Whenever we travel we have an impact. At Untamed Borders, we strive to make the impact of all our trips as beneficial as possible for our guests and for the regions we visit. Travel is not a necessity in life, but something that should be loved and cherished and whenever undertaken, undertaken with forethought, care and intention.
We are committed in four key areas to ensuring trips with Untamed Borders are taken responsibly:
- Our commitment to adventure – we believe that every trip we do should leave lasting memories for our guests, that they feel they have done or witnessed something extraordinary.
- Our commitment to the communities we visit – every time we visit an area we impact upon it. We endeavour to ensure those impacts bring benefit.
- Our commitment to the environment – to try and ensure our trips have as little impact as possible on the environment.
- Our commitment to safety and security – to ensure our trips evaluate and reduce risk to our guests.
For examples of how we try and live up to these commitments, see below.
Our Commitment to Adventure
Untamed Borders is the antithesis to the mass-market travel industry. We take individuals and small groups to destinations which usually see very few visitors and we work closely with local people from those regions. This allows our guests to have a more authentic experience of the regions, people and cultures they meet. When our guests visit a Yazidi shrine, dance at a Kalasha wedding or spend time with Afghan shepherds they are getting a 100% genuine experience.
Our Commitment to Community
Because we mainly visit places that receive few tourists we have a special responsibility to these regions and the people in them. We only travel in small groups, we use local guides and we encourage lots of interaction between our guests and the people in the places we visit. This approach ensures as much money as possible reaches the local community, by utilising locally-owned restaurants, accommodation, shops and hiring local people as guides, drivers and translators. We believe in trying to make every guest interaction a cultural exchange. A trip is only truly successful if both the people we guide, as well as the people from the region we guide, have a positive experience.
Our Commitment to the Environment
Every trip, whether you like it or not, has an impact on the (local) environment. We need to eat, drink and sleep somewhere and preferably move around to explore the region. We are working hard to reduce the environmental footprint of our trips to an absolute minimum. Whenever possible we travel by local transport. During our trekking expeditions we adhere to the leave-no-trace policy and ensure we are always responsible for our waste – “take only pictures, leave only footprints” is the aim.
Our Commitment to Safety & Security
As well as offering some incredible adventures for the intrepid traveller, some of our destinations offer equally unique risks and dangers. We take our guests security very seriously, staff frequently check safety reports and ensure they are aware of any potential problems. We take advice from many sources ranging from governments and independent security advisers to tribal chiefs and bus drivers. All of which allows us to make your trip memorable for all the right reasons.
Our expeditions visit some of the world’s remotest mountain, desert and jungle regions. These journeys require careful planning, including a thorough risk assessment. Our trekking guides are among the most experienced mountain professionals in the field. They all hold their Wilderness First Aid award or equivalent. Each expedition leader on our group trips will carry a satellite phone. We also ensure that all our local staff is well equipped for the task.
For more information on our safety and security protocols in a specific destination, get in touch.