Team of Travel Agency INCREDIBLE HIMALAYA.
Ilona Kryzhanovskaya
Let me introduce, I am - Ilona Kryzhanovskaya, author and developer of photo tour programs, presented on this site.
I travel for very long time - we can say - from childhood (my parents were a biologists, I grew up in field/expedition conditions).
Probably therefore – even then I had the confidence that the best profession is a traveler, that's this matter I occupied my entire adult life.
A little later - in adulthood, the passion for photography came, which eventually grew into one of my favorite occupations, and even after a while I decided to combine these two favorite things - traveling and photography - that is how this site of Project PhotoTour was born and all related photo travels on planet Earth.
A little bit about our photo-programs: Travel Agency INCREDIBLE HIMALAYA PRIVATE LIMITED, photo tours and photo expedition associated with it, and we are - as an organized group of people united by ideas of photo traveling - actively live and develop since 2004. At the moment the INCREDIBLE HIMALAYA PRIVATE LIMITED is a strong group of photographers, each of whom has its own direction/trend - favorite countries and photo routes, where they organize photo tours and workshops. All of us are travelers with the experience of over 10 years and we prepare our trips of very high quality – from the choice of tour partners in each country to detailed design of the route of each trip. As well as ensuring of proper levels of safety and comfort, allowing participants of our trips not just visiting the more remote from civilization place, but also to photograph these places - calm, happy, and just the way would be desirable for participants. Preparing the photo tours, we try to foresee all circumstances that may prevent shooting and bypass them.
I have to say - our photo tours are slightly different from those trips that are usually offered to photographers.
Differ mainly on two parameters:
1. Ethnographic orientation: I was always interested not just bring out some "beautiful" pictures from a new country, but see and understand the culture of the country from within.
Therefore, usually our photo tours are focused primarily on the "entry" into the culture of the country, the studying of traditions, the understanding of the dominant country's cultural values.
In the photo tours of Southeast Asia, we are bound to have a guide-partner-representative of the country where we travel. And always - it's not just the usual guides, but people who are engaged in the study of the culture of their country, perfectly understanding the traditions and know how these traditions were born.
In India and Ladakh (Little Tibet) all tour programs'm prepared by myself or by my prepared guides. In Ladakh - sometimes I'm falling into the Buddhist pilgrimage tours), so this culture is beautiful.
2. Time. We recommend photo tours duration from 2 weeks and try not to make short "commercial" programs. It's not always convenient in terms of long-term vacations, but - in my experience - is much more interesting.) The minimum time our photo tours takes - 2 weeks, the most exciting trips when we are leaving for 3-4 weeks .
And yet - we will never offer photo tours, which would not pass ourselves). That means that all routes of our photo tours were passed ourselves earlier and we know very well the places where we bring the group and something interesting, we want to show. And most importantly - we made photo tours is in those places that are really interesting to ourselves, in the places where we really like to come back again and again)))).
And I am really like Ladakh, Indian Tibet, the small piece of land in the high mountains, where the culture of Tibetan Buddhism was preserved. If possible, it is there in Ladakh and its surroundings I try to spend my Time. Sometimes - I work, sometimes - not, but that is the most unusual place where we travel, no, probably not – this place for traveling that I like the most. So my Wonderland – is Tibetan. It is a pity that up there is very cold in winter. Although, it is, in general - is not a limitation....
With this our new website you will be able to communicate directly with us: now through the site of the INCREDIBLE HIMALAYA PRIVATE LIMITED - you can directly book your place in the group at any of our photo tours, ask us a questions, send a letter, read reviews of INCREDIBLE HIMALAYA PRIVATE LIMITED members, leave comments, get any information about Photo Tours.
We tried to make the website of the INCREDIBLE HIMALAYA as convenient, as possible.
Welcome!
Sincerely, Ilona Kryzhanovskaya/
Maxim Savchenko, Moscow, Russia.
An engineer-physicist, for a long time worked by the system administrator, computer engineer, web programmer. 14 years ago began to travel, It was time of realization that I was missing something in my life, is not enough of new emotions, new people, new views, new sensations. Traveled, mostly independently. Realized that I am attracted to difficult trips to places little visited by tourists, often without any infrastructure, with elements of extreme sports. In the travel I pay more attention to security. Preferred direction - everything that is not in Europe. Favorite place - volcanoes and their surroundings, it is advisable to climb at the same time into the crater for full satisfaction of the volcano must be active and preferably with the flowing lava. Passed through the half of the Sahara in Libya with Tuaregs and jeeps; was in Ethiopia in the Danakil lava desert, inhabited by Afar, for them the gun is a subject of daily life. Just take a great interest in diving, dive in many countries under different conditions. In India, the fate brought me recently and left there indefinitely.
Life in general – is an interesting thing, very curious how it will be there tomorrow ...
Nina Lozenko
Born and grew up in Kiev. Graduated from Kiev National Economic University as an economist and has worked in the specialty for a long time, and one day - a few years ago - went with a group of Ilona to Nepal. I must say that this trip is much sobered me, turned the world and became only the first step towards my travels in the world with a camera.
Over time, I realized that I love to travel, especially by "non-touristic" routes. Always a pleasure to discover something, new worlds, to communicate with different and interesting people who came from different cultures.
The next logical step in this direction - was and change of field of professional activity: at the moment I am administrator of our travel company, heading the direction of tours in Asia (SHOP of TOURS) in the INCREDIBLE HIMALAYA PRIVATE LIMITED, organize and provide training to our photo projects and tours, as well as heading the direction of MAGIC KERALA: Ayurveda, Yoga, Tours.
I will be glad to assist you in all matters related to our photo tours and trips.
Sonam. Leh, Ladakh, Zanskar, Tibet, Sikkim, India.
From Ilona:
Sonam - our friend and a very long-standing partner first of all in Ladakh.
He has experience in tourism about 10 years and all 10 from them - in remote areas of the Little Tibet.
With Sonam we organize our photo tours and tours to remote regions of Ladakh and Zanskar.
Dorji. Ladakh, Sikkim.
From Ilona:
Shoemaker always without shoes).
This to the fact that during our Tibetan photo tours with Dorjee we communicate daily, and - as a result - I do not have any artistic and impressionable photos of Dorji.
How Come?
Yes, because we always have other reasons for communication - from organizing any-many administrative and household issues to evening talks about karma and songs with a guitar.
Before I open this page on the site – I phoned with members of my Tibetan groups, and no one photographs of Dorji were found, and all for the same reason - when we come to Dorji - we all have something to do there. At the end of September 2011, leaving Leh in the evening on the day before departure, we recorded a little video interview-recommendation for Dorji's site.
There I said, the main thing - why I am very comfortable and happy to come back to Tibet: Video interview with Dorji, September 2011.
Kristina Tsurkan, guide of Travel Agency INCREDIBLE HIMALAYA PRIVATE LIMITED, Moscow, Russia.
Photographer, traveler and art historian by education.
Love the Himalayas, especially Zanskar Valley, which attracts like a magnet.
For the sake of being among the power and majesty of the Himalayas, ready to wander through mountain trails long and hard.
Sergey. India.
From Ilona:
Sergey - our friend and partner in India.
He is living in India for over 14 years, speaks several local languages, knows and loves India as his home.
Together with Sergey we organize and make the most striking programs in Central India:
Camel Fair in Rdzhastane, Spring Festival and Colors of Holi in Mathura and Varanasi.
I am sincerely grateful to the fate that brought me to this remarkable person.
Bannu and Satish. Nepal.
From Ilona:
Absolutely wonderful people.
I work with the guys since 2006 and now Nepal – is the only country where I quietly go without a second organizer in the team.
Thanks to Bannu who always directly supervises all my movement around the country, and Satish, who organizes it.
Practically Bannu and Satish removed from me all organizational troubles: rental accommodations always on top, we always meet great, cars are always with experienced drivers, change the route - no difficulties.
This takes into account all of my - sometimes very specific - suggestions for organizing photo tours.
For example, two years ago we needed to shoot inside the Chitwan cage with crocodiles at a crocodile farm – the lattice prevented shooting.
I called Bannu, he decided this "problem"), and they let as to go into an aviary with crocodiles).
ZAW ZAW. Myanmar.
From Ilona:
His name ZAW ZAW sounds like Sozo.
Sozo completely provides photo tours in Burma from booking hotels to organization of all types of transport for the photo tour.
Sozo is 49 years). He has two higher education, and for 10 years he worked as a chief mechanic at the intercontinental airliners. He speaks 4 languages.
Then he returned to his country, he bought several cars and organized a small travel agency.
With Sozo is very interesting: almost any offer he receives with joy, I have never heard an answer from him, that anything can't be done.
As a result - during my trip to Myanmar, we:
- chased the dogs on elephants,
- meditate in meditation house at the monastery Mountain Popa,
- harvested the sugar palm juice (see photo) and boiled brew/moonshine (not drinking)
- learned to dance by puppets
- dressed in traditional costume,
- visited a lot of places where tourists usually do not get.
Gennady. USA.
I'm not a professional guide, but I am a professional traveler with considerable experience.
My routes on the territory of the former Soviet Union ran from Kaliningrad to the Baikal Lake and from Transcarpathia to Arkhangelsk.
In Western Europe, there are few countries in which I was not.
I have a wide experience of driving cars of different classes in the mountains, in the road. Mountains, deserts, jungles, diving, campfires, tents, rafting, skiing and so much more behind.
During the 16 years that I live in the US, my "backpack" has already 32 states and half of a million kilometers.
During my travels around the world I have learned how to plan and organize travel, but I am not a supporter of strict adherence to the timetable or route, and if the team of photo tour participants has an interesting ideas, I always try to implement them.
I am a photographer and therefore plan travel routes based on time of the shooting.
I will be glad to show you America.
Mekonnen, Ethiopia, Africa.
I am in the tourist business for 12 years, I have my own travel agency in Addis Ababa , which is located in the business center of the city. I drive tourists only "on-white": every tourist who arrives in the country through my agency is officially registered when entering the country and at the exit from it. Understand that Ethiopia – is a very interesting, but in some senses unsafe country, and therefore I control every our group of tourists, and often accompanies the group myself - as it was in the photo tour with Ilona. With tourists always go support group, in which staff are: security, cook, if necessary - a doctor. All cars are equipped with walkie-talkies/radio and a caravan of jeeps always has a connection with each other. I try to do the entire tourist activities in my country interesting and memorable - from visiting tourist spots to evening out. Routes are developed under the wishes of participants, try not to use the standard route. One of my great passions is anthropology, Ethiopia – I know and love, in a sense, the tourism business is for ideological reasons: I think that my country needs to develop eco-tourism, and in Ethiopia is something that can affect the impression of any person. I will be glad to show you my country.
From Ilona:
I want to note that Mekonnen easily and flexibly adapts to the requirements especially for a photo-groups: tours are planned so as to visit interesting places for photography coincided with the convenient light). Very pleasant cooperation, because Mekonnen was very helpful with ethnographic photography - we got with him in those places where, in general, shot a few and at the same time he managed to create there an atmosphere where we could safely shoot and that we wanted. In general - a very comfortable trip in every senses.
This is not all the people working on the photo-routes and tours of our travel company Project PhotoTour/INCREDIBLE HIMALAYA PRIVATE LIMITED.
For example, about our Ladakh team can be read here: This is us! Ladakhi Team - 2013.
We hope that many of our team you will meet personally at the time of travel.
Why do we live for photo-tourism?
Of course, any trip leaves bright impressions, but this experience in the truest sense of the word is unforgettable, if it's received in the photo tour.
This kind of travel will allow you to dive into a new and unknown world, learn a new country the most intense and interesting.