Journey to the Heart of Shamanic Khoomei

Two weeks of travels in Tuva with healing and study of shamanism and throat singing

Dates: July 24  - August 7, 2010

 TRAVEL AND PAYMENT INFORMATION

BOOKING - The group is limited to 20 persons according to current camp capacity, so book well in advance!  Please download the booking form, fill in, and e-mail + send original to us.

CONFIRMATION - confirmation on services booked will be sent to you as the pro-forma invoice after receiving of booking form.

PAYMENT - should be done in Euro by the bank draft. 500 euro deposit will hold your space.  The deposit  is non-refundable as will be used for investment into organizing of camp.

BALANCE is due at latest by 60 days prior to arrival, which is May 24, 2010.

CANCELLATION  - all the changes or cancellations must be made in writing prior to the arrival.  

• Cancellations made beyond 90 days will qualify for a full refund less non-refundable deposit and  50 euro of administration fee.

• Any cancellation made between 89 days to 60 days prior to trip will qualify for a 50% refund less non-refundable deposit.

• Any cancellation made between 59 days to 30 days prior to trip will qualify for a 30% refund less non-refundable deposit.

• Any cancellation made between 29 days to 15 days prior to trip will qualify for a 15% refund less non-refundable deposit.

• No refund will be issued for cancellations within 15 days of departure.

• Air tickets are subject to cancellation policies imposed by the airlines.

In order to keep our tour affordable and provide proper notice to our service partners, we must adhere to this timeline. After our refund deadline has passed, we cannot provide a refund for any reason, including circumstances beyond your control such as weather-related travel delays, family emergency, injury, visa issuing delay or rejection by Consulate. There is also no partial refund if you arrive late to the tour, or depart early. Insurance agencies however, offer a full or partial refund in many circumstances if you purchase a travel/cancellation insurance to cover your risks.

Tour Cancellation

We reserve a right to cancel the tour if less then 12 persons have booked, or higher price will be suggested as possible solution. Avoid confirms tours 60 days prior to tour departure; prior to this time, tours may be cancelled due to low enrollment. In 60 days before start of the tour, it will not be cancelled for low-enrollment, but in rare cases may be cancelled due to weather, government intervention, unsafe trail conditions, or any other reason that would affect the quality of the tour or the safety of its participants. If we are forced to cancel the tour, we will provide a full refund.

Eligibility

Travelers must be 18 years of age or older and in acceptable health to join the tour.  Reservations are subject to our review and acceptance of your completed and signed booking form. We reserve the right to request additional information or medical clearance, or to refuse to accept any traveler, for any reason, at our sole discretion.  According to directive of Nikolay Oorzhak, it is not possible to participate in tour without full acceptance of the program, including fasting.

Travel Plans

We advise you to avoid non-refundable flights and other travel arrangements, and are not responsible for the costs of such arrangement in the event your tour is canceled. Please consider purchasing additional insurance coverage if you have non-refundable travel arrangements. You must purchase also medical and evacuation insurance and supply us 30 days prior to trip with the name, address and telephone number of your insurers, your policy number and the 24-hour medical emergency telephone number. We reserve the right to decline a booking if adequate proof of valid travel insurance is not provided to us upon request.

Visa support: on paying the deposit you are eligible to receive an official invitation that will allow you to obtain a visa at the nearest Russian consulate and to travel around Russia and Tuva during the month period. To obtain such an invitation, it is necessary to send us  your air-tickets details or at least the exact dates of arrival/departure to/from Moscow.

Meeting in Moscow:  on receiving your flights details,  we will organize meeting in airports and group transfer to the hotel. Should your flights are day(s) before or after then the tour program, you will have to pay extra for the hotel.

We recommend to participants from the same country to make a group in order to co-operate in getting the visa and group tickets. We will share the e-mail addresses of participants from each country. If some of your wants to be a coordinator of the group – please let us know

Safety

It is in general safe in Tuva, but the common sense is needed as elsewhere: do not walk alone in strange places and behave yourself J. Tuvans are quite generous, very warm and gentle, curious about the outside world. 

Health: first aid will be provided by Dr. Med. Vladislav Matrenitsky. For unlikely case one will need a serious medical assistance there is a hospital in Kyzyl plus we will have possibility to call the ambulance during the journeys around country. And of course Nikolay is always nearby!

Trip Advises:

It is an active excursion/study tour in taiga, so please prepare everything necessary like sleeping bag, torch,  anti-mosquito remedies, etc.

Weather: Tuva's climate is sharply continental, with severe, cold winters and hot, dry summers. Temperatures range from a low of —61° C in the mountains in winter, to 43° C in the plains in summer.

Summer begins in mid-May, and autumn begins in mid-September. Clear weather prevails all year in Tuva, with about 300 sunny days annually. The dry air makes it easier for people to withstand the summer heat. Still it can be cold sometimes in the nights, so have some warm clothing with you. 

Money: outside of Moscow you may find it difficult to get a cash from credit cards or  traveller's checks. It is recommended to have some amount of cash in euro or dollars, preferably new banknotes, unwrinkled, untorn and unmarked. Exchanging money on the street is illegal and risky.

If you have any questions, write us an e-mail

or call Dr.Vladislav Matrenitsky at:

00 380 67447 0578 (mobile), tel/fax: 00 380 44468 8425.