Kimkim Trip Reviews for Nepal

From the beginning of planning to days after our trek ended, our family group of seven have received five star treatment from everyone at Himalayan trails. After way too many requests and questions from us, Amanda put together a fabulous trek to match our needs. We felt privileged to have Mingmar, the best Sherpa guide ever, along with Meghsha who taught us yoga, meditation & totally enhanced our experience with lessons on local religions, beliefs and cultures. With five fabulous (& strong!) porters, we trekked for 10 days on a community trail in the lower Everest region. When the weather hindered our views, Mingmar made changes to our route to make sure we did not go away disappointed-and we didn't! This was an experience we will never forget, made super easy by Amanda & her crew who had absolutely everything covered ... even a surprise birthday cake for my niece on the day we arrived! I Highly recommend these guys.

Welcoming by people living in the mountains was always good. Teahouse food always freshly cooked on demand and very good, which was surprising with the remoteness of the villages or base camp.
Dawa our guide know well the track so no issue about being guided. Many new roads are being built so sometimes it was hard to find the right track. From the description of our trip, we went through a cheese factory village. Dawa didn't tell us and it is a bit disappointed that he never talked about life of people living in villages, how they sustain, what is their culture and values.
Amanda was welcoming before and after the treck and helpful for any question.

Overall the planning process was smooth - Kripa was responsive and addressed my questions. My guide, Rishi was great! He was knowledgeable, friendly, and a pleasure to trek with.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the route (Balthali Village Trek) designed by kimkim. Based on the descriptions on the site (and research I did online), I was under the impression I would be trekking between quiet hillside villages, off the beaten path, near mountains. This was not the case. While Rishi made every effort to take alternative routes that took us off main roads, most of the trek was in earshot of bus and truck horns, loud music, and general city life. I wish kimkim had been upfront about the type of trek this was and had more accurate descriptions of where I would be trekking (ie, between cities, on roads). I would not recommend this trek to anyone interested in a peaceful trek through the mountains or countryside.

In addition, while I walk fast, I thought the trekking time estimates were really off. One day, the trekking time was listed as 5 hours, but I completed the distance in 2.5. Adding distance to the descriptions would be helpful.

Nepal is a great place but can be chaotic even by South African standards. Every trip to Nepal and Himalaya should be done with a guide from a reputable company.

From the start to the end of our trip we were in the fast lane. When people were queuing, either Ngima or our guide Mingmar got us to the front with no hassle.

There are premium accommodation options along the EBC and Three passes trek, however, most are very basic but adequate. Western toilets become a rarity the closer one gets to Base Camp.

The trip was amazing. It was also very hard. I would not recommend three passes or Base Camp/Kala Patthar to anyone that is unfit, is injured, is overweight.

Everything about my trip was wonderful! I booked this trip on pretty short notice so I really relied on Kim at the KimKim to plan everything and I’m glad I did. Kim and I talked about what I was looking for and she was really helpful in letting me know the different options. She recommended a trek in the Everest region and it was exactly what I wanted. My guide, Phutashi, was great - he was really knowledgeable and friendly and made sure I had a great trek. He changed our route a little after one of the Everest-viewing days turned out to be cloudy, and took me to Mong La, which had some of the best views of the trek and was one of my favorite spots. I’d highly recommend booking through the KimKim - everything was really easy and I had an amazing trip. And for anyone wondering, I’m a female and was traveling alone and felt perfectly safe the entire time.

My family and I had a great time on the Panchese trek. Kripa was able to adjust our trip to ad 1 more day. This made it easier for the 2 kids ( 3 and 6). The first two days were a little long for the 6 year old but she made it and did an excellent job. Chhepaul was and outstanding guide who showed patience and bonded with the kids. He was able to customize a basket to carry the 3 year old. The porter ( Mime? ) was awesome with the kids especially the 3 year old. There was a language barrier but I thing they both enjoyed each other’s company
Thanks 🙏

Where to start! What an amazing trek! Amanda was great throughout the organising, answering any questions I had (and I had a lot!). We had a good group of us who did the trek together. Our guides Gelu and Nurbu were awesome and so were our porters always smiling and helping! I was blown away by their efforts put into the trek because they never rested! They were even in the kitchen preparing our meals when the cook had a day off! They were also very helpful while walking especially on the pass day coming down Nurbu was always right there if we fell over or making sure it was safe! Most of the guest houses and food was great just the night before the pass when we were in tents was a hard night but I don't think that will change. The scenery varied a lot which was great. Overall we had an amazing time and will never forget it!! If we decide to do another trek we would definitely want the same guides and porters again!! Thank you!

After our trek we went down to Chitwan national park and did a home stay in the Tharu village. This was so awesome!! Really grassroots but the best decision! Right from the beginning we were totally immersed in the culture. The village activities were so much fun! We felt like part of the family! Everyone was so friendly! The meals were delicious and very fresh! This is something I would highly recommend for people to do, even families because all of the kids would play together. I really cannot put into words this experience. Sukram did a great job of organising everything and making sure we were looked after.

I believe our trek guide Gelu did an amazing job throughout the 2 weeks. His experience, and temperament was valued, whilst his willingness to help all trekkers to have an amazing trip was first class. Actually this is true for his whole team, including porters and assistant guide Nu bo. They all performed roles from guides, to cooks, to waiters, to boot fixers etc with a smile and pleasant nature.
In regards to the trek itself, it included beautiful country and challenging terrain towards the top. I would personally probably prefer bigger days in the lower country and reducing the number of days over over the trek or including a few more days in the Annapurna region towards the end. Overall great trip with some great people.

The platform provided by Kimkim is innovative in its simplicity and ease of use. We were immediately linked to a local expert Amanda who put together the trip for us. With patience and enthusiasm, she tailored the trip to our needs and wishes. In the end we had the perfect mix of local culture, sightseeing and relaxing. Babu is a professional and safe driver and was always on time and helping us with our bags. We also learned a lot from our local guide, Rajeev, who answered so many of our questions and introduced us to several local restaurants. Great service!

The 8 days we spent with Tendu were very memorable. He was very knowledgeable with the areas that we were trekking. He was very personable, professional and his sense of humour kept us motivated when we needed motivation. He was very attentive to our needs at the various tea houses. Lapka and Kazi were a delight to have along on the trek. I would highly recommend Tendu as a guide to anyone coming to Nepal.

Our trip was truly amazing! We saw so much of Nepal and its people. Amanda was truly wonderful in crafting an experience that perfectly incorporated our adventurous spirits, need for a little rest and relaxation, our want to be immersed in the local culture and excitement about visiting a new country. She was quick to respond to all my concerns and questions during our planning process, prior to our travel dates and during our trip. She was able to make adjustments to our itinerary of the fly without hesitation.
All of the guides were incredibly knowledgeable, patient, polite and eager to share their culture with us. Amanda arranged drivers, pick-ups, guides, hotel stays, a trekking itinerary, tea house stays, meals, sight seeing suggestions, in-country flight tickets and more. We had no worries at all and felt safe every step of the way.
We arrived in Kathmandu, were picked up and brought to the Hotel Manaslu - very nice, clean with modern bathroom and breakfast was provided. After a brief rest our guide picked us up and took us on a walking tour of Thamel and other sites in the area. We even got a very rare view of the Kathmandu Kumari coming out of her house to attend a celebration. We stayed in the Thamel area and had dinner before walking back to our hotel. The following day our same guide picked us up with a driver and we toured UNESCO sites and more in the city and Patan.
We trekked for the next three and a half days, staying in tea houses along the way to Pikey Peak. It was a little disappointing that it never really cleared up, therefore we didn't get a clear view of the Himalaya mountain range. The trekking was very hard and technical (we bit off a bit more than we could chew but our guide Reeche (I'm sure I didn't spell that right) was amazing. The mountains were so lovely Its hard to describe. My suggestion regarding the trekking would be to get more detailed information as to the difficulty and technical aspects of the trek. We were not prepared for the very long days and technical aspects of the trails.
We spent a full day rest at the Panorama Charikot resort after trekking. Wonderful, wonderful place with great views and amazing staff. Food was very good.
The only hiccup of the trip was the horrible jeep ride from Charikot to Namobudda monastery. It was extremely terrible roads and took 7 hours to get to the monastery. The trip was only suppose to take half that time. Our driver didn't speak English so it was hard to know what was happening along the way. We loved the monastery but probably would have passed had we know how long of a jeep ride it was to get to it.
Off to Bhaktapur were we stayed at the Milla Guesthouse. I can't say enough about this beautiful boutique hotel in the heart of the city. Its an oasis and the breakfast on the roof terrace was the best we had on our trip. Our guide and driver took us to all the heritage and culture sites in the area and well has some shopping at various artisan places.
Next to the Chitwan Jungle were we stayed at the Jungle View Resort. We had a private bungalow with lovely views of the Rapti River were Rhinos freely roam. The field guides were knowledgeable and able to answer all our questions. We took an elephant safari ride, canoe ride and visit to the crocodile breeding reserve and jeep safari. The animals were a site to see; rhinos, sloth bear, bison, wild peacock, various deer, crocodiles and many birds
Lastly on to Patan where we stayed at The Inn- Patan. Amazing old Newari home redone into a lovely boutique hotel with a courtyard that reminded me of Italy. The original wood carving throughout was stunning. Great service and food in the heart of the city but yet quiet. We were lucky to get a large room with a small balcony overlooking the courtyard.
We ended our trip with a flight around Mt. Everest. Again, it wasn't super clear but we were able to the see the peaks and Everest. It was a pleasant end to our trip.
Overall, it was an amazing trip and I would highly recommend Amanda, KimKim and Himalayan Adventure travels and tours.

Gelu, the cheif guide and Nurbu were both amazing. Incredibly helpful, and caring.

I'd like to add that Gelu's insight when tweaking the itinerary really helped make the trip even better- affording us better rest, to save time and to make it to the pass on a much better (sunny) day. Gelu was also very good at crisis management- I had issues with my knee, did not manage to get a raincoat for the trek and a friend really struggled. Gelu was incredibly patient and helpful with all of us.

Nurbu as well, with better experience would be a good guide.

The porters were all amazing and incredibly helpful, even with/ without the luggage being carried.

Booking our trip on kimkim was extremely simple and convenient. We were connected to Ngima right away, and he was professional and attentive all the way through. Everything that we experienced prior to the trip was easy, smooth, and enjoyable.

The trip itself was rather disappointing because our guide failed time and time again to do his job properly. He seemed entirely unfamiliar with the region of Nepal that we trekked through and depended on our porter to do a number of things that he should have been able to do: lead us on our walks, correctly identify and name the mountains we saw, get us to the right tea houses at the end of each day, etc. Certainly we felt like we had been ripped off given the amount of money that we'd paid for our guide's expertise, but the bigger problem was that his incompetence led to some uncomfortable and frustrating problems -- one of them being a rather serious problem when he'd failed to inform us that there were no bottles of water for sale in the whole Ghorepani region (an endeavor to cut down on plastic waste). Had our guide briefed us on this, we could have purchased bottles of water on our way to Ghorepani, or at the very least, we would have known to save our empty bottles to fill up with filtered water. However, we were never advised on this matter, so we simply threw away our bottles assuming we'd be able to buy more. Needless to say, we felt outraged and panicked when we realized that we hadn't been sufficiently briefed, and that we didn't have any bottles for collecting water to get through the evening and the next day's walk. This made it crystal clear that our guide hadn't done his "homework" to prepare for a trek in a part of Nepal that he was unfamiliar with. (We also felt that Ngima should have advised us about the water situation in Ghorepani. The packing list that he shared did not indicate reusable water bottles as a must. It noted that we'd be able to buy bottles of water along the way, which led us to believe that there was no need to bring our own bottles at all. Given the situation at Ghorepani, Ngima really should have equipped us with better advice.)

There was one other incident concerning our guide that really frustrated and disappointed us. He had arranged to pick us up at our hotel in Pokhara at 2:00PM to take us to the airport for our 3:15PM flight to Kathmandu. We waited 30 minutes for his arrival, and then arranged our own ride to the airport when he still hadn't shown up by 2:30PM. We were terribly anxious for that whole half hour as we didn't want to miss the flight back to Kathmandu since we had an international flight to jump on from there. It was bad enough that we had to arrange and pay for transportation that the trip provider should have covered (we found this truly outrageous), but we really couldn't believe how irresponsible our guide had been. A guide should never make his clients feel so worried.

All in all, we are shocked and disappointed that this was the experience we paid for. In truth, we would like to be refunded the money that we paid to have a guide.

Needless to say, we cannot recommend Ngima's company, Nepal Myths and Mountain Trails.

This was my second trip to Nepal. Booked with Nepal Myths and Trails Trekking/climbing Company. So Glad I did. Nigma Dorje is an absolutely amazing owner and operator of his guiding company.
By far the best communication out of the guding companies I’ve used in Nepal. He asnwers all questions and concers promptly and to your full satisfaction! All his staff from his fully certified and experienced guides and porters to his person taxi/driving staff for airport pick ups and drops offs are very hard working and are very dedicated to catering to any and all needs you may have and do it with full smiles. Everything about this company is above and beyond expectations.

Our trekking and mountain climb trip to Mera Peak was a complete pleasure in every aspect. Not to mention our Guide Ang-Gelu Sherpa, was the only guide able to get his clients to the summit and back of Mera Peak saftely in the face of a week of bad weather on the mountain. He along with our high alttitude porters (Dawa Sherpa and Kunga) were able to successfully and in a very short weather window of 4 hours get us to the top with out any set backs.

I would highly reccomend anyone wanting to trek or climb in Nepal to book with this company. Heard soo many horry stories from other clients during this trip about their guiding companies and staff. I will definately be back to Nepal again for more climbing and will be booking again with Nigma Dorje Sherpa. Thanks soo much to everyone at Nepal Myths and Trails for a 100% successful expedition!!!

What an amazing adventure! KimKim.com got us into contact with Marie Stissing from Tiger Tops. Highly recommended. Organisation was impeccable. Itinerary developed by Marie was excellent. Her services are professional and personal. We did a 3 day trek with Mr Saila, an amazing guide and the great Mr Jongkwe as our porter. Mr Mangal did an great job with guiding and advising us with all the transfers. It was like clockwork and he took great care of us. All accommodation was really good and very diverse. It gave us a very good opportunity to get a feel for beautiful Nepal in a very short time. Mr Laxman was a very pleasant and confident driver. We hope to come back and spend more time in Nepal. We will definitely book again with KimKim.com and TigerTops! Thank you!

This was my first time using kimkim, and I'm so glad I did! Amanda was great to work with, she gave me great tour options to fit my needs and advice to go along with it. I was able to customize the trip I wanted, and it was super easy when we had a few hiccups along the way (adding additional travelers, dealing with a flight cancellation). As planning became reality, my friends and I spent 3 days trekking east of Kathmandu through quaint villages and beautiful steppes from Dhulikhel to Panauti. After our trek, we were able to enjoy a few days in Kathmandu exploring. One of Amanda's recommendations was a highlight and a visit I won't soon forget - Pashupatinath, a Hindu crematorium. In a place surrounded by death, there is so much life as well, and in a way that I never imagined. As an American, it really opened my eyes to a different culture and perspective.

Another epic trip! Mads and his team are first class. Not only great guides but great friends!

Off the beaten path adventures. Lifelong memories.

We were very impressed with how promptly, patiently, and thoroughly Ngima Dorji Sherpa answered all our numerous emailed questions. His attention made us feel at ease that he was personally making sure all our requirements were being attended to. We were personally greeted when we arrived in Kathmandu and fully briefed on the details of our meeting with our guide and porter at Lukla.

Our first trip to the Sagarmatha National Park was a most enjoyable and unforgettable experience thanks in large part to the attentive, sensitive, and patient care of our guide Mingmar Gyaljen Sherpa, and porter Chhiring Sherpa. They answered every question, attended every need, steered us away from potential folly, and genuinely looked after our well being. For this they have gained not only our admiration but also our friendship. We now better understand why the uniquely majestic Kumbu Valley region and it warm hearted people make visitors want to come again, and again!

From the moment I requested information about the Poon Hill Trek to the moment I arrived back home from the perfectly organized trip, Mingma and his team have been helpful, kind, informative, and attentive. As a solo female traveler, I was a little apprehensive about what my experience would be. Mingma laid out a tentative itinerary in detail that fit my requests and needs. I was extremely pleased. The price for all of the services (airport pickup, hotel stays, flights between Kathmandu and Pokhara, and a guide) was affordable too! This is a hands-on company! I had a representative from the company accessible to me at all times. Bishow, was my greeter and accompanied me to all of my airport drop-offs and pick-ups, contacted me by phone to make sure my guide and porter where in contact with me, and just made sure I was taken care of. My guide, JB, and porter, Ram, for the trek were very familiar with the trek and were very knowledgable about the area. It was great to have a guide that spoke English as well as the local language and could help with communication! Overall, this company, Mingma, Bishow, JB, and Ram provided a safe and quality experience. I will definitely use them again and refer anyone to them who is looking for a Nepal trekking experience. Thank you guys so much! My time in Nepal was a very memorable and amazing experience!

My son and I had an absolutely amazing experience on the Nar Phu Valley trek. Our guide Chhiring and porter Nara, were fantastic. Chhiring provided us with a lot of commentary about the places, people, and social and cultural influences both past and present. Visiting the villages of Nar and Phu, particularly when there were very few other trekkers, was a remarkable experience but of course the stunning scenery the entire way, was the highlight. When it snowed heavily the night before we were to ascend and cross the Kangla Pass, we were prepared to turn back but Chhiring, having monitored the situation, confidently led us on to the Pass. We often lost the path in the snow but Chhiring expertly picked a line and despite the oft times deep snow, we made it in good time and it was truly an exhilarating moment to reach the top!
Amanda was extremely informative and addressed all our concerns promptly. She was very helpful in both the initial planning stages and very amenable to any changes that we considered. I felt completely confident that the trek was well organized and safe. It was also a pleasure to meet with her and Chhiring before the trek. I would highly recommend Kimkim and Amanda from Himalayan Trails.