Annapurna Sanctuary Trek

A stunning trek in the company of a friendly bunch of fellow travellers, with Santosh, our tireless, hard-working, good humoured and fantastic Tour Leader wonderful at all times. He added so much inspirational value, cultural insight, local knowledge, environmental detail (conservation and forestry his passion) and, perhaps most importantly of all, astute mountain leadership skills. Avalanches, changeable weather, route changes, the horrible 8 bus trip to and from Pokhara on a battered highway famed for RTAs (flying much safer) and accommodation difficulties (the higher lodges over-booked with 4 beds squeezed into rooms designed for 2) posed some challenges, all handled with care, honesty and sensitivity. Thanks for a fab holiday Santos!

Explore, It was really a long trip, taking me from London to Hong Kong to Kathmandu. I think it could have been easier and quicker, if I had got the some route as the others. I did fill in the visa form beforehand. It would have been a help if you had pointed to the correct for, not only to the homepage. It is not correct that you can only pay for the visa with a USD 50-bill. I have attached a photo. 20241110_144736 One do not need to bring USD or GBP, as there are ATMs in the airport and in Kathmandu and you pay with NPR everywhere. The airport transfer did not meet me in the airport, he was in the carpark. He did not wear the red Explore jacket, but a blue jacket. It was a very care full driver, though he did not speak much english. Our guide, Sujan, was the best guide I have ever meet! The guided tour of Kathmandu was very interesting and the guide was very knowledgeable. The whole trek was wonderful, but the tea houses were not what I expected. You did write, that single rooms were not available in some of the tea houses, but you did not specified that you had to sheer with two or three other persons and that the space between the beds were app. 10 cm. I have attached a photo. 20241116135642. After that experience we all had shared the cold. All the guides and the porters did a very fine job all the way through our tour. My airport transfer bach to the airport in Kathmandu was booked to 30 min. before I was supposed to be in the airport. It took 1 hour and 50 min. to get to the airport. The driver was not to blame. He actually came a little early. The traffic stood still for a long time in the city. It was Saturday night and the weeding season. I did catch my flight, but it was only because the flight out of Kathmandu was a little late.

Excellent tour leader Bimal went above and beyond to make our trip fantastic! Prim, Bim and the porters were super friendly and amazing. Excellent views of the fish tail and annapurna mountains along the whole trek even with mixed weather.

Great group exclent crew special tanks to Sujan the tour leader

An absolute fantastic trip to Annapurna Base Camp and more. Nepal is such an amazing country to visit and explore. The whole trip was very well organised and every day was full of new experiences and vistas to behold. The trekking route was full of different landscapes and conditions which added to the experience. The food in Nepal is also amazing and the people very welcoming and warm

This trip was incredible, definitely not one to miss. The landscape and views are like no other and the people are so friendly. Bimal, Prem and Bhim looked after us so well. Some notes - Bring or plan to change currency into Nepalese Rupees, the trip notes advised USD but rupees was preferred everywhere. - No need for extra snacks. The food and variety of options (even at the top) were great and more than enough, including afternoon tea and biscuits! - Make sure you pack for the cold. The teahouses have no form of heating, even in the common areas so at the higher camps it can be hard to stay warm after walking. - Highly recommend a trip to the hot springs, very much welcome after long days walking. Make sure you pack your swimming costume in your trek bag and not in your main luggage - Bring something to read or an activity for the afternoons. Ascending is gradual due to acclimatisation meaning there are quite a few afternoons without much to do, our group enjoyed lots of Uno! - Trekking poles were a big help - The drive to Pokhara is long, though unavoidable as flying in Nepal is a European blacklist. Bring travel sickness tablets if you're susceptible.

Our tour guide JANGBU was excellent, always smiling and made the whole experience fun. He was always happy to go the extra mile and help out with any problems. His colleagues on the ANNAPURNA sanctuary trek WERE ALSO GREAT, SMILING ALL THE TIME AND ALWAYS HELPFUL. FOLLOWING A SHORT CULTURAL TOUR OF KATHMANDU THE NINE DAY TREK WAS SUPERB. WE WERE LUCKY WITH THE WEATHER AT THE TOP GETTING SPECTACULAR VIEWS OF ALL THE MOUNTAIN RANGES. A TOUGH WALK IF YOU DON’T LIKE STONE STEPS, BUT DEFINITELY WORTH THE EFFORT. A GREAT GROUP OF EIGHT ALL GOT ON WELL WITH PLENTY OF LAUGHTER AND BANTER ALL THE WAY. I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS TRIP TO ANYBODY WHO IS PHYSICALLY FIT. ACCOMMODATION UP THE MOUNTAIN IS BASIC BUT THAT ADDS TO THE CHALLENGE AND TRIP.

The trip was fantastic, from the trek, the guides and porters and group. Throughly enjoyable and I will be back! My only comment is that under current requirements Explore do not fly internally within Nepal. I found the trip between Katmandu and Pokhara quite long and uncomfottable in the minivan, so much so that I arranged privately to fly back by myself. I do think this aspect should be reconsidered by Explore and at least explain the options available prior to the trip starting.

The trip itself was incredible a truly fantastic experience great tour leader in Jangbu and all the support staff excellent, also a great group of fellow travellers Had written a full account on Explore website via supplied email request on return but it has not been posted ? I highlighted in it the bad communications as prior to trip I had several questions, phone calls simply rang and rang 20-30mins plus, call back facility used several times but Never responded to, numerous emails sent and still waiting for a reply I also commented on the two hour totally unnecessary wait at the airport pick up in very hot conditions and the lack of concern regarding cockroaches in my bedroom at the Mila hotel (no response) then I sent a very positive write up covering many topics as requested and tried as a vain attempt to reach out in it for some contact as they stated they are all read ? needless to say my feedback has not been posted and No response from Explore. yes again a great trip, well balanced so many positives but appalling customer service somewhat tainting the experience would strongly consider looking at alternative tour operators many offer very similar itinerary and I would hope that there treatment and support would be superior to that of Explore ( still hoping for some response)