Authenticity, Lifestyle Wellness, Cuisine and Eco-Adventures are four of the travel industry's most dynamic consumer trends. A new breed of travelers is looking for that "something new" and that "something familiar." The holiday that exceeds expectations is something that Echo Valley can deliver. More vacation-seekers are moving away from the traditional cruise, sun and sand holiday to something that is unique and still offers a multitude of adventure for everyone. Echo Valley is all of this and more...

New for 2007, Echo Valley has a package that will allow guests to tailor-make their package according to what they want to do while on holiday with us. We have always told our guests they can do as much or as little as they want - it is their holiday. Our Exceptional Experience package gives the guests the flexibility to choose a variety of activities, and we're there to help them create their Echo Valley Ranch experience. Meals, accommodations, use of the ranch facilities and our evening entertainment are already included, and we go from there to tailor the package to the guest.

This year, we want to work more closely with those who have the "ear of their clients." A closer working relationship with the travel agents will help ensure our guests thoroughly enjoy their experience from the early planning stages of their vacation to their arrival back home. Agents can sign into the Echo Valley Ranch Travel Trade Only section to view accommodation availability as well as download images and access the Echo Valley planner. The planner allows an agent to sit with their client and develop the Exceptional Experience together.

Echo Valley's spectacular surroundings translate into a myriad of soft and eco adventures from hiking and horseback riding to birding.

Learn how to fly fish with one of British Columbia's most respected instructors and fly fishers, Kathy Ruddick. Ever since the movie, A River Runs Through It, fly fishing has taken off, and especially appeals to women. So what could be better? To be taught by an expert; to practice in Echo Valley's stocked ponds and nearby lakes; to spa; and to enjoy the pristine surroundings of the ranch's remarkable landscapes. The packages provide the novice with an extraordinary introduction to the art of fly fishing. Packages are also available for the more experienced anglers, who are bound to enjoy the feel of landing a Rainbow trout weighing over ten pounds.

With Echo Valley's spectacular and diverse terrain, hiking is as varied as the geography, with trails for the novice, intermediate and experienced hiker. Covering four hikes to four distinct areas, the Feature Hiking Weeks let guests experience it all. With the added dimension of spa and gourmet meals at the end of a hike back at the lodge, guests will thoroughly enjoy the experience.

Echo Valley's Birding Feature Weeks, offered only in April, provide for a terrific opportunity to photograph, observe and learn about a variety of raptors - Red tailed hawks, Peregrine falcons and Osprey - as well as birding for other species that call the Cariboo home.

With a dash of culinary spice, a touch of Thai and some delicious pampering adventures, Echo Valley offers two Feature Week packages that explore the art of cooking with our Master Chef, Kim Madsen. While each week long course has a slightly different focus, both are designed to add fun, confidence and creativity into your kitchen experiences. The cooking weeks are small, experiential and fun, with plenty of time in, and out, of the kitchen to enjoy other ranch activities. Cook Like a Pro will instill competence, creativity and confidence in the kitchen (you, too, could dice onions like the pros), while Healthy Food & Wellbeing focuses on understanding healthy vs. toxic foods, adapting recipes for special needs diets, and creating alternative dishes using items such as tofu and rice noodles.

When planners and corporate offices need to think outside the box, or want to expand their vision beyond four walls for their retreats, Echo Valley can help deliver on all counts. The Corporate retreat at Echo Valley is ideal for the away-from-it-all team building experience, the brainstorming experience, or the small specialty / incentive group meeting. Echo Valley will help tailor-make these corporate retreats into reality. Companies can book out the entire ranch for their own use and relax in knowing that they are the only guests and will have every detail looked after. It is important to note that Echo Valley is very different from the larger hotels and details will be done in a different manner, but we do this so that it is tailor-made to what the group requires.

Where cocooning was the buzzword of the Nineties, togethering is today's au courant turn of phrase - be they family reunions, or as a circle of friends. And with special family weeks, and book-the-entire-ranch opportunities, Echo Valley becomes a trend-setter for this growing market. With two separate lodges, as well as individual cabins, the ranch can accommodate up to 40 guests (more if smaller children will be attending), and offers a diverse range of activities for all age groups. Also increasing in popularity is the Girls Spa getaway.

Echo Valley has long embraced the concept of providing an all-encompassing spa wellness or Sabai Sabai

The Lifestyle Wellness package at Echo Valley offers an opportunity to breathe space into one's busy life. The package embraces a natural approach and nourishes the body with a style of nutrition inspired by the teachings of Dr. Peter D'Adamo (a noted naturopath, physician, researcher and lecturer). This Lifestyle wellness program combines all the resources of the ranch's unique environment with its professional services, which include spa services, soft adventure activities and pristine tranquility. Guests can have their blood type identified at the ranch and advised which foods are the most beneficial (and detrimental) to their health. In only 14 days, participants will discover a new way of being, with increased energy, a healthier digestion, weight loss and a noticeable sense of improved well being. Dr. D'Adamo has authored several New York Times Bestsellers including Eat Right 4 Your Type which was voted one of the "Ten Most Influential Health Books of All time" by industry analysts.

Spa Harmony ~ guests can tailor-make their own Spa packages with treatments they choose on their own with the help of Echo Valley's Spa Director

Spa Lover's Delight ~ A 7-night package combination of the Exceptional Experience with Echo Valley guests' favorite spa treatments

Thai Spa for 2 : a 3- or 4-night package ~ A package for two that provides the ultimate way to relax and rekindle the vitality of relationships. Enjoyed in the privacy of the Baan Thai suite, this package includes a wide spectrum of traditional Thai wellness therapies to help renew, replenish and restore the harmony of togetherness, with time to explore the beauty of Echo Valley's surroundings.

• Sabai Sabai is a term used frequently in Thailand to denote an all-encompassing feeling of physical, mental and spiritual health and well-being. At Echo Valley, this holistic state of contentment is a way of life, and can be explored at the Thai Spa as well as through activities such as Ruesri Dut Ton and Three-step Meditation.
• With professionally trained therapists from Thailand, The Thai Spa is a showcase of indigenous Thai healing therapies. These include signature Thai Massage, Thai Foot Massage and Thai facials as well as treatments that use the luk pra kob hot compress, and specially blended Thai herbal oils, all of which share the ancient wisdom of traditional Thai wellness.
• Echo Valley boasts North America's first Baan Thai Spa Pavilion. Designed by the renowned Dr. Pinyo Suwankiri, architect to the Thai royal family, the building uses a combination of teak for the interior, much of which was crafted by master craftsmen in Thailand, and cedar on the exterior to reflect its Cariboo location. The Baan Thai epitomizes the cultural blend that is Echo Valley.

Although very much part of traditional well being practices in Thailand, Ruesri Dut Ton is new to North America. Ruesri Dut Ton is a series of 80 stretches and postures, developed by religious hermits in Thailand many centuries ago as a way of restoring energy, flexibility and vitality after periods of meditation. Visitors to the famous Wat Po temple in Bangkok can see statues depicting 24 of the 80 positions. Although it may appear to resemble Indian yoga, Ruesri Dut Ton is regarded as gentler, and more accessible than many forms of yoga taught in North America. Consequently, it can be practiced by all age groups and all levels of ability.

An ancient and distinctly Thai practice, three-step meditation invites you to manage your focus in a way that other meditation practices do not. For many people, it connects them more fully with their mind, body and spirit, and is an easier practice to adopt. The first step involves praying (to any spiritual guide or deity), the second step is to walk - or rather repeated back and forth steps while focusing intensely on your movements), and the third step is to sit, and involves breath control and quieting the mind.

Sheep Pasture Golf

Sheep Pasture Golf is one of Echo Valley's more out-of-the-ordinary adventures. Local ranch owner David Jones has created a 9-hole, par 35, 2,722-yard course, which is part golf course, part working sheep ranch. The sheep aren't the only hazards; golfers need to watch for creeks on the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th holes. Full-day excursions include return flight from EVR over the majestic Fraser Canyon, deserts and verdant valley.