India’s Largest Birding Ground Handlers

The Wildlife Specialists Ecotourism Experts Conservation Travel USP

In a nutshell, the principles that define ecotourism include destinations that:

• Minimise human impact on the environment;
• Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect;
• Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts;
• Ensure direct financial benefits for conservation and empowerment for local people; and
• Raise sensitivity to the host countries’ political, environmental, and social climate.

As tour operators, it is our responsibility to use our special position as an intermediary between our guests and local teams, and collaborate with governments, NGOs, local suppliers, local residents and consumers, in order to achieve sustainability.

Tourism For Conservation – Conservation for Tourism

This is more than just a catchy slogan for us. Since our inception in 1994, we have believed that to intertwine tourism and conservation, and having them work hand-in-hand, is the best way to have a sustainable model and an enjoyable experience for our guests. That’s why our motto is Tourism for Conservation and Conservation for Tourism.
 
We have been in the field of ecotourism for 28+ years. It is never easy to keep pace with the fast-developing world, with development being synonymous with deforestation, littering, pollution, etc. Through our grit and determination, we have maintained high standards of sustainable tourism throughout these years. We rather take pride in where we stand today, under the able guidance of our founder Mr. Mohit Aggarwal, who comes from the Kumaon Hills and is an avid nature lover, a man who thinks twice before disposing of even his used pen!
 
Over the years, Asian Adventures has taken numerous conservation measures across the nation, and now, we desire to put more effort to scale it up. Those who have traveled with us remember us not only for giving them an incredible experience but also for maintaining the highest quality standards and transparency each time.
 
1. Eco-stays
Our mission all began with providing sustainable lodging accommodation to tourists. Not only are the management techniques here environmentally friendly but these ecolodges have also been constructed without deforestation. Thus, each of our stays is amid thick jungles, in the midst of nature, and created using stone and minimum wood.
 
2. Zero-litter, No plastic zones
We are very strict about no littering, no plastic. Every tourist who travels with us has to carry biodegradable or cloth bags to deposit the waste they create (say, during a birding tour) and later dispose of at the garbage bins. Moreover, single-use plastic is banned at all our stays. You will be provided biodegradable cups/bags/plates if need be.
Asian Adventures also supports Chintan, the experts of toxic waste who are currently working with our help on micro solutions of garbage disposal in Pangot, a Himalayan village near Nainital, Uttarakhand. This initiative is called the Zero Waste Pangot Drive.
Asian Adventures has also funded training programs of the Bagh Foundation in Nandaur Tiger Reserve, and the study conducted by NSI on the impact of garbage on the wildlife of Pangot.
 
3. Conservation efforts at nature reserves 
Since conservation is a key philosophy at Asian Adventures, we have supported the electronic fencing at Kaziranga, sponsored the Oriental Bird Club, with a vision to promote traveler interest in birds and their protection and initiated some measures for wildlife protection at Corbett Tiger Reserve.
 
4. Supporting self-reliance for conservation
What will the youth from the jungle regions do, if there is no bread-earning opportunity? Obviously, they will resort to means like selling off their land for the construction of a resort. Or may employ himself in the development sector which indirectly means felling trees for more and more construction in some way or the other, or even migrate to larger cities, leaving debt-ridden elders to sell off their land. With the help of Planeterra, Asian Adventures is closely working with denizens in selected Himalayan regions in order to turn them into self-reliant individuals and groups and hopes to extend this to more areas in the subcontinent.
 
4.1 How do we do it?
Asian Adventures has done this through various causes, small and large. We have provided training in Pangot to youth to be Bird Guides. We have also helped local communities set up village-style dhabas like the Ittu Sa Restaurant at Heritage Village in Jim Corbett (also called Chhoti Haldwani), helping them earn a living without harming wildlife, and also providing travelers with an authentic local experience. Asian Adventures, thus has bigger and better plans for not only providing the best experiences of various hues and shades to the tourists that avail of its services but also making them partners in the drive to protect our Mother Earth.
 
5. Promote local homestays over the construction of new resorts
We are also working desperately with residents of the Himalayan region to transform their houses or properties into authentic homestays. Imagine if this happens, like it is happening in Ladakh. How many trees can we save through existing accommodation, rather than creating new buildings? New resorts mean doing away with more trees, while homestays mean retaining the green cover! Not only are we helping local communities become self-reliant, but also take responsibility for keeping the charm of the region preserved, helping them contribute to conservation, and helping showcase and preserve local traditions, customs, and cuisine.
 
6. Why nature tours are our USP
Taking people close to nature, close to the local wild inhabitants of the region, letting them soak in the energy of untouched environs, and reconnect with nature. This is our USP. Why do we do it? Because until you feel the love of nature, you won’t give the same love back to nature. Only when you feel enchanted by the Aura of the greenery and the wild animals, and feel a connection, will you join our efforts towards Nature Conservation. It is as simple as telling you not to throw stones at monkeys in the city who jump at you for food. Why? Because to give space to your home, their homes (trees were done away with). This is the reason that all our tours promote nature conservation — to help you empathize with the natural habitats and inhabitants of the region and thus save them.

7. Travelife
We are engaged with the Travelife certification program and we have started the process to work step-by-step toward complying with its international sustainability standards. 
 
Travelife is a three-stage certification program for tour operators and travel agents:
(1) Travelife Engaged
(2) Travelife Partner and 
(3) Travelife Certified. 
 
We are at stage 1
- Travelife Engaged. We are working to move forward.
We are working to move forward to stage 2
- Travelife Partner.

8. Global Wildlife Fair
Because of Covid lockdowns, new ways had to come in, and our business models altered. We saw the lockdown as a period of change, of coming together and joining hands, and sought to create a platform where natural history professionals of various fields can come together to exchange ideas and collaborate. This is how the Global Wildlife Fair came into being.

Global Wildlife Fair is an ever-growing marketplace for aiding conservation through financial and physical resources.

We aim to garner resources to help save endangered wildlife, provide readily accessible information regarding any form of conservation knowledge, create a marketplace for ecotourists and ecotourism providers, and provide a network for jobs, conservation funds, and sustainable travel.
 
Join us! The more the better! 

Any individual or organization which desires to extend a supportive hand in this direction is warmly and duly invited. In fact, join us! The more the merries. Our next generations deserve clean air, lush green forests, the song of the birds, and gushing waterfalls. And if we don’t join hands today, perhaps it will be too late. So come on, come all.