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Asia Is Our Business
Hanoi, Everest, Angkor, The Great Wall, Chinese Turkistan, Xi’an, Taj Mahal, Ghengis Khan and Singapore all conjure images of Asia.
Ron Barness, Snow Lion’s president, has outfitted adventures to every continent except Antarctica. But since 1992, his (and Snow Lion’s) passion has been outfitting great adventures to Asia, and we’ve been sending both seekers and sages to the “Roof of the World” ever since.
Asia is all we do. With more than 20 years of Asian travel experience on Snow Lion’s staff, we know how to weave your dreams with reality to create a seamless Eastern adventure you will never forget.
Travelers Trust Snow Lion
Because much of our advertising is word-of-mouth, customer service and satisfaction is our mantra at Snow Lion. Over half our business comes from referrals, and with our broad range of Asian destinations, many guests join us on multiple trips across this vast continent. back to top
Even National Geographic has traveled with Snow Lion.
In April 2000, we outfitted an expedition to China’s Xianjiang Province for National Geographic magazine to reconnoiter a giant stone arch mentioned by diplomat and mountaineer Eric Shipton in his book The Mountains of Tartary. Shipton, a British Counsel General of Chinese Turkestan, lived in Kashgar in the 1930s. The expedition was documented in the December 2000 issue of National Geographic.
Since September 2004, we have offered this expedition to our guests under the banner Along the Silk Road to Shipton’s Arch (“http://www.snowlion.com/trip/5013”). National Geographic Adventure recognized the trip as one of the “World’s Best Adventures for 2004.” back to top
 Expertise = Excellence
Did you know you need a Public Safety Permit to enter Tibet? Or that Vietnam and India have essentially been “sold out” for the holidays for two years running? Or to book an airline ticket to Bhutan, that you must have a visa number which requires contacts?
At Snow Lion, we speak the language of Asian travel. A trip with Snow Lion is an investment—typically more than $5,000 for land and airfare. Naturally, you want to trust that investment to people who know what they’re doing and who will give you the biggest bang for your bucks. Your first call to Snow Lion will confirm that you are dealing with unpretentious, friendly professionals.
At Snow Lion, we only do Asia, so wherever you want to go on this vast and diverse continent, our narrow focus lets us plan the best (and most unique) itineraries, routes, and experiences for you. Knowledgeable, personalized, attentive service is the hallmark of Snow Lion, so whether you are a veteran Asia-hand or an initiate to this exotic world, we can match a trip to your own passions and abilities.
Then, we specialize in all the little details—airlines, permits, regulations, accommodations, language, weather, currency—that can turn Asian travel into a headache. Our colleagues in eight locations across Asia—Kathmandu, Lhasa, Delhi, Thimpu, Bangkok, Beijing, Denpasar and Ulaanbaatar—continually keep an eye on the local scene with regard to public security, government policy and weather, all of which may affect your trip. That way, you don’t want to end up in Delhi with a bought-and-paid-for ticket, but no seat on the plane. True story...
But that’s not all
The spirit of fun and adventure at Snow Lion is infectious: We love where you’re going—we’ve been there ourselves—and we want to send you on the sort of trip you can’t stop talking about. After years in Asia, our associates include Tibetologists, naturalists, archeologists, physicians, writers, explorers, photographers, journalists, mountaineers, ambassadors and diplomats, Buddhist lamas, scholars, and even some wizards, magicians, and gypsies. These are the friends and colleagues who make your trip a rich, life-changing experience.
Are You a Snow Lion Traveler?
What do you hate about tours? Buses crammed with gawking, camera-toting tourists who stop at natural wonders for 10-minute photo ops? Sitting down for lunch with a crowd of strangers with whom you share nothing in common? The cookie-cutter, white-bread, same-old itinerary?
 Rest assured, Snow Lion travelers are not the “tour bus” type. Our travelers tend to be professionals who live on the East and West Coasts, and our groups typically range from 4 to 15. A third of Snow Lion travelers travel solo, half of them have been to Asia before, and, chances are, if they choose the same trip, they enjoy the things you like. If you travel to Bhutan during the heart of the summer monsoon season because that’s when the orchids bloom, trust us: you’ll travel with people who love orchids just as much as you do.
Snow Lion travelers tend to be independent. They prefer less-structured itineraries and flexibility. They enjoy serendipity and unexpected discoveries. And they return home friends. back to top
Custom Travel: Where Do You Really Want to Go?
We can take you trekking through the Himalaya, kayaking off the coast of Vietnam, exploring Buddhist monasteries in Tibet—the list is long. But if your Asian trip isn’t listed in our catalog or on our website, we’ll work with you to create a custom itinerary. In fact, 50% of our business is of the custom variety.
How custom?
How about a solo walk from Mustang to Dolpo in the Nepal-Tibet borderlands for a traveler who “didn’t want to encounter anyone who had ever heard of Starbucks”? Or a corporate study tour to examine the personalities and policies of the Tibetan government-in-exile which included tea with His Holiness the Dalai Lama?
You can also make many of our scheduled trips your own by requesting personalized dates. Or you can add some finishing touches—if you want to hike China’s Great Wall before horseback trekking in Mongolia, or deep-sea fish off the coast of Thailand on the way home from Everest, we accommodate you. Our success comes from offering personalized, hands-on care to our guests. You do the dreaming, and we’ll do the details. back to top
Leave the Crowds Behind
This is your adventure, not a class field trip. We leave the busses behind and give you the most authentic cultural experiences and pleasant surprises possible by traveling in small groups—the sort that might be invited to a Hindu wedding or to help construct a Mongolian ger, or just sit mesmerized while a mother makes tea, stokes the fire, and sings a lullaby to her newborn baby in her kitchen at 12,000 feet. Small group travel minimizes our impact on fragile lands and indigenous cultures, and it lets you blend in with the culture and talk one-on-one.
 Spontaneous events are the essence of adventure. We have friends throughout Asia who open doors for us; weddings and festivals are just a few of the special occasions we may happen across as we are invited into their temples, their homes, and their lives.
Meanwhile, each member of the group will contribute a unique perspective and insight to the collective adventure. First, our guests become our friends; then they become yours.
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Exceptional Arrangements to Extraordinary Places
For many travelers, their Snow Lion expedition is the cornerstone of a longer journey that includes stops and side excursions along the way. Sometimes our guests amble around the world, stopping in Kathmandu on their way to the Kalahari, while others need the fastest connections to the world’s furthest time zones.
Whatever you require, Snow Lion’s in-house International Airline Travel Department can make complete arrangements for your adventure—with attention to the details that make a difference. Some of our best fares and connections are on world-class Singapore and Cathay Pacific airlines, which are among the industry’s premiere carriers. We are affiliated with Travel Society, a $500 million travel agency which also gives us membership in the exclusive Virtuoso. Both memberships give our guests access to the very best airfares and arrangements.
We are well versed on every aspect of Asian travel, including the availability of quality hotels, tours, and airline schedules. With a single call you can confidently let us work out all the details for hassle-free travel. back to top
Slumber in Splendor
Renovated palaces in India, regal colonial estates in Southeast Asia designed by the best Parisian architects of the 19th century, a romantic floating cabin off the coast of Halong Bay or the art deco Imperial Hotel in New Delhi, built to commemorate the coronation of King George and Queen Mary in 1911... When you travel with Snow Lion, we make your accommodations as memorable as the people you’ll meet and the views you’ll admire.
 In the cities, this usually means 4- to 5-star hotels. Their origins may be historic and rich with local ambiance, but within their precincts you will find swimming pools, fine restaurants, health clubs, spas, and business centers. They are centrally located to make the most of city life but also feature beautifully landscaped grounds where you can retreat from the bustle to sip a cocktail or an iced tea. Most of the hotels we incorporate in our itineraries have been ranked among the world’s best in annual surveys by Condé Nast Traveler.
When you journey out into the countryside, accommodations vary from charming cabins aboard refurbished ships to Mongolian yurt camps that may not be 4-star, but represent the ultimate in rustic comfort beneath a million-star sky. back to top
The Cure for the Common Camp Out
Leaving civilization doesn’t mean you have to be uncivilized.
If you would never dream of camping because you still remember the cold, hard, and hungry experience you had 30 years ago, consider this: Our active outdoor adventures feature only top-of-the-line gear, and our local staff takes care of everything, from setting up tents to serving up three sumptuous meals a day—plus tea and biscuits in the afternoon. On treks, yaks and porters carry your personal duffel bag and all group camping gear, freeing you to roam with only a camera, a water bottle, and jacket. back to top
Tents Tested on Top of Mount Everest
On our treks among Himalayan peaks, Snow Lion uses the highest quality mountain dome tents, like those manufactured by The North Face and Mountain Hardware. Tested under the most rugged conditions on Everest’s South Col, their durable floors and waterproof seams mean you’ll stay dry and snug during those occasional nighttime storms. On warm, sunny days they provide enough shade for an afternoon nap.
 Our tents are built for three, but we limit accommodations to two, and for a small fee you can have your own. They have lots of openings for temperature control, ventilation, and taking in the night sky, which glitters like nowhere else on Earth.
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Corporate Travel
In addition to serving a wide range of discerning individual travelers, our Asian expertise has made Snow Lion the choice for a variety of institutions and businesses. These include the National Geographic Society, University of Wisconsin, University of Utah Medical Center, Red Butte Gardens & Arboretum, Pasadena Art Center, Colorado Rocky Mountain School, Wasatch Academy, and Strong Capital Management.
Don’t Take Our Word for It
We’ve caught the attention of major media outlets and magazines across the United States, too, including the New York Times, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Detroit Free Press, San Diego Union, Outside, National Geographic Adventure, and Men’s Journal. back to top
We Speak the
Language-Literally
Nothing bridges cultural divides (and cuts through foreign red tape) quite like sharing a common language. We speak more than 30 languages in all. We took a quick poll and found that we are fluent in English, Spanish, Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, French, Russian, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Farsi, Turkish, Italian, Fujian, Hungarian and Czech. And that’s just among our Salt Lake City staff. In our overseas offices, we speak Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, Punjabi, Tamil, Vietnamese, Korean, Cantonese, Thai, Nepali, Burmese, Khmer, Uyghur, Kashmiri, Tibetan, Mongolian, Lao and Dzonka—honest. back to top
Asian “Cuiscenery”—
Food with a View
Imagine having lunch al fresco under Mt. Everest or watching the sunrise over Angkor Wat before a sumptuous breakfast.
If you like Asian food, just wait until you taste it prepared with the fresh ingredients and masterful touch of cooks at their native hearth. Tandoori... pad thai... dim sum—sitting down at the table during a Snow Lion trip is an adventure in itself. Whether you are on the steppes of Central Asia or in a world-class restaurant in Bangkok or New Delhi, you will find cuisine that speaks to your senses in a language all its own.
You won’t leave mouth-watering dishes behind when we leave the city, either. Snow Lion’s trekking cooks never cease to amaze us as they transform Himalayan garden produce into cosmopolitan meals featuring such universal favorites as French fries and apple pie. Even in some of the most remote corners on earth, you will eat well enough to satisfy an explorer’s appetite and a connoisseur’s expectations. And all of our tables have great views! back to top
Step Lightly
Snow Lion Expeditions is dedicated to respecting and preserving the natural wonders and cultures of Asia. We hire locals in all our ground offices in Asia, including cooks and porters, and see that they are paid well. The income Snow Lion and our guests generate for local economies often allows people to stay “local,” rather than leaving to find work. The quality we demand attracts quality people, and we are proud of the positive impact we are able to make in the lives of our local employees and their families.
We work with and support the
American Himalayan Foundation, the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation,Campaign for a Landmine Free World, One H.E.A.R.T. Foundation (Health Education and Research in Tibet), Porter’s Progress, and other nonprofit organizations to improve the quality of life for people throughout Asia. These organizations represent Snow Lion’s “community” and commitment. In addition, Snow Lion was the first American Himalayan trekking company to be recognized by the International Porter Protection Group.
On treks, our staff uses kerosene in cook stoves and heaters, leaving wood resources intact. We carry portable, Dutch-made, eco-friendly chemical toilets in several of our trekking destinations. Our staff practices a “pack it in, pack it out policy” and supports local farmers by buying their fresh produce for your meals. The only traces we leave behind are warm memories. back to top
Snow Lion’s Mission
To share the essence of the Asia—its vastness, timelessness, culture, and humanity—and to provide our customers with the highest quality travel experience available in this extraordinary part of the world. back to top
Snow Lion’s Commitment
To enchant our customers and exceed their expectations. back to top
Snow Lion’s Guarantee
Snow Lion guarantees to provide our customers with a successful and adventurous journey.
If you are unsatisfied with any element that is within our control, let us know and we’ll do everything possible to make it right for you.
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