BOOKING TERMS AND CONDITIONS

BOOKING TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Earth Abroad Private Limited, trading as Foxpels

Last updated: March 2026

1. Introduction and acceptance

1.1 These Booking Terms and Conditions govern the sale of journeys, programmes and travel services by Earth Abroad Private Limited under the Foxpels brand. Please read them before you enquire, accept a quote or make a payment.

1.2 They apply to every journey we sell — fixed departures, custom builds, institutional programmes and corporate arrangements — across domestic India, inbound to India, and outbound from India, whether sold directly to you or through a tour operator.

1.3 By accepting a quote and paying a deposit, you confirm that you have read, understood and accepted these terms, the Booking Conditions, the Cancellation and Refund Policy and the Privacy Policy. Together these four documents form the agreement between us. If you do not accept them, do not proceed with the booking.

1.4 Where you book on behalf of others — a family, a group, an institution or a company — you confirm that you are authorised to do so and that you have brought these terms to the attention of every person in the booking. Everyone travelling is bound by them.

1.5 We may revise these terms from time to time. The version that applies to your journey is the version in force on the date your contract was formed, and we will send you a copy with your confirmation. Revisions do not apply retrospectively to a confirmed booking.

1.6 If any provision of these terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full effect.

1.7 Nothing in these terms limits or removes any right you have under Indian consumer law that cannot lawfully be limited or removed.

2. Who you are contracting with

2.1 The company is Earth Abroad Private Limited, a company incorporated in India.

2.2 In these terms, "Foxpels", "we", "us" and "our" mean Earth Abroad Private Limited. "You" and "your" mean the person who makes the booking and, where the booking includes other people, every traveller in it.

2.3 We contract with you as principal, not as agent.

We design the journey, set the price, contract you, contract and pay our suppliers, and carry the commercial risk. Delivery on the ground runs through destination management partnerships and direct community partnerships. Those partners are our suppliers. They are not yours. You do not contract with them, and the fact that a partner delivers part of your journey does not transfer our obligations to you onto them.

2.4 This is a deliberate departure from common practice in Indian tour operation, where the operator contracts as agent for the underlying suppliers and disclaims responsibility for their acts and omissions. We do not do that, and clause 21 sets out what we accept and what we do not.

3. Definitions

In these terms, unless the context requires otherwise:

3.2 The singular includes the plural and the plural the singular. Headings are for convenience and do not affect interpretation.

4. How a contract is formed

4.1 No Foxpels journey completes automatically. There is no checkout, no instant booking and no automated confirmation anywhere on this website. Every booking passes through a person, by design.

4.2 A booking proceeds in six steps:

4.3 Nothing said in conversation and nothing published on the website forms a contract. The accepted quote, the written confirmation and these four documents are the contract.

4.4 A quote is valid for 14 days from the date of issue unless it states otherwise. After that it lapses and may be reissued at a different price. A quote holds nothing — not capacity, not dates, not accommodation, not permits — until a deposit is received.

4.5 Prices, availability and inclusions may change before a quote is accepted, including where a supplier revises rates, a permit position changes, or a community's own calendar shifts.

4.6 We may decline any booking, or cancel a booking before confirmation, without giving a reason. Where we do so and a payment has been received, it is returned in full.

4.7 You must be 18 or over to make a booking. Clause 19 covers travellers under 18.

5. Earth Rare — applications, not bookings

5.1 Earth Rare journeys are allocated, not sold. There is no booking control anywhere on this website for an Earth Rare journey and no mechanism by which you can purchase one directly.

5.2 Submitting an application registers an expression of interest. It creates no contract, no reservation, no payment obligation and no entitlement to a place. You may withdraw an application at any time at no cost.

5.3 Allocation is at our discretion and is made in consultation with the relevant ritual, community or seasonal authority. We may decline an application without giving a reason and without recourse. Where access is governed by a ritual authority, the decision is theirs and not ours, and we will not represent it as ours.

5.4 Where a place is allocated we issue a written offer of allocation stating the price, the payment schedule and the conditions attaching to that journey. A contract forms only when you accept that offer in writing and the deposit is received.

5.5 Earth Rare journeys are scarcity-priced. The price rises as places are taken. Any price shown or discussed at the time of application is indicative only, is not held for you, and is not a quotation. The price that applies is the price stated in the offer of allocation.

5.6 Earth Rare places are capped at between 8 and 12 travellers depending on the journey, and the cap is set by the community or ritual authority, not by us. Clause 12 applies.

5.7 Access to an Earth Rare journey depends on a permission that may be granted, refused or withdrawn at any time by the authority holding it. Clause 4 of the Cancellation and Refund Policy governs what happens if access is withdrawn after allocation.

6. Earth Study and institutional bookings

6.1 Earth Study programmes are contracted per engagement. Where an institution, department or faculty enters into an engagement letter or service agreement with us, the terms of that agreement apply alongside these terms and prevail where the two conflict.

6.2 The person signing on behalf of the institution confirms they are authorised to bind it, and that every participant has been given these terms.

6.3 Institutional rates are quoted per engagement and are not published.

7. Prices and taxes

7.1 Prices are quoted in Indian Rupees unless the quote states otherwise.

7.2 Prices are exclusive of government taxes. Goods and Services Tax, Tax Collected at Source and any other government levy applicable to your journey are payable in addition to the journey price, at the rate in force on the date of invoice, and will be shown separately on your invoice. Rates and applicability are set by government and may change between quotation and departure.

7.3 Tax Collected at Source, where it applies to outbound journeys, is deposited with the tax authorities against the Permanent Account Number of the person invoiced. It is recorded against that person's tax account and once paid it cannot be refunded by us, though it may be claimed when that person files their annual return. Where TCS applies we will tell you before you pay, and you must tell us at the time of booking who the invoice is to be raised against.

7.4 Where a quote is issued in a currency other than Indian Rupees, the quote states the applicable rate and the point at which it is fixed. Rate movement between quotation and payment is to your account.

7.5 You bear bank charges, remittance fees and currency conversion costs on payments to us. Clause 11 of the Cancellation and Refund Policy sets out who bears them on refunds.

7.6 Foreign exchange for outbound journeys is governed by the Foreign Exchange Management Act and Reserve Bank of India regulations, including limits under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme. Where a journey requires you to purchase foreign exchange, you do so through an authorised dealer and the documentation requirements of that dealer apply.

8. What the price includes and excludes

8.1 Inclusions and exclusions are stated on your quote and form part of the contract. Descriptions on the website are indicative; the quote governs.

8.2 Unless your quote states otherwise, the journey price excludes:

• International and domestic flights, and airport or station transfers to the joining point
• Visa fees, passport costs and the cost of obtaining either
• Travel insurance
• Vaccinations, medical costs, prophylaxis and medical evacuation
• Personal expenditure, laundry, telephone, internet, beverages and shopping
• Meals not specified in the itinerary, and anything ordered outside a pre-set menu
• Tips and gratuities beyond those stated as included
• Optional activities and upgrades
• Costs arising from a change made at your request or for your benefit
• Costs arising from your late arrival, early departure or non-participation
• Any increase in government taxes, permit fees, entry fees, conservation fees or fuel surcharges arising after your quote was issued
• Anything not expressly listed as included

8.3 This list is illustrative. The exclusions stated on your quote and in the Booking Conditions apply in addition.

9. Payment

9.1 The deposit and balance are as follows:

9.2 Where a booking is made within 30 days of departure, the full journey price is payable on confirmation.

9.3 The deposit secures your place. It does not entitle you to any service — permits, accommodation, transport or access are not held or issued in your name until the balance has been received.

9.4 There is no payment gateway and no checkout on this website. We issue an invoice and you pay by bank transfer (NEFT, RTGS or IMPS), or by a single payment link where we provide one. Card details are never entered on this website because there is nowhere to enter them. All payments are made in the name of Earth Abroad Private Limited.

9.5 We will never ask you for a card number, CVV, OTP, PIN or password, and no employee or representative of Foxpels is authorised to request them. If anyone claiming to represent us asks for these, do not provide them and tell us immediately.

9.6 If the balance is not received by the due date we will contact you in writing. If it remains unpaid 7 days after that reminder, we may treat the booking as cancelled by you, and the cancellation charges in the Cancellation and Refund Policy apply calculated from the date the payment fell due.

9.7 Where a payment instrument is dishonoured, any charge levied on us by our bank is payable by you.

10. Your obligations

10.1 You must provide information that is accurate, complete and current, and correct any error immediately. Names must be given exactly as they appear on the passport for international journeys, and on the government identity document to be carried for domestic journeys.

10.2 Bookings, permits, tickets and accommodation are processed on the information you give us. Costs and consequences arising from incorrect information supplied by you are yours, including where a permit is refused, a name does not match a ticket, or entry is denied.

10.3 You must hold a passport valid for the period required by each destination, and obtain the visas, permits and clearances required for your nationality. We will tell you what is required to the best of our knowledge, and we assist where we can, but obtaining them is your responsibility.

10.4 We are not able to influence a visa or permit decision. Grant, refusal and delay are matters for the issuing authority alone. A refusal or a delay that prevents you travelling is a cancellation by you, and clause 2 of the Cancellation and Refund Policy applies.

10.5 Holding a valid visa permits you to present yourself at immigration. It does not guarantee entry. Where an immigration authority refuses entry, detains you or deports you, the consequences and costs are yours and no refund arises.

10.6 You must comply with the laws of every place you travel through, with the conditions attaching to any site, protected area or community you enter, and with the instructions of the person leading your journey on matters of safety and access.

10.7 You must not carry or possess anything prohibited or restricted by customs, immigration or local law.

11. Health, fitness and disclosure

11.1 By booking, you confirm that you are physically and mentally fit for the journey you have chosen and for every activity in it.

11.2 You must disclose, in writing and before confirmation, any medical condition, mobility limitation, allergy, dietary requirement, pregnancy or medication that may affect your participation, your safety, or our ability to care for you. Disclosure is not a barrier to travel. Non-disclosure is, because it prevents us from planning for it.

11.3 Journeys are graded by physical intensity and the grading is published on each journey page. Some are demanding. Journeys in the Spiti valley and other high-altitude regions operate at or around 4,000 metres, where altitude illness is a real and potentially serious risk regardless of general fitness or age.

11.4 Where a journey is graded High or Extreme, or where any part of it takes place above 3,000 metres, we require written medical clearance from a registered practitioner before we confirm your place, dated within 90 days of departure.

11.5 We may decline a booking, or decline your participation in a specific activity, where in our reasonable judgement participation would present a material risk to you or to others. Where we decline before confirmation, no charge arises and any payment is returned in full.

11.6 Where a condition emerges or worsens after confirmation, tell us immediately. We will do what we reasonably can to accommodate it. Where it makes participation unsafe, clause 3 of the Cancellation and Refund Policy applies.

11.7 We do not recommend travel during pregnancy on any Foxpels journey. We do not carry specialist obstetric or neonatal capability, and several journeys are hours from a hospital of any kind.

11.8 Medical treatment obtained on a journey is arranged through local practitioners and facilities and is at your cost. Standards of medical care, evacuation capability and response time vary enormously across the places we work, and in some of them are very limited.

12. Travel insurance

12.1 Comprehensive travel insurance is a mandatory condition of travel on every Foxpels journey. You must hold a policy that covers, as a minimum:

• Medical treatment and hospitalisation
• Emergency evacuation and repatriation, including from remote and high-altitude locations
• Cancellation and curtailment
• Personal accident
• Loss of baggage and personal documents

12.2 The policy must be valid for every destination and every activity on your itinerary, including trekking and high altitude where these apply. Many standard policies exclude altitude above a stated limit; check yours.

12.3 You must send us a copy of your policy at least 15 days before departure, and carry a copy with you. Where a policy is not produced, we may decline participation, and no refund arises.

12.4 Your insurance is a contract between you and your insurer. We are not a party to it, we do not sell it, and we have no role in whether a claim is accepted or what is paid. Any dispute about a claim is between you and the insurer.

12.5 Foreign nationals must arrange their own cover, and should check whether the destination requires a minimum level of medical cover for entry.

12.6 Insurance covers cancellation for your own reasons — illness, bereavement, work, family emergency. Our cancellation charges apply regardless of the reason you cancel, and your insurance is where you recover them if your policy responds.

13. Cultural orientation briefing

13.1 A cultural orientation briefing is mandatory before participation on every culturally sensitive journey. It covers the significance of what you are being admitted to, expected behaviour, dress, photography restrictions, language, and your responsibilities as a visitor.

13.2 This requirement cannot be waived, by us or by you. Completing the briefing is a condition of participation. If you do not complete it, you do not participate, and no refund arises for a place lost on that basis.

13.3 The briefing is delivered before departure or on arrival as stated for your journey. Where it is delivered on the ground, attendance is a condition of continuing.

13.4 The briefing is not a formality and it is not a safety talk. On several journeys it is the condition on which a community agreed to receive visitors at all.

14. Photography

14.1 Photography is governed per journey. The tier that applies is stated on the journey page, restated at the time of booking, and restated again in the orientation briefing.

14.2 Camera-free means camera-free. It applies to cameras, telephones, drones, action cameras, audio recorders and any other capture device. It applies to images intended only for your own use as much as to published ones. It applies to journalists, photographers, film crews and media on exactly the same terms as everyone else.

14.3 The only exception is an individual clearance granted in advance by the relevant ritual or community authority. Foxpels cannot grant that clearance and will not seek it on commercial grounds.

14.4 These restrictions exist because the access exists. They are conditions on which communities and ritual authorities admit visitors, and we are contractually and practically unable to relax them.

14.5 Where a photography protocol is breached we may require the material to be deleted in our presence, and may require you to leave the journey under clause 15. Where the breach causes a community or authority to withdraw access, the consequences fall on every other traveller present and on the relationship itself.

15. Conduct

15.1 You must not behave in a way that endangers yourself or others, damages property, breaches the conditions on which a community or site has admitted the group, harasses or intimidates anyone, or materially disrupts the journey for other travellers.

15.2 Where a community sets specific conditions — on dress, on entry to particular spaces, on interaction with particular people, on alcohol, on when and where you may move about — those conditions are part of the terms on which you travel.

15.3 Where conduct meets the threshold in 15.1, we or our ground partner may require you to leave the journey. No refund arises, and onward costs including accommodation, transport and travel home are yours. We will exercise this only where the conduct is serious, and we will record the reason in writing.

15.4 You are responsible for damage you cause to accommodation, vehicles, equipment or property, and must settle it directly and immediately.

16. Capacity and group size

16.1 Capacity ceilings are set per line and per site:

16.2 Where a community, ritual authority, regulator or site manager sets a lower limit than ours, the lower limit stands absolutely. It is not negotiable, it cannot be exceeded for commercial reasons, and a confirmed booking does not override it.

16.3 Where a limit is reduced after bookings are confirmed and a confirmed group must be reduced, we will contact affected travellers directly. Travellers removed on that basis receive a full refund with no deduction, or a transfer to an alternative departure, at their choice. Where a selection between confirmed travellers is unavoidable, places are released in reverse order of confirmation, so that the most recently confirmed booking is the first affected.

16.4 Fixed departures require a minimum of 6 travellers to operate. Where a departure has not reached the minimum, we will decide whether to run it no later than 30 days before departure and tell you immediately. Clause 3 of the Cancellation and Refund Policy applies.

17. Changes we make

17.1 Minor changes. Itineraries are designed against real conditions and conditions change. We may vary an itinerary for weather, road or river conditions, permit availability, safety, illness, a community's own calendar, a site closure, or a festival or ritual moving. We may substitute accommodation, transport or a supplier for an equivalent alternative. Where the substance of the journey is preserved, this is a minor change, and it does not give rise to compensation or a right to cancel without charge.

17.2 Where an element cannot be delivered and no alternative is possible, we refund the entry or activity cost of that element where it is separately identifiable. Where it is not separately identifiable, no refund arises.

17.3 Material changes. A material change is one that alters the substance of what you booked. It includes a change of destination region, removal of a defining element of the journey, a reduction in duration, or a change of departure date by more than 7 days.

17.4 Where a material change occurs before departure you may: accept the change; transfer to an alternative journey with the price difference settled either way; or cancel and receive a full refund with no deduction.

17.5 We may correct a manifest error in a published or quoted price, including after a booking is confirmed. Where we do, you may accept the corrected price or cancel and receive a full refund, provided you tell us within 48 hours of being notified.

18. Changes you make

18.1 Name substitution. Where a confirmed traveller is replaced by another person, the substitution is subject to supplier agreement, permit rules and any community consent that applies. Some permits and access arrangements are issued to named individuals and cannot be transferred at all.

18.2 Date transfer. Subject to availability and to any cost we have already incurred and cannot recover. A transfer requested within the period covered by the cancellation scale is treated as a cancellation and a fresh booking.

18.3 Amendment fee. ₹2,500 per person per amendment, plus any unrecoverable third-party costs, plus any difference in the journey price.

18.4 Where an amendment cannot be accommodated, the request is treated as a cancellation by you and the Cancellation and Refund Policy applies.

19. Travellers under 18

19.1 Travellers under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, or by an adult carrying written authority from a parent or legal guardian in a form we specify. We do not accept unaccompanied travellers under 18 on any journey.

19.2 Minimum ages:

19.3 The booking must be made by an adult who accepts these terms on the minor's behalf and remains responsible for them throughout.

19.4 Several journeys are unsuitable for children irrespective of age — on grounds of altitude, duration, remoteness or ritual context. Where that is the case the journey page says so, and we will say so again at enquiry.

20. Force majeure

20.1 Neither party is liable for failure to perform where it is caused by an event outside its reasonable control, including:

• Natural events and natural disaster — earthquake, flood, landslide, avalanche, cyclone, fire, extreme or abnormal weather
• Epidemic, pandemic and public health measures, including quarantine and border closure
• War, hostile invasion, act of foreign enemies, rebellion, insurrection, civil war
• Terrorism, riot, civil unrest, curfew or local disorder
• Strike, lockout and industrial action
• Act or omission of a government or statutory authority, including closure of a site or region, and refusal, withdrawal or non-issue of a permit
• Change in law or regulatory requirement
• Failure or disruption of transport infrastructure, and cancellation or rescheduling by a carrier
• Nuclear or radiological contamination

20.2 Where a force majeure event prevents a journey from running, clause 7 of the Cancellation and Refund Policy governs what is refunded, what is credited and what cannot be recovered.

20.3 Any assistance we offer in a force majeure situation to reduce your loss is offered as a courtesy and is not an admission of liability or a waiver of these terms.

21. Liability

21.1 What we accept. We contract with you as principal. We are responsible to you for the proper performance of the journey we contracted to provide, including where a failure is caused by a ground partner, community partner or other supplier we engaged to deliver part of it. We do not disclaim responsibility for our suppliers by describing ourselves as an agent, because we are not one.

21.2 We accept liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence or that of our employees acting in the course of their employment, and for the negligence of a supplier we engaged, to the extent the applicable law provides.

21.3 What we do not accept. We are not responsible for:

• Services you arrange yourself, including flights booked independently, accommodation booked outside the itinerary, and activities undertaken in your own time
• Optional activities you choose to take with a third party on the ground, where you contract directly with that provider
• Loss or damage caused by your own act or omission, including failure to disclose a material health condition, failure to follow safety instructions, or failure to be at the stated place at the stated time
• Loss, theft or damage to your baggage, documents, money and personal belongings, which remain your responsibility at all times
• Refusal of a visa, permit or entry by an authority
• The acts of a third party unconnected with the journey, where those acts were unforeseeable and unavoidable
• Force majeure events under clause 20
• Loss of enjoyment, loss of earnings, loss of business or opportunity, and other indirect or consequential loss

21.4 Where we are liable, our liability is limited to the journey price paid by the affected traveller, except in respect of death or personal injury caused by negligence, where no such limit applies.

21.5 Nothing in this clause excludes or limits liability where it cannot lawfully be excluded or limited, including under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

21.6 Where a third-party supplier's own terms govern part of your journey — an airline, a railway, a cruise operator, a hotel — those terms apply in addition to these, and international conventions limiting carrier liability may apply.

22. Community Return statements

22.1 Every journey we sell carries a Community Return status. This is a disclosure about the product, published so that you know what reaches the people hosting you.

22.2 Where a figure is stated it is given as a rupee amount, together with the base it was calculated on and the total package price. It is never published as a percentage floating free of the amount it applies to.

22.3 The 60% minimum applies to Earth Collaborations only. It is calculated on the experience fee — the community-delivered component — and never on the total package price. It is not a company-wide commitment and it does not apply to product we source from a ground partner.

22.4 Where a journey carries the status "not disclosed by supplier", that is exactly what it means: we have not been told the figure, we do not know it, and we do not estimate one.

22.5 These statements describe how we contract with our community partners. They are disclosures, and they do not create a right in you to enforce a payment to a third party.

23. Grievances and complaints

23.1 On the ground. Raise it immediately with the person leading your journey. Most things can be resolved at the time and cannot be resolved afterwards. A complaint raised for the first time after you return is much harder for us to investigate and much harder to put right.

23.2 Formally. Write to us:

Grievance Officer: Utkarsh Kolhe, Founder Email: hello@foxpels.com Telephone: +91 92724 74157 Post: Earth Abroad Private Limited, Survey No. 174/1/5, Postal Colony, Datta Mandir Road, Wakad, Pune, Maharashtra 411057

23.3 We acknowledge every complaint within 48 hours, aim to resolve it within 7 days, and will resolve it within 30 days at the outside. Where an investigation with a ground or community partner takes longer than 7 days, we will tell you so and give you a date.

23.4 The same channel is open to community partners, suppliers and members of the public on the same terms.

23.5 Nothing here affects your right to approach a consumer forum or any other authority.

24. Website, content and intellectual property

24.1 The content of this website — text, itineraries, journal writing, photography, design, layout, logos and marks — is owned by Earth Abroad Private Limited or licensed to it, and is protected by law.

24.2 You may view, download and print pages for your own personal use in connection with travel with us. You may not copy, republish, distribute, sell, modify or use any part of it for a commercial purpose without our written permission.

24.3 The Foxpels name and logo, and the names of the five lines, are our marks and may not be used without permission.

24.4 We make reasonable efforts to keep the website accurate and current, but we do not warrant that it is free of error. Photographs, maps and descriptions are representative rather than exact, and conditions at the time of your journey may differ. Maps are indicative and not to scale.

24.5 Where the website links to a third-party site, the link is provided for convenience. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content, their terms or their handling of your data.

24.6 You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to the website or its server, or introduce anything malicious to it. Doing so is an offence under the Information Technology Act, 2000.

25. Communication

25.1 We communicate by email, telephone and WhatsApp, using the details you give us. Communication sent to those details is deemed received.

25.2 Keep your contact details current and check them. We are not a telecommunications provider and cannot guarantee delivery of an email, a message or a call.

25.3 Where a journey has a group messaging channel, joining it is optional and you may decline without disadvantage.

25.4 Marketing communication is sent only where you have asked for it, and every message carries an unsubscribe route.

26. Governing law and jurisdiction

26.1 These terms and any dispute arising from them are governed by the laws of India.

26.2 The courts at Pune, Maharashtra have exclusive jurisdiction, subject to any right you have as a consumer under Indian law to bring proceedings in the forum where you reside.

26.3 Before commencing proceedings, both parties will attempt to resolve the dispute through the grievance process in clause 23.

27. General

27.1 Entire agreement. The accepted quote, the written confirmation, these Booking Terms and Conditions, the Booking Conditions, the Cancellation and Refund Policy and the Privacy Policy are the whole of what is agreed between us. They supersede anything said or written beforehand.

27.2 Authority. No employee, representative or partner has authority to vary these terms. A variation is effective only if we confirm it in writing.

27.3 No waiver. A failure to enforce a provision on one occasion does not waive it.

27.4 Assignment. You may not assign your rights under this contract except through the substitution process in clause 18.1.

27.5 Language. These documents are written in English and English is the language of the contract.

27.6 Successors. This agreement binds your heirs, executors, administrators and legal representatives.