Suddenly, reindeer are everywhere — in shop windows and Santas’ grottos; on greetings cards and advent calendars; and in the songs that form the soundtrack to our festivities.

Then on Twelfth Night, Rudolph and his friends disappear from our consciousness for another year.

But for the Tsaatan nomadic people of the taiga (boreal forests) of northern Mongolia, reindeer underpin their whole way of life, all year round.

For thousands of years their herds have enabled them to survive in a harsh environment, providing milk and meat, skins for warmth, and antlers — which they shed each year — for tools and medicine. Reindeer are their main mode of transport and play an important part in their shamanist spiritual traditions.

Last August, Charlbury-based travel company Panoramic Journeys took a small group of adventurous clients to try out a new expedition to a region near the Russian border that they describe as “remote even by Mongolian standards.”

Reindeer are suited to living here because the vegetation includes willows and birches, sedges and grasses and above all a particular species of lichen that they favour.

The trip included six days on horseback, riding through larch forests and marshes, along rivers and over mountains, and stays with two Tsaatan communities, living in their teepee-style tents known as urtsuud, and learning about their way of life and the beautiful, unspoilt land where they live.

The trip was arranged in conjunction with the Tsaatan Community and Visitor Centre (TCVC), a community organisation which aims to ensure the development of tourism is managed in accordance with the wishes of the Tsaatan, so that it is a mutually beneficial experience for hosts and visitors alike.

Local guides and cooks are employed on a rota basis, and some of the income from tourism supports community projects.

The TCVC also briefs visitors on cultural sensitivities, including how to behave when visiting someone’s home.

“Do grow accustomed to sitting in silence and just observing” they advise, and “Try to sing when asked!”

This pioneering expedition was led by James Moreton, who co-founded Panoramic Journeys with his wife Karina Moreton in 2003.

Falling in love with Mongolia and its people while backpacking, they realised they wanted to share their knowledge and enthusiasm with other international visitors.

They have gradually built up a portfolio of small group trips ranging from cultural visits — in particular to the annual Naadam festival, which features archery, wrestling, and horse-riding — to physically-demanding expeditions. They also offer trips to the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.

As well as the reindeer expedition, last year saw Panoramic Journeys’ first tour focusing on the endangered wild Bactrian camel, and their first ballooning trip across Mongolia’s spectacular landscapes.

For 2011, they are planning an itinerary for keen photographers led by acclaimed photo-journalist Timothy Allen.

Mrs Moreton previously worked as an independent film-maker — experience which has proved helpful in developing another area of their business: facilitating trips by film crews.

Their first was the Mongolia leg of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman’s epic motorcycle journey Long Way Round in 2004.

More recent work has included the BBC series Around the World in 80 Days, ITV’s Horsepower, presented by Martin Clunes, and the new BBC Wildlife documentary series Human Planet, to be screened in the New Year.

As well as their base in Charlbury, they have offices in Ulaan Baatar in Mongolia, and Thimphu in Bhutan, from where their operations directors make the logistical arrangements that ensure trips go smoothly.

Their Mongolian operations director, Goyotsetseg Radnaabazar, is also their principal guide, and winner of the prestigious Wanderlust travel magazine Guide of the Year award.

Mr and Mrs Moreton are concerned about the problems that some kinds of tourism can create in host communities, so they plan trips that are culturally and environmentally sensitive.

They brief visitors carefully, and check payments go directly to the local people who provide services, such as transport and accommodation.

They also invest some of their profits back into development projects which have included providing equipment for midwives, renovating a secondary school, and tree planting in the Gobi desert.

They want to do more of this work and, last month, Mrs Moreton visited Bhutan to discuss possible collaborations with its government and non-government organisations.

The couple put the success of their business down to the fact they are doing something they are passionate about, and that Mongolia, with its extraordinary wide open spaces, wildlife and fascinating nomadic culture, offers such an attractive contrast to the crowded and hectic lives that many people in industrialised countries lead.

Mrs Moreton said: “We chose the name Panoramic Journeys because our trips are about helping people to escape their day-to-day lives and widening their horizons. People come back changed.”