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WHY MANDALA ADVENTURES

We are passionate about Adventure Travel in Asia. We have made it our life’s work to become experts on travel throughout the Far East’s many fascinating lands. We believe in providing amazing life experiences for our customers in a way that respects the peoples, ecosystems, and economies of the countries we visit.

We rely primarily on word of mouth from our community of customers to spread the word about us. We feel that advertising is mainly hyperbole – it doesn’t show what’s in a company’s heart. So now, we invite you to read about Mandala Adventures and what makes us different.

We are tenacious

We’ve been in business for nearly 6 years, exploring the far flung corners of Asia with the belief that intimate, small-scale trips can be delivered in a careful and responsible way. We started this enterprise with an idea that was born on a trek in the Nepal Himalaya in 2002 and today we operate in 13 Asian countries. The travel industry is highly competitive and it hasn’t always been easy; but we are proud of our accomplishments and especially the life-altering experiences we create for each of our guests.

In 2004, the year we started Mandala Adventures, we couldn’t afford a catalog, and the internet didn’t yet exist. We were determined to share our intimate knowledge of the Himalaya and Tibet, so we used the telephone. From our home office in Salt Lake City, we set out to develop friendships with each of our prospective customers by phone since most of our guests live on the East and West Coasts. This friendly approach allows us to deliver highly personal service about one of the world’s most superb destinations. Although we have expanded to more destinations and we now have a beautiful catalog along with a finely-tuned web site, we still rely on this practice we developed early on: We use the telephone to build relationships.

The fact that we might give you a call surprises some people. While most folks are delighted to hear from us, some are caught off-guard, surprised that there are human beings behind our web site. We not only love to reach out and develop friendships with our customers, we want to know what you’re looking for in your travel plans and how we might help craft your dream Asian experience.

One more thing about being tenacious. Sometimes we all need a little inspiration to get us off the couch. Our enthusiasm is contagious. Our determined spirit inspires people to join our interesting and vibrant group of fellow travelers, which in turn keeps costs down and attracts the best and brightest expedition managers in the business.

Our company delivers

We create our life-changing trips in concert with nearly a dozen field offices in Asia where, together, we tend to every detail. Mandala Adventures’s trips engage you with the complex cultures of Asia effectively and honestly. We know that we fulfill––and exceed––our customers’ expectations because they tell us in their letters, emails and phone calls.

Obviously, many trips could be arranged through determined research and myriad emails and long distance phone calls to Asia; yet the majority of our past guests were already experienced Asia-hands when they called us. Many guests come to us with well developed acumen about Asian geography and how the cultures and travel logistics work. Still, they choose to use Mandala Adventures. Perhaps these people know that putting together all the details of a seamless Asian adventure is an art form. We have worked many years to develop our high level of expertise. Like we have for so many experienced travelers, let us handle everything for you. We will connect you with the land, the peoples, the history and the cultures you seek to visit. And, our strong connections prevent you from being stuck in, say, Urumqi and losing precious hours—or even days—from your hard-earned vacation.

We believe in Right Livelihood with all our heart

The ancient ethic of Right Livelihood says that our spiritual development is enhanced by choosing an honest occupation that honors other people and the natural world. To us, it means conducting business in a forthright way, treating people fairly, caring for the earth’s resources and being responsible for our actions.
We believe that corporate America has the responsibility to a triple bottom line: community and the environment are as important as money. That said, our employees enjoy health insurance, a retirement plan, personal days off, travel on company junkets and a civilized work-week.

Founder and owner Taylor Warnick works in the business every day. We are a collaborative group of passionate people. We strive each day to make the right decisions. We take responsibility for our choices, which inspires us to live an engaged, exciting and creative life.

We are interdependent

We depend on you to travel with us. And you depend on us to make your trip relevant, operating with our overseas partners with respect and integrity. In a world where accountability is a withering concept, we embrace and salute transparency. We want you to know about us. We are proud of what we do and how we do it.

It may seem odd for a small, privately held corporation that markets itself on the internet and produces travel experiences in the obscure corners of Asia to speak this way, but we love to share our story

Explore our web site, read our catalog, scrutinize our itineraries, contact our past guests–– and then give us a call. Make an informed choice before you travel. Whether you go with us or one of our esteemed competitors, we implore you to travel to Asia to discover for yourself what this remarkable continent with 60% of the world’s land mass and humanity has contributed to our world’s history and offers to the future of our planet.

On that note, please tell your family and friends about Mandala Adventures; help us spread the word. From all of us, many thanks.