How we work with animals

One Lumen tour puts travellers on a camel: the early Giza tour, where a short ride is included at the panoramic viewpoint. This page is the standard that ride is held to. It applies to every animal any Lumen guest sits on, stands beside or photographs, on that tour and on any tour we run later.

We publish it because a promise nobody can read is not a promise.

The ride itself

It is short by design. Roughly fifteen minutes at the viewpoint, on flat ground. Camels at Giza are commonly worked far harder than that.

One rider per camel. No doubling up, no riding with a child on your lap. There is a rider weight limit of 100 kg. If a guest is above it we will say so privately at pick up, and the rest of the tour is unchanged.

Nobody rides in the worst heat. The ride sits early in the morning for that reason. From June to August, when Cairo passes 40C, the pick up moves earlier still and the ride may be dropped on the day. That is the guide’s call, made in the animal’s favour, and it does not change what you paid.

The animals

We work with a small number of handlers we know, week after week, rather than whoever is nearest at the gate. We expect, and check on the ground, that:

• Animals have shade and water at the standing area, and are not left saddled in the sun between rides
• Saddles and girths fit, with no open sores, no rubbing and no bleeding
• No animal that is lame, underweight, pregnant near term, or visibly distressed is worked
• Animals are rested between rides rather than worked continuously through the morning

What we will not do

• No sticks, no whips, no goading. Not by the handler, not by a guest. A handler who raises a stick to an animal on a Lumen departure does not work with us again.
• No making an animal do something it is resisting. If a camel does not want to kneel or rise, that is the end of it.
• No wild animals. Nothing captive, nothing performing, nothing sedated. We do not sell, recommend or route guests to any attraction that keeps wild animals for entertainment.
• No photographs that cost extra. Nobody will hand you a strap and then a bill.

Saying no

The ride is included, not compulsory. Tell your guide you would rather not ride and nothing changes about the price, and nothing about the rest of the morning is different. Guests who would rather stand with the camels and take photographs are welcome to do exactly that.

Paying properly

The handler is paid an agreed fee per departure, in advance, whether every guest rides or nobody does. That is deliberate. A handler paid per ride has a reason to push a nervous guest onto an animal, and a reason to work a tired animal one more time. A handler paid per departure does not.

It is also why nobody will ask you for money on the sand.

Telling us when we get it wrong

If you saw something on a Lumen departure that does not match this page, write to hello@lumenguidedtours.com and say so plainly. We would rather lose a handler than keep a bad one. Reports about animals are read by a person, not a form, and we will tell you what we did about it.