I just completed a 4-day Poonhill trek, and it was absolutely amazing. The views from the top were stunning, worth every steps!. I found the countless stone stairs quite challenging for first time trekker like me, but the journey was unforgettable.
Our guide Devi and porter Bishnu, always made sure that we were comfortable and well taken care of throughout the trek. Would love to come back to Nepal again for sure.
This tour was a wonderful combination of culture, nature, and calming moments on the water. The regional cuisine was excellent. Our trip advisor was attentive and conversational, entertaining all questions with knowledge and patience. It was my first solo tour as an elder tourist and the value and length was a good experience to get my feet wet. The region and people were great and the facilities and transportation were excellent.
We had a great experience with Khum and this company. The transport to and from the trek was smooth. The trek holds breath-taking views with mostly straightforward days for a fit walker with a few challenging days. I highly recommend the trek for any nature lover and enthusiastic trekker. It is, however, the guide and porter that absolutely make the trek! They really do become like family on the trek. Raju has mastered the art of being a guide. He knows well when to give space and when to engage with encouragement or knowledge. We met many guides on the trek and, whilst they were all lovely, we felt especially fortunate to have Raju with his uplifting energy, enthusiastic knowledge and witty humour. Raju made the experience perfect. He acquired the best rooms he could to look after us as one of had a stomach infection. The rooms were better than expected all the way round as Raju managed to get us private rooms at every tea house and always offered extra blankets and pillows! He was patient and kind and remained positive towards achieving our goal despite the difficult illness. He also supplied the medicine which cured us and allowed us to complete the trek. It’s safe to say this would not have happened without Raju! We played cards every night and we shared different games with each other, this was a real highlight! Nima was also a lovely and caring porter who with his limited English communicated largely in kindness and respect. He was always there to help and support and several times returned from dropping the heavy bag to help! Despite the illness, the trip ran smoothly because of Raju and Nima and it has perpetuated our deep love for Nepal and a desperation to return and complete more treks. We can’t thank Raju and Nima enough for their excellency and for making our trip so special!
Had a fantastic experience with the help of our guide Sumba Sherpa. He made things so easy for us through out the trek. He's very experienced and helped us when he had to. First class experience!
What a wonderful adventure and experience. Out tour guide Ashish was magnificent and always cared about our wellbeing and happiness.
The Taj Mahal and Ganges river were both moving moments in my life. I have no words for the emotions I felt seeing the bengal tiger in the wild.
The people were warm and friendly and the food most enjoyable.
Hotels and busses were clean and comfortable.
I do have one suggestion… include ALL tips in the price except the tour guide. This makes it so much easier for everyone. (this is how another tour company I travel with does it-they took our suggestion)
As this is not an adventure for everyone, it has been a lifelong dream of mine to visit India . I am still on in awe reliving the journey in my mind and heart!
Cultural, religious and historic sites
Tour Type
Group Tour
Accommodation
Hotel
Age Range
1-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
New Delhi, Varanasi, Agra, Khaju
New Delhi, Varanasi, Agra, Khajuraho, Jaipur, Ranthambore National Park
From the autumn 2016 season the Mera Peak trek/climb by this tour operator changed from a camping based itinerary of previous years to lodge or tea house based accommodation. I/we departed in October 2016. Before commencing the trek Id convinced myself that the trek in to Mera would be broadly similar to the Everest Base Camp trek, I was very wrong. There is no gentle start and long days requiring sustained effort are the theme pretty much throughout. The route taken for the first few days is very quiet and had a feel of "going around the houses" for me. That quieter route also makes for much more basic lodges than those found on EBC for example but they were all adequate. The longer approach route does however allow for excellent acclimatisation, a major key to success. All the approach routes converge in Kote and it is then a straight shot up the now rocky Hinku valley. I didnt find the approach trek in to be very scenic and that wasnt helped by day after day of cloud cover. I wonder if a November departure would be worthwhile for clearer skies. Khare, which I thought of as base camp village, was a surprsingly busy place with climbers from all over the world either preparing for or returning from Mera. Stories of six groups having been beaten back by high winds the previous day brought about a realisation that nature could quite easily scupper our plans. Having left Khare and reached the snow line, those of us that brought our own mountain boots and crampons were reunited with them by virtue of some porters that had gone ahead of us. I was now using mountain boots and crampons on snow for the first time, I found I tired far quicker than I cared to admit at the time. After a short but steep climb things level out and then it was a relatively short walk to Mera La camp for the night. The sunset and night time stars were very nice. We were now in tents for the first time. I wish I hadn't binned off my Thermarest mattress as a weight saving effort for the Lukla flight. Foam mattresses were provided but I could still feel the cold coming up from the ground. The next day was a short one from Mera La to High Camp. It however is one of those sections where the destination never seems to get any closer despite feeling you're working like a steam train at full speed. The amusement of high camp's precarious position soon passes as you try to concentrate on getting some sleep for the upcoming 0030 wake up call. I got no real sleep. We then started our torch lit climb through the night in deeply sub zero temperatures. It was hard going, really hard going, there was little talking amongst us. It was just heads down and endure it. The group were imposing more rest stops on the guides than they wanted but I don't think there were any negative consequences when all said and done. My fingers were numb with cold. The sun slowly rose and Mera central summit could now be seen ahead. We left our rucksacks at the foot of the summit and using our Jumars went up the surprisingly short roped section fixed by our guides, it was easy and I was on the summit in a minute. It had taken around 7 hours from leaving High Camp with no sleep (for me) since Mera La the previous day. It was bitterly cold on the summit and very windy, there wasn't any open celebration. There now followed an extremely long walk all the way back down to Khare village with only a short pitstop at High Camp along the way. It was exhausting. Availability of water was a problem too since much if not all of our water was still frozen despite the now blazing morning sun. I was gasping for a drink. Ngima our leader had some warm water in a flask and I will definitely take a small flask when I find myself back on a high mountain again. What now remained was the trek "home" to Lukla. The third day of decent involved far more steep climbing than we were in the mood for but we gt where we were going. Conditions on the Zatrwa pass werent as bad as they could be. During our trek trail crampons or shoe grips weren't necessary. There were only a couple sections of ice a few paces long. The decent from the pass is long and steep, thankfully the national park authority have been building a stone staircase which makes things a little easier but you still have to watch your step. There is the potential for an overnight stay a few hours short of Lukla but depending on progress it can be skipped and we pressed on for Lukla and some comfort... relatively speaking
ClimbingTrekking and Hiking
Tour Type
Small Group TourSmall group tours usually have 8-12 participants and maximum up to 18 travelers
Accommodation
Hotel, Camping, Lodge, Tent
Age Range
18-99 yrs
Operated in
english
Destinations
Kathmandu, Tangnag, Mera Peak Ba
Kathmandu, Tangnag, Mera Peak Base Camp, Mera La, Mera Peak High Camp, Mera Peak, Zatrwa La Pass, Lukla, Piuyan, Pangkongma, Nashing Dingma, Chholem, Sukye La, Kothe
Yes, I highly recommend this company. A huge thank you Chhatra, Ram, Raju, Raj, and the phenomenal driver who’s name I missed—for an excellent trip from December 19, 2021 to January 3, 2022. I completed the Everest Base Camp trek from 12/20-12/31 and added on two additional day tours in Kathmandu.
The trek was incredible and led by Ram, an energetic senior guide, and Raj, a friendly porter. Stunning scenery and an accomplishment I’ll never forget!!
On my day tours in Kathmandu, Raju filled my brain with history and cultural insights, while adapting our stops to my interests and selecting great rooftop restaurants.
Chhatra was super responsive to all my questions and concerns regarding the trip and COVID-19 logistics. He arranged a PCR test at my hotel for my return to the United States and Raju walked me through picking up the results at the airport and double checking the report details.
Top notch transfer service as well. The staff were attentive and provided a safe first experience in Nepal for me, a female and solo traveler. Looking forward to booking my next trek to the Annapurna region!!