Audley employee to travel across the Himalayas in a rickshaw!

Jimmy on a rickshaw in India

Two years ago one Audley employee and two of his friends drove from Goa to Pokhara – 3000 km right across the heart of India in a ridiculous rickshaw.

Now they have decided to up the ante and buy two rickshaws to drive up and into the Himalayas. The roads in Northern India are some of the highest and toughest in the world and they will cross a series of 5000 metre passes before hopefully bagging the Khardung La at 5361m, the highest road in the world. At the same time they aim to break a record for the highest three wheeler in the world.

Now you may think that Jimmy, Audley’s East Africa Regional Manager, and his friends are mad, but their journey is not without cause. They will be raising money for the Shuxiong school, cut of from the rest of the world for eight months of the year. Recently the subject of a BBC documentary this school has one of the toughest school runs anywhere with children trekking dozens of miles along ice rivers. Jimmy and his friends aim to raise money to help transport the children, provide heating in their classrooms and also increase the classroom space. This will make a massive difference to the chances of these children getting a decent education.

All money raised will go directly to the school.

Best of luck to all three!

Tiger population increases in India by 20%

Royal Bengal Tiger

According to India’s Environment and Forests Ministry there are now 1,706 tigers living in and around reservations, national parks and protected forests compared to 1,411 in 2006.

Officials said the largest increases were in Corbett and Kaziranga national parks where tigers enjoy the highest levels of protection but thriving populations were also in the least guarded reserved forests.

Continue reading »

Sloth Bear Encounter

Sloth Bear, Tadoba National Park, India

Sophie Tissiman, our India Specialist, has recently returned from a trip to Tadoba National Park, an ‘off the beaten track’ area of Maharashtra. Here she shares her encounter with a Sloth Bear…

Our early morning wake up is with Indian Chai and a biscuit, our naturalist is waiting with a big smile and eager eye for adventure. After a few minutes drive I find myself inside the most enchanting national park I have ever seen, the heavenly lake, mystic mountains and wavering meadows. The sun is rising and the warm first morning rays of light are beaming through the forest canopy. Continue reading »

Nepal to re-measure Mount Everest to end China row

Everest region, Nepal

Nepal has ordered a new survey of Mount Everest, to end a long running dispute with China over its exact height. The Chinese have always argued that it should be measured by its rock height, while Nepal believes it should be the snow height, a good four metres taller.

Despite an agreement last year that the height should be 8,848m high, the Chinese still use the rock height, but now Nepal has the technology they plan to measure the mountain for the first time themselves. Geologists believe that the mountain is becoming higher as India is gradually pushed beneath China and Nepal because of shifting continental plates.

 Find out more about this story on the BBC website

Ranthambhore Park Guide says ‘thank you’ to Audley

Newly trained park guide Anil Rawat

Audley Travel has been a member of TOFT (Travel Operators for Tigers) since 2007. For those of you who don’t know, TOFT supports a sustainable approach to tourism in the wildlife reserves of India in conjunction with Global Tiger Control.

This means that for every client who books a tour through us, we ensure that their trip will benefit the local villagers and wildlife within the park and the tour will be carried out responsibly. Continue reading »

Indian elephants to go on spa holiday

Elephant festival, Jaipur

Indian elephants from a Hindu temple in Kerala are to be sent on a month-long holiday package complete with massages and bath oils.

The herd of 64 elephants from the Sree Krishna Temple in Thrissur will be fed large quantities of food and pampered, after having spent months walking on tarred roads, living on palm leaves and bananas and playing guard of honour during numerous temple festivals.

Their daily ‘spa’ diet will consist of special rice, horse gram and turmeric in addition to a mix of multi-vitamins, tonics and minerals and liver extracts, all monitored by experts.

The treatments and special diet will hopefully rejuvenate the elephants ahead of their busy work schedule later in the year when they will be the principal attraction.

The entire elephant ‘holiday’ package will cost the temple authorities over £12,500, but additional funds were available if required for the highly revered animals.

Possessing elephants is a traditional symbol of prestige for temples across southern India and Hindus worship the elephant god Ganesha as he provides worshippers with wisdom, prudence and power.

If you would like to find out more about arranging a tailor-made trip to Kerala, visit the kerala section on our website, or call our Kerala specialists on 01993 838355.

Treasures discovered in Kerala, India

Treasure thought to be worth billions of rupees has been discovered in the secret underground chambers of a temple in Kerala.

Over 1000kg of gold coins, sacks full of diamonds, and thousands of rare necklaces are among the valuables unearthed at Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, thought to have been hidden in the vaults for over a century.

The treasure was discovered by auditors during an inventory check, making the temple the wealthiest in India. It is thought that Kerala’s former royals had their immense riches sealed within the temple walls.

Security has been stepped up at the temple and a decision is expected to be made shortly regarding the future of the treasure, once the size of the entire find has been evaluated.

The discovery has raised questions about who should manage the wealth and whether the money should go back into the temple or become state Government property. The treasures may even go on display in a museum, independent of the temple.

If you would like to find out more about arranging a tailor-made trip to Kerala, visit the Kerala section on our website, or call our Kerala specialists on 01993 838355.

Tell us about your travel stories

The McCurdie family celebrate Christmas Day in the Masai Mara, Kenya

“Our visit to Malacca was an intriguing end to our visit to Malaysia, a country where numerous traditions, religions, cultures and cuisines meet and blend harmoniously.”
Nigel Wright, Malaysia

“Our heads and hearts are full of the images, sights, sounds, and smells, but perhaps the most lingering image of all is the one of the Cambodian people.”
Valerie and Raymond Gatward, Cambodia

“To have spent the time with the wonderfully friendly people of the Governor’s Camp among the enchanting wildlife of the Masai Mara made it an experience we shall treasure forever.”
Dr Ian McCurdie, Masai Mara in Kenya

These are just some of the comments we have received and which you can read in full in our Client Stories section of the Audley Magazine.

How to send us your Audley travel stories
It’s easy, if you’ve been on a trip with us simply click on this link and upload your text and photos. If you do you’ll also have a chance to win a £50 Bobbooks’ photobook voucher.

In the footsteps of Darwin

The route of the second voyage of HMS Beagle (1831-1836)

On this day 175 years ago HMS Beagle anchored in Simons Bay, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. It was on a momentous five year voyage and on board was a man who would become the world’s most famous naturalist – Charles Darwin.

Following in Darwin’s footsteps (or perhaps wake might be more appropriate) nowadays is a little tricky unless you have lots of money and around five years to spare, but with Audley you can visit many of the places he visited. To this end I have listed some of these and accompanied each with a quote from his journal in which he describes what he finds in these places.

Continue reading »

Rebook your Selsdon Travel / Dreamticket.com holiday with Audley

We were sorry to hear today that Selsdon Travel / Dreamticket.com has ceased trading, affecting their clients who have booked  a holiday to the Indian Ocean (Seychelles, Mauritius), Middle East, Far East, Africa and the Caribbean.

We have already received a few calls from their customers looking to re-arrange their trips with Audley. Whilst we are unable to help with the Caribbean (it’s not a destination that Audley offers), we are often able to re-arrange the same or a similar itinerary to most of their destinations.

If you are affected and would like to speak with us for advice, with a view to re-booking your trip, then please do give us a call on 01993 838 500 or contact us online and we will see what we can do to help.

For more details on our range of tailor-made holidays visit our website.