INDIA

THROUGH THE HEART OF

DARJEELING

MEETING FARMERS & DISCOVERING ORGANIC TEA

in partnership with JOURNEY

In the ancient lands of Sikkim kingdom, at the crossing of Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet, it’s a unique human adventure that small tea producers of Darjeeling offer you to live. They will share with you a moment of their life, will make you discover the richness of their culture and their tradition: meal shared with a farmer, visit of the village’s school, few nights spent at the ecolodge, tea tasting, discovery of their work, their agricultural practices, their cooperative and the surrounding nature.

Marked by serenity, beauty and harmony that emanate from Nature and its inhabitants; it is in their village’s heart that they are waiting for you.Before meeting them, you will discover the city of Darjeeling, surprising of diversity, among its british history and its tibetan buddhist culture.You will then leave for Mineral Spring hills, where tea farmers will welcome you. Closely linked to the land, they live at the pace of Nature and grow tea on a familial agricultural model, based on organic agriculture and practising fairtrade. You will discover together their gardens of multiple cropping, where tea trees are growing among orange and mango trees and numerous spices.

A trip full of meaning and human warmth, joining relaxation and discovery, pleasure and authenticity, to discover in a total transparency where your Jardins de Gaïa daily tea comes from, and to live priviledged meetings with these small farmers from the other side of the world.

Delhi

Calcutta

Darjeeling

Mineral Spring

Day 1. Flight to DelhiDay 2. DelhiDay 3. Delhi/ Bagdora / DarjeelingDay 4. Darjeeling/ Mineral SpringDay 5. Mineral SpringDay 6. Mineral Spring/ SamabeongDay 7. Samabeong/ SubarnaDay 8. Samabeong/ Siliguri/ CalcuttaDay 9. Calcutta/Return flight

DAY AFTER DAY

Day 1. Flight to Delhi

Day 3. Delhi/ Bagdora/ Darjeeling

Day 2. DelhiFlight to Delhi.

Early departure for the airport and flight to Bagdogra.You will then leave the Himalayan piedmont to climb the high pre-himalayan hills. Taking the traditional tea road, you will rise more than two thousand meters to reach, after a 3 hours road, Darjeeling, a climatic resort created by the British in the XIXth century, where they established

the most famous tea estate in the world.Diner and night at the hotel.

Welcome at the airport.Visit of Delhi where the Moghol Empire’s splendour contrast with the new town modernism. Discovery of Chandni Chowk Bazaar, the silverer street at the heart of the ancient trading area of Old Delhi.Diner and night at the hotel.

Day 4. Darjeeling/ Mineral Spring

Departure on the mystical « Darjeeling Himalayan Railway » or Toy Train, classified in the UNESCO world heritage, for a ride to Ghoom. Visit of the monastery where lived Alexandra David-Neel, and return in town, that have been the summer residency of India viceroys, when Calcutta was the capital.

After lunch, you visit the Tibetan Refugee Centre and drive to the Mineral Spring cooperative where tea producersawait you. They welcome you according to the traditional ceremony, present you their cooperative and its history,ecological and socio-economic model reference to Darjeeling.Diner and night at the ecolodge.

Day 5. Mineral Spring

Day 6. Mineral Spring/ Samabeong

This day is a discovery of tea culture and to share the life of the farmers.After a breakfast at the farm you will meet neighbouring producers, meet their families and visit their fields.They will tell you about their work in organic agriculture and their connection with nature.

Binita, one of the women member of the cooperative, then welcomes you in her farm to share with you the lunch she will have prepared for your visit. You will meet this producer, mother of a family, who speaks with simplicity, beauty and humility about the role of women in the community, and what fair trade brings to producers.You participate in tea picking on his land, and then take the time to rest at the foot of the trees in his agro-forestry garden, contemplate the view of the Darjeeling hills, or stroll through the village.

You then return to Tathagata Farm by a walk through the tea gardens. Local cooking lessons and evening meal preparation. Dinner and overnight at the ecolodge.

Breakfast at the ecolodge, then you take the way to the village school where you meet the teacher and the differentclasses of the producers’ children.

Meeting with one of the producers from Yangkoo village who welcomes you in his house and on his land. Walk to the river where a picnic lunch awaits you. You then leave the villages of Mineral Spring to join the gardens of Samabeong (4h drive).

Welcome in the ecolodge «Our Last Mile» of Samabeong, installation in your room.Dinner and overnight at the ecolodge.

Day 7. Samabeong/ Subarna

Day 9. Calcutta

Day 8. Samabeong/ Silguri/ Calcutta

During this day, you will explore the whole world of organic tea. Through the garden of Samabeong, you discover picking and cultivation according to the principles of biodynamics.

You visit the processing plant and the whole tea making process: drying, rolling, fermentation, sorting.Tasting of the different teas of the garden.After a picnic lunch by the river, you leave if the weather permits to meet the small producers of the Subarna cooperative who live in remote villages. The tea gardens are surrounded by a thick virgin forest favourable to a strong biodiversity.

Return to Samabeong, dinner and overnight at the ecolodge.

Arrival in Calcutta in the morning. Transfer to the hotel. City with history and intensity out of the ordinary, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) is the cultural and intellectual heart of India, you leave for a discovery of its streets theaters of the novel and film City of Joy, city of the philosopher Ramakrishna, the poet Rabindranath Tagore and Mother Teresa.

This walk off the beaten track will make you discover the history of the city, a historical, cultural but also culinary discovery: accompanied by a guide, you taste multiple local specialities while discovering the history of the communities to which they are attached.

Overnight at the hotel.

You leave Samabeong to reach Siliguri via the Tibetan spiritual high place of Lava. This Buddhist monastery is known for its monks who practice levitation...

After a picnic on the way, you arrive at Bagdogra airport where you will take the plane to Calcutta. Arrival in Calcutta, welcome and transfer to your hotel.

Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 10. Calcutta/ Return flight

Transfer to the airport according to your flight time.

Organic and fair tea - Les Jardins de Gaïa

WHY THIS TRIP ? THROUGHT THE HEART OF LES JARDINS DE GAÏA

«Three conditions are needed to make tea: time, embers and friends, according to the touareg wisdom. Take some time to appreciate the real value of such a great tea as the Darjeeling one which is so important to me, isn’t it the best way to maintain the serenity that seems to be lacking in today’s world ? I wish you an excellent trip to India, full of discoveries, sharing and meeting people, arround a unique common good : tea.»

Arlette RohmerFounder of Les Jardins de Gaia

Resulting from a meeting between Arlette Rohmer and Pierre Le Roux , Les Jardins de Gaïa and Yumanlink have decided to join forces to offer you to go on

tea routes around the world.

DISCOVER the origin of your teas coming from organic farmingEXPLORE a new universe and unique taste

SHARE authentic momentsLive beautiful adventures in a wild and caring nature.

Like the biodiversity of a flourishing garden, let yourself be carried away by this initiatory journey .

Tathāgata FarmÉcolodge I Mineral Spring

A WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE

A SUSTAINABLE APPROACH FOR THE COMMUNITY

A SIMPLE AND AUTHENTIC COMFORT

Bungalows installed on the hillside, right in the heart of the farm and in the middle of tea, ginger, orange trees, turmeric.

The birdsong and the river course, an ideal place to recharge your batteries.

Access by a landscaped path.

Navin’s vision, tea producer and founder of Tathagata Farm, is to create a model farm stay to discover the tea culture, life and work of small producers, meet the local population and create added value that will

benefit the entire community.

Tathagata Farm has been welcoming Western visitors for several years.Although in the image of the simple and traditional living conditions of the local populations, the bungalows offer all the comfort and cleanliness necessary to spend a good stay.- electricity in each bungalow- no hot running water- private bathroom: washbasin, shower, running water, toilet, hot water basin on request- bedding with mattress, pillows and blankets- terrace with living room- wifi at reception- double bedrooms

Our Last MileBungalow I Samabeong

IN THE HEART OF SAMABEONG TEA GARDEN A SOCIAL DEVELOPEMENT PROJECT

Located in the heart of Samabeong Garden, «Our Last Mile» Bungalows offer a unique experience in Darjeeling. Discovery of organic agriculture, tea growing and processing, relaxing walks in nature, ecotourism project with strong social impact and plunged into a spiritual dimension marked by peace and

freedom in the nearby monastery of Lava.

Our Last Mile is a social project in collaboration with the Samabeong Tea Garden. The community of small producers has decided to open the garden doors to visitors.The revenues generated by Our Last Mile Bungalows are directly invested in community development projects: Our Last Mile aims to promote the rights of small producers and organic farming that respects the land and people.

Responsible and fair trip

AN ENVIRONEMENTAL BALANCE

A FAIR PRICE

We are organising only small groups trips. Every year we make a follow-up with the inhabitants to evaluate and control the

environmental impact of the stays.

6% of the trip price is dedicated to local partners: your small tea hosts and the

Mineral Spring cooperative.

SUPPORT TO THE LOCAL ECONOMYThe meeting and reception by the inhabitants only makes sense if it respects the traveler and his guest. Because our partners small local producers are at the base of our trips, the price of the stay is calculated starting from their remuneration.We then add all the expense items and arrive at the final price of the stay. This is for them an additional income to their agricultural activity. This money is then managed and invested by them to support the local economy.We work with them throughout the year to ensure that this new travel-related activity respects their social, environmental and economic balance of life.

6 %

25 %

24 %

24 %22 %

Locals partners: local associations

and cooperaratives

International flight

Local values

Operating costs

local french guide

> DATES OF THE TRIP

> INFORMATIONS> PRICE PER PERSON

Fix departures : • From 20 to 29 October 2018

• From 6 to 15 April 2019

Choose your departure date: • You choose your date • 4 travellers minimum

• Best months: March, April, May, October, November

Price include

• Reception and pick-up at Delhi airport • Domestic flights Delhi / Bagdogra, Bagdogra / Calcutta. Prices subject to change at the time of booking depending on filling.• All land transport mentioned in the programme (from J1 to J10). Private vehicles with English-speaking drivers. • Activities and visits: Toy train ride in Darjeeling, all activities and visits from day 5 to day 9 • Supervision by a local French-speaking guide for the duration of the stay• All meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner at the hotel) from day 4 to day 8 until lunch. The other days, only breakfast is included. • Accommodation in a double room. Possibility of single room in Delhi and Calcutta. Single room supplement = 380€.

Price does not included

• International flights and stay on site paid separately, visa fees• For meals not included, allow 5€ per meal/person (from 3 to 10€ according to your choice). For lunches on days 2, 3, 4 and 9, dinners on days 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9• Drinks, personal expenses and tips • Repatriation assistance • Any expenses not mentioned in the «Prices include» section

The international flight is to be booked by your own means. Its price will depend on your reservation date, it is on average 600€. The payment of the stay is made with Shanti Travel, online by credit card, or by bank transfer. We accompany you in the procedure.

In order to guarantee the most beautiful discoveries and authentic encounters in Darjeeling, the number of places per trip is limited. Each trip is made in groups of 4 to 10 people maximum.

Number of travellers per group Trip price + international

flight Estimated total price*

From 4 to 10 people 1950€

Price varies accor-ding to the date you are booking

550€ <flight< 750€

2550€

* Price with an international flight for an average cost of 600€.

Created by sold by

in partnership with

For any questions regarding the program:Pierre Le Roux

pierre@yumanlink.com+33 6 60 62 17 21

105 Boulevard Lafayette63000 Clermont-Ferrand

Realization and execution of your trip:Shanti Travel agency

+44 (0) 20 38 68 42 56C66 Oklha Phase 1

New Delhi - 110020 - IndeAward of the best local travel agency in India