Mt. Meru Game Lodge
The Mt. Meru Game Lodge and Sanctuary is located just outside of the town of Arusha. Set in a quiet and beautiful wooded area, you will be visited by monkeys, zebras, ostrich, storks, and other amazing safari animals. This is a great option for before and/or after your Tanzania safari.
Double rooms are $174-275/room/night B&B.
Through Adventures Within Reach and the Adventure Travel Trade Association, our clients can get some great discounts! These offers expire June 30, 2009.
Free shipping on GORE-TEX footwear and other great gear (minimum purchase $30). Go to www.summithut.com/pages/atta and use code ATTA.
30% off ExOfficio adventure travel clothing and gear. Go to www.exoffico.com and use code EZATTA (one use only).
84% off the cover price on a Men’s Journal 15-issue subscription — only $11.97. Go to www.mensjournal.com/ATTA to subscribe.
Free shipping on Eagle Creek travel gear (minimum purchase $30). Go to www.summithut.com/pages/atta and use code ATTA.
20% off guides from Footprint and The Globe Pequot Press. Go to www.thenewgpp.com and use code ATTA.
Discounts on individual and family MedjetAssist memberships for global travel protection. Go to www.medjet.com/atta.
For the second year in a row, Adventures Within Reach (AWR) was designated as one of the “Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth” by National Geographic Adventure.
Companies are rated based on
We are especially proud that our rating for each criteria improved from last year.
Adventures Within Reach provides an authentic experience in each destination highlighting the most interesting and educational sights a country has to offer, visits with local people, volunteering, nature, and physical activity.
AWR will strive to improve our customer experience every year.
Machu Picchu
Inca Trail permits are now available for sale! The June, July and August permits always sell the fastest. Remember, there are only 500 per day, and this includes the clients, the guide, the cook and porters, who also need permits.
This year, travelers are booking earlier, so it helps to have a bit of flexibility in the start day for your trek. We can probably get you permits IF you have a couple days before and after your preferred date… as “back up”, in case your preferred date is sold out.
To get a permit for the Inca Trail, the national park service requires the hiker’s passport information and a non-refundable deposit. The permits are issued for a specific person on a specific date at a specific point on the Inca Trail. Once purchased, these permits are not transferable or changeable in any way.
If you are planning on hiking the Inca Trail this summer, contact us as soon as possible to reserve your preferred dates! We have some set departures available if you want to join a group. These also require permits, but are more reasonably priced for the single traveler or two people traveling together. We also offer a $50/person discount, for booking a group trek 4 months prior to your arrival.
For the 8-day Salkantay trek in a group, we offer a $100/person discount for early booking (also 4 months prior to arrival). Note that the Salkantay trek joins the Inca Trail on the fifth day, so permits are required. The same is true for the 2-day Inca Trail Express even though you are not camping in tents, you are still hiking the Inca Trail!
Availability for joining groups for the 5-day Inca Trail, as of January 16, 2009:
There are a number of alternative treks in the Cusco area that are not as famous as the Inca Trail, but are in many ways much more interesting and beautiful.
The Quechua Villages and Inca Ruins Trek takes you through the rural countryside from Cusco to Ollantaytambo through the villages of Parpishu, Chilipahua, and Peroniyoc. You will not see other tourists on this trek, but you will have the opportunity to interact with the local people as well as magnificent views of the surrounding mountains. This 3-day trek is finished off with two days at Machu Picchu including tour and overnight in Aguas Calientes — either with a day hike on the Inca Trail through the Sun Gate or via the Vistadome train.
We are also looking for one or two clients who would like to hike Ausengate in the Cordillera Vilcanota at the end of August or early September. If you would like this trek in a group, starting on a Sunday, let us know. We have a client who wants to join a group… AND… TWO or more make a group! Join in, for a beautiful trek.
The newest exciting trek this year is the trek to Choquiquero, the “new Machu Picchu”. Visited by very few people, this impressive ruins is part of two possible treks: a 5-day loop, or a 10-day Choquequerio to Machu Picchu! How awesome is that? And no crowds! Take a look at these possibilities:
If Peru is in your travel plans for this summer, contact us right away! We would be pleased to help you with your grand adventure!
Climbing Kilimanjaro
Don’t let the bad economy ruin your dream to climb Kilimanjaro…. Reserve your Kilimanjaro trek by January 31, 2009, and we will take $100 off the price! This discount applies to any route 5 days or longer but only to new customers and cannot be combined with other offers.
Adventures Within Reach offers all the routes on the mountain including:
Combine your trek with a Tanzania safari and Zanzibar excursion for the ultimate Tanzania holiday!
We offer safaris from 1 day to 10 days or more. Our most popular is the 5 day safari, which includes Lake Manyara, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro Crater.
Adventures Within Reach will be at the Chicago Adventure Travel Expo January 10-11, 2009. If you are in the area, we would love to see you!
Public Show Hours:
Saturday, January 10: 10:30am-5:30pm
Sunday, January 11: 11am-4:30pm
Location:
Donald E. Stephens Convention Center
(formerly Rosemont Convention Center)
5555 N. River Road
Register on-line for FREE admission (regularly $15). You are welcome to invite friends with this admission coupon.
To Access the free ticket offer, visit: www.adventureexpo.com/consumer. Type in PROMO CODE: EXHFREE
Volunteer with MAD in Tanzania
Adventures Within Reach (AWR) and Make A Difference (MAD) have partnered up to provide an opportunity for travelers to enjoy adventures such as climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, wildlife safaris, scuba diving and beach exploration while making a difference in the lives of disadvantaged children at orphanages and schools.
Make A Difference (MAD), a non-profit international organization based out of Ketchum, Idaho helps support and run orphanages and schools in Africa and India. Volunteers from around the have joined them in their mission to help empower disadvantage children and youth. Volunteers can choose between living at a volunteer guest house near the foot of Kilimanjaro or with host families while helping with the daily activities of the children, including teaching them about HIV/AIDS, Malaria and sanitation, literacy, gardening, fitness, jewelry making, construction and more. Volunteers can stay for at least one week and up to six months or more.
Once a year, MAD sponsors a charity climb up Kilimanjaro. Climbers are encouraged to raise donations to support the orphanage as well as raise awareness for the project in their home area. Each climber has the goal of raising $365 to sponsor one child from an orphanage in Tanzania. It only takes a $1 a day to feed, uniform and educate one of the children a year. AWR who has been handling treks and safaris in Tanzania for 9 years will handle the logistics of this year’s climb. AWR donates 5% of all Kilimanjaro treks and safaris booked via MAD to the project.
“Many of our travelers want to do more than just be a tourist when they visit a new country. By volunteering, they give back to the local people where they are traveling. They make personal connections and are changed as a person after this experience. We are excited to join up with Make A Difference to make it easy for travelers to be effective in the community,” remarked Robin Paschall, Founder of AWR, an adventure travel company in Boulder, Colorado.
“We couldn’t be more delighted to work with such a well experienced travel company such as, AWR. They are well respected in both the USA as well as Africa. We greatly appreciate their desire to give back. Now you can go on holiday and know that you are making a difference both in your life as well as the lives of those in need, “ stated, Founder of MAD, Theresa Grant.
Make A Difference helps empower orphaned children and youth. They do this by providing programs and services that focus on education, health, job skill training and income generating activities at orphanages and community schools.
Adventures Within Reach offers treks and cultural tours to Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Peru, Ecuador and Galapagos, Tibet, Bhutan, and Nepal. AWR sends thousands of people each year on their dream adventure. For more information about specific packages and prices, contact Adventures Within Reach at 303-325-3746, or visit http://www.AdventuresWithinReach.com/media/
For questions about volunteering for Make A Difference visit their Web site at: http://www.MakeADifferenceNow.org/
info@MakeADifferenceNow.org
208.309.2100
Children out of education worldwide: 121 million
According to UNICEF, 26,500-30,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.”
Around 27-28 percent of all children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or stunted. The two regions that account for the bulk of the deficit are South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Based on enrollment data, about 72 million children of primary school age in the developing world were not in school in 2005.
Nearly a billion people entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign their names.
Less than one per cent of what the world spent every year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet it didn’t happen.
Infectious diseases continue to blight the lives of the poor across the world. An estimated 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, with 3 million deaths in 2004. Every year there are 350–500 million cases of malaria, with 1 million fatalities: Africa accounts for 90 percent of malarial deaths and African children account for over 80 percent of malaria victims worldwide.
AWR is offering two new amazing treks in Nepal for 2009!
Luxury Lodge Everest Base Camp Trek
We are extending our Everest Base Camp Luxury Trek to 13 days in the Khumbu Valley so that trekkers can actually reach Everest Base Camp and Kala Patthar. You will stay in the Everest Summit Lodges for 9 of the nights and 3 nights in the very best local lodges. We have added 5 days in Kathmandu for an 18-day itinerary.
A new trek for us is the Gokyo, Kala Pattar & Everest Base Camp Trek — 15 days of trekking and 4 days in Kathmandu. This moderate to challenging trek takes to you to the foot of Mt. Everest traversing across the high Cho La pass at an elevation of 5420m/17344ft.
Also included is the opportunity to trek to the summit of both Gokyo Ri (5340m/17088ft) and Kala Pattar (5554m/17772ft) for magnificent views of Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Makalu, and Cho Oyu. A visit to Everest Base Camp will give you the chance to have a closer look at the spectacular Khumbu Icefall.
Potala Palace, Tibet
This 18-day tour takes you from Kathmandu to Lhasa and then to fascinating remote villages of the Tibetan plateau. This is a unique opportunity to experience Tibetan Buddhism and culture up close and personal!
John Vincent Bellezza is a scholar and author specializing in the pre-Buddhist phase of Tibetan civilization. He has spent 25 years exploring the most remote parts of the Great Western Himalaya and Tibet. No ordinary academic, John is a great story teller and entertainer, skills he developed during his long years of wandering around the Himalaya.
“I was really very impressed with him as a guide. John is totally professional, but fun and flexible. He knows everyone in Nepal and Tibet and showed us things we would have never seen on most trips. He always watched out for every person, coming up the rear of treks, negotiating for people, and giving frequent informational talks. I’ve been on many pilgrimages and treks and John’s pilgrimages still stand out as the most special.”
Dr. Lynne Heckert, Founder, Philadelphia Meditation Center
Samye Monastery, Lhasa
This is an unique opportunity to see Tibetan civilization in all its splendor with John Vincent Bellezza, one of the world’s leading authorities. From Buddhist monasteries to Eurasian animal art, this journey reveals Tibet in all her depth. John, an affable, sensitive and highly experienced expeditionary and tour leader, will guide a select group of people to Tibet’s rarest cultural treasures. John, who has spent a quarter of a century intensively exploring the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau, will share some of his most brilliant discoveries with us for the very first time.
This is an unparalleled view of Tibet, providing extraordinary insights into the culture and people of this charmed land. In addition, to visiting the great heritage sites, there will be plenty of time to get to know the Tibetans and enjoy their fun-loving spirit. John, who is fluent in various Tibetan dialects, encourages his fellow travelers to intensively interact with the Tibetans and ask those questions one has stored up for years. And what better way to get answers than to ask the people themselves.
The journey begins in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal and the heart of the Himalaya. With John, we will spend two days exploring special cultural sites in the Kathmandu valley. At Changu Narayan, Swoyambhunath and the old city state of Bhaktapur, witness how Himalayan civilization took root and grew layer by layer into its present form. In addition to visiting well known Hindu and Buddhist places, John will lead us to hardly-known Iron Age sites, where we can appreciate the links between the Newar and Tibetan cultures before the rise of Sanskrit influences. We will have plenty of time to chat with the experts and ordinary people of all persuasions.
After three days we fly to Lhasa, Tibet’s famous capital. We will visit a rich array of cultural and archaeological treasures throughout the area. John will lead us to spectacular places such as the Potala and Jokhang, revealing their most ancient aspects. There will also be time to explore fascinating pilgrimage sites on the edge of the Lhasa valley. En route to Shigatse, Tibet’s second city, we will stop at the most important monasteries of the Bon religion. While there are many superficial similarities, through art, design and literature, John will show us how Bon and Buddhism differ from one another.
In Shigatse we will have time to see the city’s greatest spectacles, gaining a deeper appreciation of the depth and breadth of Tibetan civilization. From Shigatse we will head north through the majestic Transhimalaya range. In the Shang valley we will pass a string of Buddhist centers and natural power sites. At Sokpo see one of the region’s greatest cave hermitages and have a chance to talk to the inhabitants.
Above Sokpo, we traverse the Transhimalaya and enter the vast plains of the Changthang, Tibet’s empty northern quarter. Yet, it is not as empty as it first seems. Hidden away in sheltered valleys and on escarpments are the remnants of the early inhabitants of the region. At places such as Mutig and Shawa Drag, these ancient hermitages have devolved to the Buddhists. Here is a great opportunity to peel back the strata of Tibetan civilization and come to better understand its march over the millennia.
On the Changthang, John will introduce us to the drokpa nomads, some of whom he has known for over 20 years. We will get to know their way of life, interests and aspirations as can be shown only by someone who has long lived among them. We will move in an eastern direction, stopping at key archaeological and cultural sites along the way. Our Changthang adventure will culminate in Nam Tsho, the Celestial Lake (an object of study in John’s first book, Divine Dyads). Not only is Nam Tsho very beautiful (she is envisioned as a young goddess), she is home to a stunning series of sacred headlands and islands dating back 3000 years and more. It is an easy return drive to Lhasa via the southeast corner of Nam Tsho. From Lhasa we return to Kathmandu so that the participants can catch their outbound flights.
A big thanks to Timothy O’Shea Photography for the great video from a Kilimanjaro trek and safari from July/August 2008! Great shots of the summit and the amazing African wildlife!
Giraffe in Serengeti, Tanzania
