Booking and cancellation policy
Before proceeding to book, please read carefully and accept these booking conditions.
Before proceeding to book, please read carefully and accept these booking conditions.
These booking terms and conditions establish your contract with Village Ways Travel Pvt Ltd (commonly known as “Village Ways”), a company incorporated in the state of Uttarakhand, India. Throughout these booking conditions, Village Ways Travel Pvt Ltd is referred to as “the Travels”, “us”, “we” or “our”. The person making the booking is considered by the Travels to be the party leader and is referred to as “you” throughout these booking conditions. The party leader must be at least 18 years old, of sound mind and capable of entering into a contract. We assume that the party leader is authorised to make a booking with us on behalf of all persons named on the booking.
The booking is on the basis of the following terms and conditions.
Your contract with the Travels becomes binding when we send a confirmation of your requested holiday to you and we have received the deposit amount (as mentioned in paragraph 2 below) from you. The Travels reserves the right, in its absolute discretion, to decline any request from any person whom it may consider to be undesirable, and it shall not be required to show any reason for doing so. No waiver by the Travels of any provision of these booking conditions shall be binding unless set out in writing and signed by its duly authorised representative.
A deposit of 25% of the total value of the holiday is payable at the time of booking or on receipt of payment from your customers. The remaining 75% is payable 45 days before the start date of the trip. Subject to availability, we will send confirmation by e‑mail.
Should you wish to cancel your booking, you must notify us in writing (email is acceptable). Such notification shall be deemed to have been given to us only on the date of receipt of your notification, as we can act only on receipt. The following cancellation charges shall apply irrespective of the reason for cancellation.
For cancellations of confirmed bookings made between the date of booking up to 30 days before the holiday start date, a 10% administration charge will be payable and retained.
For cancellations of holidays, the following charges will apply:
If you wish to amend or change your booking, you must communicate your request to us in writing (email is acceptable). For any major alterations, a 5% fee will be charged.
For cancellation due to any health implications, a 10% administration fee will be charged and the remaining amount will be refunded on producing a related medical report. The booking can be rescheduled for a later date within the same financial year.
We do not have any insurance policy covering expenses for accident, sickness, loss due to theft, or any other reasons. You are advised to arrange such insurance independently. It is recommended that you and all members of your party take out adequate and appropriate insurance cover for the duration of your trip before commencing your travel schedule or holiday.
By booking with the Travels, you agree to ensure that you and all members of your party have adequate cancellation, medical, emergency and repatriation insurance appropriate to your particular needs. This is your responsibility. Each member of your party is required to provide the Travels with the name and contact details of the person we should contact in the unlikely event of an emergency. The Travels will not be responsible in any manner for consequences arising from your failure to obtain, or your having inadequate, insurance cover. All baggage and personal property at all times are at the owner’s risk.
Please note that on our walking holidays many walks take place at an average altitude of 2,000 to 3,000 metres, and temperature and weather conditions may be different from those you have previously encountered. It is your responsibility to ensure you are physically fit and that you keep yourself hydrated during your walks. You will occasionally be walking on steep terrain that may become slippery in certain weather conditions, and you must ensure that you have appropriate footwear and/or equipment as may be recommended for a particular activity.
Anyone suffering from illness or disability, or undergoing treatment for any physical or medical condition, must declare the true nature of such condition at the time of reservation and make arrangements for the provision of any medication or treatment required during the holiday. Failure to make such disclosures shall absolve the Travels from any consequences arising from such physical or mental condition and from all obligations that it may otherwise have under these booking conditions.
The Travels is responsible for booking your included linking travel by train, internal flight and vehicle from and to your arrival city, if this has been requested by you. In India, rail travel can be booked only 60 days prior to the date of journey. You are responsible for making arrangements for your international journey to arrive at the appropriate place, day and time to link up with the arrangements the Travels has made on your behalf. The Travels cannot be liable for any delays, disruptions or cancellations of services by public transport providers.
You acknowledge that the Travels merely provides intermediary services in order to facilitate the highest quality services to you. The Travels is not the last‑mile service provider to you and therefore shall not be, or be deemed to be, responsible for any lack or deficiency of services provided by any person (including any airline, travel/tour operator, hotel, facility or similar agency).
The hotels, airlines, transporters, railways and contractors providing other services, and all exchange orders, receipts, contracts and tickets procured by us on your behalf, are issued subject to the terms and conditions under which these services are provided by them. The tickets, coupons or passage contracts in use by the carrier, hotel or other contractors rendering services shall constitute the sole contract between you and such contractor.
Our guides have been selected for their knowledge of the hills and local conditions. If they reasonably consider that any of the routes planned for your holiday will or may present a danger for you or other members of your party, or that you or any member of your party will or may be unable to manage the planned route, they may modify your itinerary accordingly. You must agree to any such reasonable changes made in the interests of safety.
The Travels takes you to remote parts of the world and areas of unspoiled and outstanding natural beauty. Please act responsibly and respect the environment at all times. You will also spend time getting to know small, rural communities and we ask that you respect their way of life, customs and religious sentiments.
The Travels requests you to consult your local authorities and evaluate travel prohibitions, warnings, announcements and advisories issued by them before booking travel to India or certain other international destinations. By offering for sale travel to particular destinations in India, we do not represent or warrant that travel to such destinations is advisable or without risk. The Travels does not accept liability for damages, losses or delays that may result from improper documents for entry, exit or length of stay, or from travel to such destinations.
It is advisable to dress in an appropriate manner such that clothes are not very revealing, and to respect the eating habits of the concerned community or communities. Please note that the food in many of our communities is vegetarian. Please let us know in advance of any allergies or special dietary requirements.
Whilst specially designed for guests, the accommodation in our village guesthouses and other accommodation is very simple, in line with life in such remote rural communities. By accepting these booking conditions, you acknowledge and accept such a simple lifestyle during your village stays.
The Travels will not be responsible for any injury or loss, personal or financial, suffered during the journey which is not directly or solely attributable to the Travels. The Travels is only expected to take reasonable care and precautions in this regard and will not be held responsible for any acts or neglect resulting in such loss. In any case, the liability, if any, is fixed up to the amount paid by you for the booking and not more.
All participants of holidays operated by the Travels are expected to obey the laws and regulations of the host state and any failure to do so will relieve the Travels of all obligations that it may otherwise have under these booking conditions.
This contract is made on the terms of these booking conditions, which are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of India. Any dispute shall be exclusively subject to the jurisdiction of the appropriate courts situated at Nainital, Uttarakhand, India.
In the event of a dispute arising out of or relating to this contract, including any question regarding its existence, validity or termination, the parties shall first seek amicable settlement of that dispute. If the dispute is not settled within 30 (thirty) days of attempting such amicable settlement, or such further period as the parties may agree in writing, then the dispute may be settled in accordance with the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 by a sole arbitrator to be appointed by the Company.
The arbitration proceedings will take place in Nainital, Uttarakhand, India. The arbitration proceedings shall be conducted in the English language. The arbitrator’s decision shall be final and binding on both parties. In case of any dispute concerning the award, the courts in Uttarakhand shall have exclusive jurisdiction.