hoteliers, etc. strong enough to make things work as smoothly as they can (given that this is India).  India is not a trivially easy place to travel but Harish and his colleagues in India made things work for us.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I do recommend the trip but you do need to think twice before you book.  It's a long way to fly then train and minibus to undertake perhaps 50 hours of game drives without the certainty of seeing these (admittedly magnificent) animals.  If you think you may take a serious dislike to the public transport, food, high risk of Delhi Belly spoiling a day or more of your trip, or frustration at (temporary) lack of tigers (or indeed if you are very lucky getting 'tigered out' by the end of the trip!) then you might be better off doing e.g. an African safari or a more leisurely 'cultural' tour of India.You need to have a certain level of robustness, in my view, for this trip's rewards (tigers and some, but not much, of the region's history) to outweigh its frustrations and pitfalls.    However, if you are committed to the idea of seeing this animal in its last redoubts, then this is the trip for you.  While (in my opinion based on what I learned on this trip and from speaking to many other travellers) any trip that spends more than 2 full days in Bandhavgar will pretty reliably give you tigers, this trip gives you time in two other reserves which are not only pretty rich in tigers themselves but have their own characters and strengths: Ranthamore with its ancient fort and hunting palaces scattered through the park; Kanha with its open grasslands and rich bird life.  

Most Inspirational Moment

Passing through the Siq at Petra for the first time. Then walking upto the High Place using a route that was off the beaten track and gave a different perspective of the site.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The tour leader was one of the best I've experienced. Nothing was too much trouble for him and he could answer any question about all the sites we visited.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take a fleece in the colder months - and ear plugs if you're a light sleeper and likely to be woken by early morning prayers (.. and perhaps snoring in Wadi Rum)

Most Inspirational Moment

Meeting the locals.  They have few material possessions, which we take for granted in the UK, and yet they are incredibly generous.  We were invited into homes, and offered food and drink, which families could ill afford to give away.  It reminded me of what is truly important in life - family, friends and a sense of community.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Superb.  Knowledgeable, friendly, thoughtful and attentive.  Two members of the group celebrated birthdays while we were away and Laz arranged cakes, American cars and entry to salsa clubs!  The drivers, Tuna and Alberto, were also very friendly and did a brilliant job.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Go to Cuba!

Most Inspirational Moment

Everyday the brilliant blue sky for us sun starved Brits!The food - tasty, varied and plentiful, the porridge kept us going in the mornings. The scenery in the mountains and learning a little of the hard life of the villagers, which has changed litle in 500 years. The people we met were unfailingly cheerful and friendly. 

Thoughts on Group Leader

Hassan was great. He was kind, patient and gentle. Very happy to answer our questions which he must have heard a million times before. He worked very hard and only seemed to be off duty when we were asleep. He was encouraging on the walks too. A real treasure!Mohammed gave us a very interesting tour of Marrakesh.The cook at the gite was great, we specially welcomed the hot tea and food on our picnics. 

Advice for Potential Travellers

Hot water bottle to get you off to sleepPillows and blankets provided, we were always warm at night sleeping in thermals. Couples had their own room which was a bonus.No shoes in the dining area so good idea to take thick socks. As others have said it really does get cold up in the mountains you do need thermals and fleeces, hats and gloves. The puddles were frozen when we were walking. Andrex wipes useful for a 'wash' in the morning, and slip on shoes to go to the shower - ones you can wear socks with. Blisteze seemed to be the best for preventing chapped lips. Also soluble vitamin C tablets to make the treated water more drinkable.  

Suggestions

This was such a great holiday. We always felt safe, everything was well organised too. Maybe we were lucky as our group of 16 got on very well. It is so interesting hearing other travellers tales.It is not a restful holiday, although they do say a change is as good as a rest. We were on the go most of the time and ready for bed by 9.30! The walks were quite challenging, especially the last 32km walk, which involved lots of walking on stones as well as the climbing. Some people in the group chose not to do it. The 3 walks were graded to build up our stamina, though I would say you have to be reasponably fit to enjoy them. We found walking poles invaluable.The scenery is stunning, amazing. Coming back to Marrakesh didn't feel a scary as it did on the first day and we enjoyed the souks and eating freshly cooked food at market stalls in the square.If you want to shop then I recommend getting 'Shopping in Marrakesh' by Susan Simon. it is a lovelybook in its own right , describing various shops, with photographs of each one. I got it from Amazon and it is very useful, explaining where you can buy different things , giving walking maps and recommending reliable traders. The ladies in the group loved it!  Last of all check the website for the latest ideas of what the villagers need most at the time you are going. I know it takes time, but they have so little...........................We came back feeling envigorated and refreshed, and would really like to visit Morocco again. 

Most Inspirational Moment

Probably the views on the walks and the great experience of walking through woodland in deep, powdery snow.  One has no sense of being in crowded places on these walks.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Carl was first class.  He organized the pace, provided all the information we needed and generally went the extra mile to be sure we all enjoyed the experience.  The minibus provided the ideal way to get to and from walks.

Advice for Potential Travellers

As long as you are a reasonably fit walker, relax and enjoy.

Suggestions

Hotel Adler was excellent.  Food was delicious and the staff and ambience were always welcoming and positive.   The bar and the spa facilities were especially appreciated at the end of each day's walking.  The beer is delicious and not expensive.

Most Inspirational Moment

Summiting Mount Toubkal in Winter. The views were stunning!.

Thoughts on Group Leader

The group leader Mohammed was superb!. Friendly and entertaining, approachable and easily became one of the group. His english is very good, he is intelligent, and always wanted to learn more. Likewise he had a wealth of local knowledge to share.

Advice for Potential Travellers

- You do not require ice axe and crampon skills before this trip. You are shown if required and it is pretty simple to pick up the basics. This trip really is, as advertised, a great introduction to winter walking.- This trip is very achievable but do not underestimate it. The walking would be relatively simple in the summer I would suggest. However, doing it in anything up to thigh deep snow is tough, whether going up or down hill.- The weather can be severe and changable as always in the mountains. The trip notes are comprehensive from Exodus but I would suggest you bring a set of ski style goggles as well as the recommended sun glasses. Sunglasses were not up to having ice and snow blasted into them by the wind. They froze up so you couldn't see, but you couldn't take them off or your eyes got blasted. You see the dilemma!. Those with goggles coped much better in some persistent harsh conditions. - Taking your IPOD and a good book is essential. Due to the weather there can be a lot of waiting around and be prepared for the itinerary to change accordingly too.

Suggestions

The Atlas Mountains in Winter. From the UK, a very accessible, and relatively unknown and unprioritised diamond!.

Most Inspirational Moment

Thought the Cu Chi tunnels was a fantastic experience.  So many highlights though also loved Halong Bay, and experiencing  the Mekong Delta

Thoughts on Group Leader

Thang was incredible.  His organisational skills are second to none, his knowledge unbelievable, not only about the places visited on the trip but his cultural knowledge and lots of snippets on the way of life out there which were so interesting.  The meals we were taken for were fantastic and such good value.  What a lovely person to be with.  He definitely made the holiday for me and my husband.  Well done Thang! best guide for me.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Just go and enjoy, you can get clothes washed on this trip at two locations so don't take too much we could have taken less.  Towels are provided throughout another saving on luggage.

Most Inspirational Moment

trip to sugar plantation

Thoughts on Group Leader

brillant so enthusiastic

Advice for Potential Travellers

enjoy

Suggestions

nice mix cycling and tourism

Most Inspirational Moment

Osorno Volcano in teh lake district it is everywhere.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Very knowledgeable, lovely personality, and had a real interest in making sure thge group got the most out of their time in each area. Went out of her way to assist or get answers to questions posed. On arranging the internal flights she took the time, to prebook online, chosing the seats carefully, enabling the team to get great views of the Andes from the plane, given the number of intenal flight and time in air this was greatly appreciated by me, if not the rest of the group. The local guides were also very good, they provided specific local information varying from wildlife spotting, to local speciality restuarants/shops, this complemented the information available from the group leader and the guides books.

Advice for Potential Travellers

There are a lot of early starts, so be prepared for cake and tea for breakfast on a number of occassions.

Suggestions

The Don Juan hotel in Atacama was not great. The beds probably need to be replaced, as you woke yourself up turning over.Atacama - after visiting the geysers  the last afternoon seemed wasted, as already had plenty of free time in San Pedro.  It maybe there to enable other optional day trips, so depending on the popularity of the optionals, you may was to consider, travelling to Lake District instead, giving the trip more time here potentially enabling an optional trip to Chiloe island, which was the one thing missing of the exodus itinerary that I would have liked to have done.

Most Inspirational Moment

I enjoy seeing wild life and going to the diminishing pool of wild places. There were two of us on this tour who felt the same way about wild life. We both understood that the best chance of spotting a snow leopard or ounce was to be as unobtrusive as possible. On one day, we climbed to one of the recommended viewing peaks and sat in almost complete silence for nearly two hours. It was a joy to listen to the snow cocks, the yellow-billed choughs and the Chukkar partridges calling to one another. We saw golden eagles and lammergiers wheeling and circling in the bright blue sky. We heard the blue sheep whistling to each other as they came down to drink at a nearby stream. We were surrounded by snow peaked mountains and it was very beautiful. No ounces but a magical experience for both of us.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Our leader Sohan was very good. He was friendly, knowledgeable and efficient. I favour using local guides because it helps the local economy and I feel that they get the best out of the local people. It also puts more attention in the conservation of local wild life. However, if there is 'the one' on the tour who demands more attention than the rest of the group, the poor old local guide has to put more effort into satisfying them rather than with the rest of the group. Sohan and all the other guides we had, were excellent but we did have 'that one'.  

Advice for Potential Travellers

This tour is a very interesting one. However, it was very cold. Certainly our night temperatures were possibly nudging -20. You must have the right equipment. Good warm, waterproof boots, a good 5 season sleeping bag with mattress, warm clothing, thermal underwear, gloves, hats and a stick. I normally think walking sticks are a bind because I like to have my hands free for binoculars etc. However, on this tour a stick was essential. Gaiters are useful but I never used my yak-trax. Crossing icy rivers was hazardous and we did fall but putting on and then taking off the yak-trax took up too much effort. Remember the altitudes are high - up to 4200 meters. All exercise was exacting. Remember to take slipper socks for the monastery visits. Those floors and the floors of the hotel in Leh are freezing cold.

Suggestions

There is a lot to see on this trip. It is exacting with the altitude and extreme cold. I would like to mention that one of the factors I think that we did not see an ounce, was human chatter, laughter and unbelievably, at one point, shouting. One of the cats we were following left the track, possibly because of a local man traveling down the track on his mule from his village. Now these cats are used to that but they are not used to excited, noisy human chatter. There should be more emphasis on silence. I was rather dreading our stay in Delhi having been before. However, we decided to use the metro to get about. The Delhi metro is clean, cheap and very efficient. However, it is very crowded particularly at rush hour. If you use it, make sure that you are not boxed in at your exit station. Move up to the doors well in advance. Do not be afraid to push your way through. Everyone does. Ladies use the 'Ladies Only' carriage at the front of the train to avoid being 'groped'! Take a good map and travel to your site by 'tuk tuk' from the metro station. Good luck.