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 Les Elfes is a Swiss International Camp for children located in Verbier, Switzerland. Located on the French speaking side, it is an hour and a half from Geneva. A beautiful mountain resort above the Lake from Montreaux and Lausanne, Verbier is located in the magnificent Swiss Alps, and is a resort of international repute. Les Elfes was established 14 years ago. The present facility is 5 years old and consists of two separate chalets for boys and girls. Beautifully constructed of wood and stone, the facilities house the dining hall, lounge, TV and computer areas, and the recreation room with a small movie theatre and a games room. A large sports facility is housed right next to the camp and the children have easy access to ice skating, squash, tennis, golf, and swimming among the various activities.
Les Elfes provides adventure camping and language learning to the children between the age groups of 8 and 18. With 14 years of history to serve as a solid foundation, the management has continually worked to refine both their facility and their program to maintain their position as the premier summer and winter camps in Switzerland. Les Elfes is a stand-alone organization, that offers adventure camping and language learning programs to young adults from 42 countries, the year round.
 The camp offers a unique and enriching experience to children between 8 and 18 years of age from around the world. It offers holidays that combine the discovery and learning of new exciting sports, cultures and languages.
The Summer Camp revolves mainly around outdoor sports and activities. The aim is to allow youngsters to try new activities, with optimum safety and to make progress in those they already know. The international Summer Camp program is extremely varied. The children’s day is entirely structured. From the time they are woken up by their counsellors, they have a varied schedule for each day. Some days may be bridge swinging in the morning, swimming in the afternoon, and ice-skating after supper. From water sports like rafting, canyoning, hydro-speeding, tubing and banana boating, to airborne sports like paragliding,
or hang-gliding, an opportunity for success is provided to all, regardless of their strengths and weaknesses. Hiking and mountain biking, treks in the alpine flora and fauna of the wild countryside; horseback riding, and the new Ropes Course, all add to the magical experience. The Elves also have the opportunity to learn figure skating, ice hockey, curling, swimming and water skiing. Other sports include rock climbing, football, volleyball, table tennis, hockey, basket-ball, trampoline, squash, tennis, badminton, putting golf and rock climbing wall: a golf course with 18 holes at an altitude of 1500 m! Cultural activities, arts and crafts, Special Olympics, Jenga and dynamic group games all keep the participants thoroughly busy!
Four mornings a week are spent on language learning. The participants can choose between French, German, Spanish or English. Classes are taken by University teachers, and are hands on and entertaining. He children receive a certificate of participation for languages that is additional to the Camp Participation certificate.
 The children do an overnight trek to a mountain cabane on the mountain Emosson that faces the famous European peak Mont Blanc. This short journey is made doubly enjoyable by taking first a bus, then a tram, thirdly a tiny train, and finally a cable car to get to the mountain. This entire excursion is done under the careful supervision of the counselors, who are young, trained and motivated professionals that encourage and care for the children while they are at camp. The
counsellor to participant ratio is 5:1, but with the guides for various activities, drivers, and other allied staff, the supervisory ratio is more like 3:1. Each camper receives an unusually high level of nurturing and individual attention. In a relaxed atmosphere with enthusiastic staff they discover a world of new activities as well as sharing knowledge with young people from various countries from around the world.
Les Elfes has its own well-stocked kitchen, and the French Chef Philou, is a wonder at creating child friendly yet nutritious food. In the summer months when the Indian groups frequent Les Elfes, there is an Indian cook present too, and the children have access to both European as well as Indian cuisine. Though it was very pleasant too see that the Indian kids, especially our very own Chennai and Bangalore group asking for crepes and cannelloni over sambar rice!
The summer weather also affords the opportunity to enjoy sight seeing in Switzerland, where day excursions are planned, to other Swiss cities, and this gives the children an opportunity to absorb some of the Swiss culture, and do a little shopping and sight seeing. A must on every camp is a visit to the Nestle Chocolate and Gruyere Cheese factory. It’s one time the children after gorging on free chocolate sampler trays, actually refuse to eat more candy!
 A firm favourite is the Labyrinth, a huge garden maze fraught with obstacles, that the children enjoy solving. And no trip is complete without a day spent at the Aqua Park, and Hot water Spas, where water sports in warm water, and hi tech facilities take on a new dimension.
Les Elfes most definitely gives children one of their most memorable experiences in life. The interaction with children, in a safe and beautiful setting, in an entirely different culture is a fabulous exposure. A holiday at Les Elfes is not comparable. One of the big assets is that even after a long day of activity, kids come back “home” to the camp. It’s a very secure and comfortable feeling for them, instead of being jostled about in buses and being in a new hotel every night. They enjoy sharing their rooms with one or two other children and take pride in keeping them clean. It’s a learning experience for the youngsters who go there, and the biggest strength of the Les Elfes program, is the fact that children return year after year, and even co-ordinate to meet up with their friends they had made at previous camps. Les Elfes enjoys a very high rate of return of campers and feel this is perhaps the truest indication of the strength of their program.
By organizing groups in the Summer, Les Elfes India is able to give a group rate to children from India, and even has a tie up with Swiss Air for the ticketing. They will handle all visas as well.
Programmes for Summer 2003
| Summer 1 |
April 18 - May 3 |
Switzerland |
Sfr 3380 + Airfare |
| Summer 2 |
May 16 - May 31 |
Switzerland |
Sfr 3380+ Airfare |
| Summer 3 |
May 18 - June 2 |
Australia |
Aus$ 4800 + Airfare |
For more
information contact:
Supriya Mathur
Les Elfes Chennai
The Canopy IB, 97, Poes Garden
Chennai - 600 086
Phone: 2 498 6239
Mobile: 98 410 92380
E-mail: sups_mathur@yahoo.com
| leselfes_chennai@yahoo.com
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