Reviews

Have just finished the trip of a lifetime on the 6 day Nayapol to Ghorepani (Poon Hill) & return through Ghandruk. Very lucky with the weather and views of the Annapurna's were better than we could ever had imagined. The accommodation was really great as well. Our guide - Saran Adhikari - was the best. His English is very competent, his knowledge of the Annapurna region was incredible and his friendly manner was fantastic. Our porters Binod Ghastri & Bhimsen Banjara were always laughing and joking and we were the envy of every other group. They taught us a Nepalese card game which we played every night with them. We are 50 plus and spent time training for the trek which we strongly advise you to do! Especially going up and down steps. We were fortunate to have two lovely Thai girls in our group and though they were much younger than us, we got on really well and have become good friends. To sum up no photo can do justice to the beauty and majesty of these mountains, it was worth every hard step of the way. The Nepalese people themselves are always beautiful and friendly, smiling always, even though you can see how hard their lives are. We cannot recommend the trek and Himalayan Social Journey highly enough as they made our journey a wonderful experience.

Our journey through Nepal and Bhutan, curated by Himalayan Scenery Treks and Expedition, was nothing short of magical. Their expertise in crafting a tour that beautifully merged the cultural and natural splendors of both countries, paired with their exceptional hospitality, ensured we had a comfortable and enriching experience. The entire team's effort to work closely with us, adapting to our interests and ensuring our satisfaction, truly made this trip unforgettable. Their professionalism and kind-hearted nature made them the perfect travel companions!

Firstly, I would like to thank THE FIRST HIMALAYAN (previously known as The Himalayan Scenery Treks & Expedition), from the top mgmt/owner... Mr Ram, Santhos who welcome us at the airport with a flower garland each and most importantly, BHAKTA MAGAR, our guide who ensure our safety, coordinating our trip and arranging all our lodging and food. Another important person, SANDIP MAGAR... our assistant guide / Bhakta's son, a cheerful, smiley, funny and an entertainer that makes me laugh throughout the journey. Lastly, the incredible superhuman... Dambar, Hem and Padam... for carrying our belongings ahead of time. Nothing better than having our rooms and belonging ready after the tiring trek.
.... "BRAVO & KUDOS TO THE EXCELLENT TEAM YOU HAVE" - Ram

This was my very first trip to Nepal and to trek the Majestic Himalayan Mountains. I have known that it will not be an easy peasy climb. At times we were cursing and swearing and asking why we were doing these... but the rewards of seeing the beauty of the Majestic Snow-capped mountains were indeed beyond words.... it was Heavenly!

Initially, we were only planning to do ABC but my seasoned buddies decided to add in Mardi Himal BC within the same period of time... Killing 2 birds with 1 stone. Since it was my first time, I was worried. Fortunately, with Sandip's smiley and cheerful character leading us while Bhakta always at the back making sure we were on the right track as well as keeping an eye on my friend who was having knees ache. Hence, my huffing and puffing, my tension and worries were minimised.

Another issue that I should give a big round of applause and compliments was the way Bhakta, the admin office and the instant approval by Ram for Emergency Evacuation. One of us was having Altitude Sickness upon arriving ABC. A helicopter evacuation was deployed the following morning with no-hassle and not much question asked. If we were to handle it ourselves, all of us will have a major headache and AMS instantly.

As for Food and lodgings, you don't expect to have a luxurious Tea House stay up in the mountains. At times, there ain't any water for brushing your teeth and dirty toilets. I won't blame them as most of the Tea-houses were the same. Having said that, the one in Landruk called HIMALAYAN FRONT GUEST HOUSE was my favourite... big clean room with attached bathroom, free charging, friendly owner and good food with well-manicured garden. On our last day in Kathmandu, RAM's latest baby was indeed luxurious... THE ARUSHI BOUTIQUE HOTEL. My fav was the rooftop bar... best place to chill and unwind overlooking the city. Winding up our trip, a farewell dinner at a typical Nepalese restaurant with traditional music and dance with free flow of traditional rice wine was indeed a memorable end.

Conclusion... if you were to ask me now (not during the trip) if I will come again? Will I do another similar trek? Will I use the First Himalayan again? The answer is definitely a big big YES!

My guide Amar was fantastic. He was very calm and always helpful. Making sure I was ok and making sure that I had everything I needed during the walk. Ask for Amar should you wish to Trek in Nepal.

Yessssss Yesssssss Yesssssss and Yesssssssss. I mean what did I just do. The unexplored and so less crowded manaslu trekking. Mountains, lakes, people, children, food, yaks, and so so so so so many things more. I love it I just love it, there's nothing I can say because words are less to say. You come and see for yourself how beautiful the trek itself is.

We’ve used HST previously for our Everest Base Camp trek 3 years ago and found them to be amazing, going out of their way to assist us, so we had absolutely no hesitation in going back to them to organize our Annapurna Circuit and Annapurna Base Camp treks last month. That choice was confirmed as once again everything was organised perfectly. Narayan Thapa, our guide for the treks, bent over backwards to ensure that our needs were sorted along the way., that we were trekking well, checking on our health every day, and moving at a pace he knew we could maintain. With his friendly caring approach, we had total confidence in him, that with him leading us we could achieve what we set out to do.
Would recommend them to anyone without hesitation.

A wonderful experience. In a word, it was rugged. The scenery was rugged. So was the walk-- but not so much that it was a problem for a 76-year-old in good nick. We were surprised at the number and frequency of little hotels, restaurants and shops serving the walkers-- all supplied by porters.
Ramkrishna was helpful and accommodating. He organised an additional couple of days in Chitwan National Park which, apart from the elephant ride, turned out to be less than spectacular at that time of year. (We saw rhinos.)
Our guide, Shiba, was superb. So were our excellent porters, Gopal and Hori.
From this experience we learnt that carrying capacity is not related to body size/weight/strength. Our porters were 52 and 57 kg and with 30kg on their backs could carry around 85kg. Like me, 78kg + 7kg pack = 85kg.
Looking forward to Everest Base Camp!

I have just returned to UK from my 4th trip to Nepal. If you want to have the very best trekking experience in Nepal, go to Hymalayan Scenary and Treks, you will not be disappointed. Santosh is the man who will discuss and arrange all aspects of your trip and, if you get the chance, insist on my friend Bhaktar as your guide, he is the very best guide to be found in Nepal. I have travelled several times with these guys and they always come up with the very best trips at very competetive prices. They are flexible, accommodating and extremely professional. When things go wrong, as they frequently do in Nepal, these guys have all the answers and know how to fix things. I have been to EBC, Annapurna Base Camp, the Annapurna Circuit, Langtang, Gosainkunda, the Three High Passes and Island Peak so I know how it all works. Accommodation in Kathmandu is in the companies own hotel, an excellent oasis of calm and good food within the chaos of the city, run by Ram the CEO and his team. Look at their website, send these guys an email, tell them what you want or ask them to suggest a trip, as I said before, you will not disappointed.