We are a team of experienced and professional travel junkies. We love to travel and this is our favorite part of the planet! As travelers ourselves we understand how important it is to have a professional and experienced operator who delivers the travel experience you want.
We are professional and reliable
What sets us apart is:
Our planning: Our careful and knowledgeable trip design delivers you a finely crafted set of experiences, with full attention to the many details that make such a difference. Our extensive planning even includes making sure you know what you need to know before you leave home! Our pre-departure kit includes detailed information about your destination, health information, cultural and environmental guidelines, recommended reading lists, and travel tips.
Our experience: All of our team lives in the region and those of us who are not actually Nepali have lived here for many years – our newest comer has been in and out of Nepal for 7 years. We know this area. Our families live here. We are always out and about in the region keeping in constant contact with people and places, either running tours or exploring to develop new experiences. We have designed and operated tours here for many years already and continue to do so because we find it tremendously rewarding to share our passion for the Himalayas!
Our honesty: There really are no hidden costs and no nasty surprises, what you see is what you get.
We deliver what you want
We love to travel ourselves and we understand how important it is to have a professional and experienced operator who delivers the travel experience you want. Whatever you seek, whether it is adventure, relaxation, learning, fulfilling a dream, we pride ourselves on designing and delivering the travel experience that suits you, the traveler! It’s what you want – we work with you to design the best possible experience: your style, your pace, and your interests.
Our adventure and cultural tours are designed to cater to our guests preferences for experiences, sights, level of adventure, pace, transport, food and accommodation style – the fine details are just as important as the big sights and we take pride in putting together our finely honed tours.
We will exceed your expectations
Exceptional service and support: We take excellent care of our guests. We do all the planning and worrying and look after all the details for you, so you can just relax and immerse yourself in the adventure.
Unmatched travel experiences: Our connection with the people and places of the Himalayan region ensures that your travels connect you with the people and places you visit. Our fixed departure trips are carefully crafted to combine the must-see, world-famous highlights with hidden gems that most people never get to see.
Although we deliver fantastic fixed departures, most of our business is in tailored travel experiences for our guests, so if you don’t see your trip on the website please contact us. We will be delighted to help you plan and enjoy your dream trip.
When we tailor a trip for you, you can have confidence that it will be just what you dreamt of: the destinations you want to visit; the places to explore in detail; the mix of experiences; the level of adventure; the right pace for you; the logistics; your budget; your timeframe; your accommodation and dining preferences – it’s all designed for you down to the finest detail.
We are serious about Responsible Travel
An important component of our passion for the Himalayas is our dedication to doing the right thing by the places we visit and the people who live there. We all live here, and many of our team members come from the mountains, and their families still live there. So we have a very real and strong connection with the environment and the cultures of the region. We are also keenly aware of our responsibility to do the right thing by the people whose places we visit, their diverse cultures and the precious environment that we all depend on. So we have a comprehensive responsible travel policy which we practice rigorously.
Our Mission Statement: We provide responsible travel experiences and our extended team supports our guests to travel responsibly, using ethical business practices that respect people, the environment and the fair distribution of wealth.
Our responsible travel policy ensures that
We fully insure all our staff, including our vital helpers, the porters. Our insurance covers illness and rescue costs as well as compensation to their family in the unlikely event of their death. It is unusual to find this level of insurance in this industry due to the high expense, but we cannot allow ourselves to operate without it. We pay our staff at above industry rates as we value the relationship, the experience and the knowledge of our exceptional team.
We contribute a minimum of 10% of our profit to the communities we visit. In this way each of our guests is providing support to the communities they have travelled to visit. Our contributions have supported communities to deliver education, medical and environmental benefits to their villages and local areas. We continue to support community people in work they deem to be important, rather than imposing things that we think are a good idea! In addition to our company’s contributions, many of our guests decide they would like to contribute as well, thereby growing our efforts and delivering direct support to communities.
We minimise the impact on the environment through our rigorous trekking and camping practices, including: ensuring that we don’t invade the environment in big groups; not burning wood and contributing to deforestation; not leaving rubbish behind; boiling water for drinking or use iodine reducing plastic waste; ensuring we don’t pollute water sources through washing or toilet procedures; and more.
We minimise the impact on the local cultures and people by advising our guests of local customs and beliefs and ensuring that our visits do not offend, for example through what we wear, how we behave and where we go.
We have long established and strong relationships with the people and places we visit, based on respect and cooperation. This gives you the chance to make a real connection and gain rare insights into the places and cultures we visit.
We contribute to local economies in as many ways as possible. This includes employing local staff wherever possible, buying local products and services wherever possible and through our community support efforts.
Here’s our full Himalayan Trails Sustainability Policy and the 2022 results are reported here.
Our Sustainability Coordinator is Raj Rijal and can be contacted at journeys@himalayan-trails.com or at our office +977 1 4410661.
We deliver true value
We deliver exceptional products at a very good price for you, but not at the cost of the environment or our social responsibilities.
We won’t cancel your holiday!
In order to continue to deliver you a quality product that enables us to deliver on our responsible travel commitments, we must have a minimum number for a group trip. However, we know that committing to a big trip involves a lot of preparation on your part and a late cancellation due to lack of numbers is a major inconvenience, to say the least!
So, in case we don’t get the minimum number of bookings for a trip, we can still offer you the chance to go. For a very reasonable surcharge that helps us cover the costs to run the trip, you will always be able to travel with a tiny group, even two people! Your contribution will enable us to run your trip without compromising our obligations to pay our staff appropriately, or our ability to meet our environmental commitments and will ensure that all your planning has not been in vain.
If, before departure, the minimum number of bookings is reached, then of course we will refund you the surcharge. Peace of mind!
