Kimkim Trip Reviews for Nepal

The week-long journey into Lantang was one of our most memorable experiences. We are so glad to have worked with Kripa baini even before our journey began. She is an amazing planner, super responsive, and highly professional at what she does. Naresh dai, our guide, instilled in us, a sense of belonging in the mountains and a taste for mountaineering. And Dhiraj bhai, our porter, kept us entertained throughout the trek so much that 5-6 hours of walking went by like nothing. This is an incredible team to partner with. See you all again soon!

We had an amazing experience winter hiking the Himalayas for 2 weeks. From booking with Amanda and guiding by Tendu Sherpa, we were well looked after. The trek turned out to be an experience of a lifetime. We had to change our intended route mid-trek and the team executed it on the fly effortlessly. Thank you for the memories!

Absolutely incredible trip. Our guide, sherpa and porter were all awesome. We saw some spectacular sights and it was the trip of a lifetime.

Our trip was led by Tendu and Lhakpa - they were simply fabulous - amazing individuals and truly awesome guides!

This extraordinarily interesting trip was brilliantly planned and executed by the KimKim team - online and on the ground.

We had wonderful and informative guiding through Kathmandu, downtime, fantastic trekking to Pikey Peak with Geshab, Lhakpa and Ganesh who inspired and amazed us, and a fascinating visit to Bhaktapur.

KimKim’s communication was brilliant - even in the depths of the Himalayas. We felt supported and loved the local understanding of culture and region.

The accommodation was exactly as expected, and exceeded all expectation in Bhaktapur! We have recommended KimKim to all our friends, some of whom have already booked or are doing their KimKim trips!

Tendu Sherpa and our equally wonderful Kathmandu in-town guide were both terrific. Professional, kind, knowledgeable. And, importantly, fun.

Tendu Sherpa, for example, went above and beyond to care for our experience starting with our flight into Lukha and on our winter "off-season" trek to Ama Dablam basecamp. He gave us the gift of a glimpse into the beautiful Sherpa community and culture, including guiding us through a Sherpa museum with a family prayer room, sharing stories of his own family, and introducing us to extended family in Namche Bizar. In one beautiful and unexpected moment, our 12-year-old daughter had the chance to play and draw and laugh with 4-year-old girl, Ang Sherpa, and hear Ang Sherpa sing "Frozen".

We lucked out on the 6-day trek with blue skies and clear long views. We also got to visit schools, like the Hilary School, and monasteries.

Back in Kathmandu, we mountain biked and saw more OF the city and the local hills that we otherwise would have. In short, our trip was incredible. We felt safe, welcomed, supported and inspired throughout.

I was hesitant to book with an agency online and i was worried about who they would link us up with. I worried for NO reason! dealing with Kimkim to pay etc was easy and we had no issues.
Working with Sangita was WONDERFUL! Even before we paid she was going above and beyond to try and arrange things and help us feel secure in deciding to book with them. When we were not overly happy with one of the hotel suggestions and we wanted to suggest another trekking route she was straight on it to try and arrange a new plan.
We are a family of 4 with our girls being 15 and 16 years old.
Once we arrived in Nepal, Sangita was so helpful and kind. She made contact with us each step of the way. Each hotel and driver we had to deal with already knew about us and if they were late or needed to change the time she was calling them and then messaging us each step of the way.
We were greeted and welcomed to Nepal by Bipin and Kancha our trek guide on the first day which really helped set the tone for our whole trip.
Nepal is so different to anywhere we had travelled before and we wanted to soak up as much of it as we could so helping us that first day to get on the right foot was v welcome.
The drivers Sangita arranged were kind, respectful and safe.
The hotels were all clean, safe, great food and so welcoming.
Our whole experience with trekking was fantastic. Our guide Kancha was kind, understanding and informative. We made a new route half way thru our trip because it was more of what we wanted and it was perfect. Kancha made sure we were happy and coping each step of the way. Our daughter had a little medical incident straight away and he was as concerning as you would want when it comes to that sort of thing in a place you dont know. All was fine but I do feel if things were more serious we would have been in good hands.
Kancha brought 2 porters and i felt that both were treated with respect by our guide. Harka has the best laugh and he uses it often. Suma was probably bored with our pace as he normally runs the everest marathon in his off days. both were lovely and we felt all 3 made a truly wonderful asset to our trek.
if you want a lovely trek - do the muldai (mulde- take your pick of spelling ) trek via dobato vs poon hill... but you have to want off the beat track and much quieter tea houses - its not for the those that want luxuries along the way.
and if you want to laugh more than you have in ages then go rollerskating in pokhara...
for me i thought nepal was wonderful - my husband would agree, our 2 teenage daughters really loved their experience - i do honestly feel that all the support and personal interest that Sangita gave to us really helped with all those areas that often can be the stress in a holiday - and when you have 2 weeks and its all new. She was worth every single penny!

Hotel Reviews

Oasis Kathmandu Hotel

Kathmandu

staff could not do enough for us. we had a room with 2 double beds which suited our family v well. v clean and comfortable with heat or air con easily v noisy due to its locations but i feel thats likely most places in thamel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Parkside

Chitwan , Narayani

the hotel arranges for the jungle treks etc all thru them. they have their own guide Banta - he was so kind and it was obvious he loved the animal aspect of his job. he was outstanding at sighting animals. thankfully he didnt show us any tigers but we saw plenty of prints in the dirt. we saw lots of animals and he did his best to point out everythign around us. when our daughters were scared he adjusted what we did so they felt better. the hotel has elephant and you can go say hello at any time. they might use it for safaris but we didnt want that the food was really good and the masala tea was the best i had in nepal. the chap that helped us each day (i can not remember his name off hand) was so lovely and professional and laughed with us the owners chatted to us and even showed us his rhino injury!! the rooms are big and comfortable bathrooms are tired but all are clean with nets over the beds

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Peninsula

Pokhara

the owner and manager is such a joy so try and get to meet him. he pointed us in the direction of anything we had questions about. he smiles very easily and he made every effort to make sure we were happy. the place is really big and open with huge rooms electrics are questionable but it had hot water for showers they are in the middle of building a huge new additional building - could be a v different place??

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Heritage Guest House & Restaurant

Bandipur

the owners were kind and helpful as we needed but since we were the only people staying they didnt seem very interested overall we had a great breakfast and the rooms were clean the view from either side of the hotel is amazing the hotel is a slight walk to the main area of a town -

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ramada Encore

Thamel

exactly what we needed - we wanted some place that was just like any western hotel we have stayed in before so those first 2 nights we could get our heads down and have a v good nights sleep. breakfast was good and the staff were so friendly we had food upstairs on the roof the first night. outstanding food!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Depart Kathmandu

Kathmandu Int. Airport (KTM)

Bhaktapur Tour

Nagarkot

a MUST do- and take bipin with if you can!! the city is beautiful !!!! but having bipin with us was such a bonus we learned so much that day!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jungle Walk. Free time in Chitwan

Chitwan National Park

this is the canoe trip and the walkign tour - totally do the canoe trip its beautiful. the walking tour was so scary and yet also fantastic. i have no idea what you might see or not but it was really enjoyable and scary. our guides were lovely.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Jungle Activities in Chitwan

Chitwan National Park

this is the jeep safari - it felt safer than when we did the walk but you dont get to see as many animals i dont think its v cold in the jeep - in december i think its somethign you need to do but it was not as good as the walk - its better to do all options

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trip Briefing. Evening Tharu Cultural Program

Chitwan National Park

ok i wondered if this would be a bit naff... but it was 45 mins and it was really interesting and they were really fun to watch.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome Dinner

Kathmandu

food was fine but probably the poorest in quality compared to all we had in nepal ... the food overall is amazing so this was only ok. but the experience for Bipin to give us an introduction to the food and way of eating etc was educational. dancing was ok. we saw a better show in chitwan

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

we walked

Trek Briefing

Kathmandu

exactly what we needed to get us set up for our whole two weeks.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

When we started to organize our trip until the very end was fantastic! Ngima organized our trip perfectly and when we met him we clicked immediately and became friends. He is really a great guy! Our guides for sightseeing Kathmandu and Pokhara were excellent, showing us every little detail and shared stories of both cities. Annapurna panorama trek was such unforgettable experience with beautiful sights and nature. We had great guide Angelo who took care of us as we are his family. Together with the best porter with the most beautiful smile ever! Acconodation and food during trek were amazing. We will surely come again and will give our faith in Ngimas hands again!

Activity Reviews

Fly from Pokhara to Kathmandu

Pokhara

Pokhara Sightseeing Tour

Pokhara

Trek from Ghandruk to Kimche, Drive to Pokhara

Ghandruk

Trek from Dhampus to Landruk (6,234 ft / 1900 m)

Dhampus

Trek from Astam to Dhampus (1700m)

Dhampus

Eco lodge and their owners fantastic people! Food was exceptional!

Fly from Kathmandu to Pokhara, Drive to Astam.

Astam

Kathmandu Sightseeing tour to Boudhanath, Kathmandu Durbar Square and Pashupatinath

Kathmandu

Guide and driver fantastic! Talked a lot! Find some great stuff about Kathmandu and Nepal!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Kathmandu

Kathmandu Int. Airport (KTM)

Ngima waited for us and welcomed us! Felt really welcomed!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trek from Landruk to Ghandruk (6,365 feet / 1,940 m)

Nepal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My trip to Nepal through Kimkim was spectacular. I usually make all of my own arrangements as it can be difficult to find companies who cater to solo travelers, so finding this company was exciting. From my start with Erin being so patient helping me form the perfect itinerary, to Krishna helping me while I was in Nepal, my trip was seamless. I’m already looking to book my next trip with them! 5/5 stars for kimkim!

Sangita was fantastic in helping us organise our 2 week stay in Nepal and all the travel in between places. She was very responsive and ensured everything went smoothly, checking in on us daily once we arrived. Likewise Bipin who welcomed us in Katmandu was very knowledgable and made sure we settled in comfortably.
Highlights include our 5 day poon hill trek, the hilltop town of Bandipur as well as safari in Bardiya National park.

Our holiday was memorable! Everything was perfect and we highly recommend travelling with kimkim.
Kripa was very patient in answering our many questions and was fantastic in organising the two weeks.
We did the 9-day trek to Ama Dablam base camp and visited Kathmandu and Bhaktapur.
The trek was fabulous. Our guide Suman was very helpful, punctual, friendly and always cheerful.
In addition, all the transport organised by kimkim was on time and the people we met were very friendly and helpful.

Thank you kimkim for this fabulous holiday and for letting us discover a part of Nepal!

Simply amazing. Awesome flexibility on planning before departed. Amazing guides. Logistics went like clockwork, even when we decided to change plans on a day. Instant responses from Amanda to any question - hate we time of day! Could not recommend this trip highly enough to anyone. Best tour ever….

Raj and Bipin organized an 11 day trek to Langtang and Gosaikunda for me. Raj was responsive and patient as he worked with my preferences and scheduling constraints and made sure that I was prepared for the trip before I left home. Once I arrived in Kathmandu, Bipin briefed me before the trip as well as debriefed me afterwards. I appreciated their professionalism, responsiveness, and friendliness throughout. Thanks to them, the trek itself was exactly what I wanted: long days of hiking through alpine terrain with enough moments to appreciate the surroundings.

Hotel Review

Hotel Holy Himalaya

Kathmandu

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Free day | Kyanjin Ri Hike

Kyangjin Gompa

My trip to Nepal was great.
Sherpa Ngima was all the time ofering me all I needed douring my stay there. He was very friendly and profesional. He's a reliably person. All his tourus guides and drivers were exelent too.

Pemba, my sherpa douring my trekking from Lukla to Namche Bazaar and back to Lukla was great, we made a good team together, he's a trustworthy man, and even more importantly a very good person.

I learned a lot about your whanderful country and people. It was a pleasure for me to be able to share those incredible moments with all of you!!!

Activity Reviews

Trek from Phakding to Namche

Namche Bazaar

The landscape couldn't be better. What a an amazing place! Pemba, my sherpa douring my trek was great, we made a good team together, he's a trustworthy man, and even more importantly a very good person.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Free Day and Evening Trek Briefing

Kathmandu

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trek from Namche to Lukla

Nepal

The landscape couldn't be better. What a an amazing place! Pemba, my sherpa douring my trek was great, we made a good team together, he's a trustworthy man, and even more importantly a very good person.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Acclimatization day in Namche Bazaar

Namche Bazaar

The Himalayan views were the best!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fly from Rammechap to Lukla, Trek to Phakding

Phakding

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This was our first trip to Nepal. 8 days only. Thanks to Ngima for arranging this trip for us and keeping in touch with us every step of the way.
Lakpa, our guardian angel and driver stayed with us during the entire trip and we learned so much about Nepal from him. His attention and enthusiasm made all the difference!
In Kathmandu area, we loved discovering the Newari culture and the town of Bhaktapur the most. Pohkara was also lots of fun and walking the trails in Nagarkot was nice too. Knowing our interest for genuine local food our local guide, Kamaal, took us to several tiny local food outlets we would hv never found on our own. We just loved it.
We did not stray far from main areas this time, and we also enjoyed the white water rafting with a fun team. Next time we intend to explore other areas farther afield, with kimkim of course!

Hotel Reviews

Da Yatra Courtyard Hotel & Resort

Pokhara

A 2 star hotel with big ugly rooms and bathrooms. Its clean and functional, and is very conveniently located close to tge lake and restaurants but certainly not pleasant. Website says luxury hotel, definitely a far cry !! Most horrible breakfast with cold and stale food. Terrible coffee and tea. On second day, we decided to get our breakfast outside instead to get decent coffee and danish pastry. Definitely not recommended.

Authenticity & Character

Redo all interiors, make a small cafe opening to street. Get oroper management.

Location

Close to lake area

Staff

Staff was pleasant.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Design, wiring, furniture, bedding, towels,

Hotel Country Villa

Nagarkot

Lovely hotel with a Swiss spirit. Great location for hiking.

Authenticity & Character

Lovely , well maintained. Felt like Swiss !!

Location

Great views of the mountains

Staff

Nice and pleasant

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms are good, lovely balconies and heater working well.(necessary in the hills)

Hotel Ambassador

Kathmandu

Excellent hotel. Great rooms! Good rooftop restaurant. Breakfast OK, but staff lazy.

Authenticity & Character

Ok.

Location

Easy to walk to Thamel and other places

Staff

FnB staff lazy.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Well appoibted

Activity Reviews

Explore Kathmandu: Bouddhanath, Pashupatinath, and Patan Durbar Square

Kathmandu

Excellent guiding by Kamaal and Lakpa who really adapted to our needs.

Quality of Experience

Going to local places.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Personal attention and knowledge

Transport

Comfortable car

Depart Kathmandu

Kathmandu

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pokhara Sightseeing Tour

Pokhara

Ok. Nothing too much really, but guide was pleasant and Lakpa very attentive to our needs

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Car used.

Welcome to Kathmandu

Kathmandu Int. Airport (KTM)

Loved the personal welcome from Ngima and Lakpa.

Quality of Experience

Personal

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Everyone very pleasant

Transport

Good jeep. Perfect for Kathmandu.

Amanda was fantastic in helping us identify a trek that met all of our requirements, and answering our many questions. The briefing meeting after we arrived in Kathmandu was also really helpful. We trekked in the Rolwaling Valley and it was beautiful and the hike itself posed a good level of challenge. There were not too many other hikers around so it was peaceful, just what we were looking for. Our guide was nice and helpful but unfortunately didn't know the area so well having only been there twice before, and encouraged us to add a section to our trek that she hadn't previously done and was keen to do, but which turned out to be far too challenging for us - so I suggest checking with Amanda in advance how well your guide knows the area. The porter and drivers we had were very good. Overall a great trip.

Many thanks to KimKim for Raj of Social Tours (Nepal) & Sherab of Bhutan Travel Club & their addressing all of the details of this glorious trip. Leki Tshering, guide (for hiking as well) in Bhutan, was exceptional, full of life, an educator & ambassador. I was immersed in nature, social & religious learning. Our driver, Kim, was always helpful & courteous. In Nepal I hiked from village to village, (all steps) through beautiful farmlands & traveled through different parts of the country, lodging in locally owned home stays, a pleasant experience. Some of the properties for lodging were an oasis…just what is needed after an arduous few days of trekking. & then there was a hiccup in Bhutan which Sherab tended to with care and immediacy. His dedication to providing an over the top travel experience is greatly appreciated. I am so thankful for such a lovely experience.

Ngima and his team did an outstanding job from the planning stages all the way. Ngima was very prompt in responding to all my queries and helped us plan our trip without any problems.
We were welcomed at the airport by Lakpa who was very friendly and helpful and he took us around everywhere till we left.
Our trekking guide Ang and our porter Kungha were just as amazing as all others on the team. Very accommodating, kind and helpful.
Ngima is a wonderful tour operator. He made all arrangements for our stay and flights in spite of bad weather and flight cancellations. He worked very hard to get us a rescue helicopter when things got bad in Poonhill.
We will be definitely using Kimkim travels again and Ngima’s team in Nepal for our next expedition.

Thank you for reaching out and asking about our trip. It exceeded all of our expectations! First, Kimkim and Himalayan Trails executed everything perfectly. The people that surrounded us were always very professional, caring and made the trip seamless.

Rajiv did a great job of introducing us to the important historical sites in Kathmandu and Patan. What a great day that was. We were in informational overload and I had to let it sink in before going back and reading more about the sites we saw.

Our guide, Wang Chu, and porter, Neema , we’re first rate. I think one of the most important things a guide can do is understand his clients and Wang Chu was able to do that very quickly. He made adjustments throughout the trip that catered to what we were looking for and made our experience unbelievable. We often times felt like we were the only ones on the circuit and saw things I know other groups did not get to witness.

The trek itself was difficult at times but rewarding in every instance. The scenery was spectacular and Wang Chu taught us a great deal about the culture, livelihood and history of the Nepalese people as we trekked from village to village. What a great classroom and teacher!

I am glad we chose the Manislu circuit and I would recommend that to anyone interested in trekking the Himalayans. It offered a good challenge, varied landscapes and what felt like a relatively less travelled path.

Thank you for setting everything up for us and sticking with us for almost two years due to travel restrictions!

Again, thank you, Kripa, Rajiv, Sanzeb, Wang Chu, Neema and the whole staff at Kimkim and Himalayan Trails for making it a wonderful, memorable trip!

David Makepeace

Raj planned a 11 day trip to Nepal for us. During the planning stages he provided quick and very detailed responses to our questions and also made himself available for a couple of video chats. He has a great team of local guides. Our trekking guide Rabin was exceptional. After we landed in Nepal the itinerary had to be modified a bit but Raj and team took care of it and everything went well without a hitch. His team was very easy to reach during the trip - we always got a response in a timely manner.

Looking forward to a return visit!!!

Hotel Reviews

Buddha Maya Garden

Lumbini

Authenticity & Character

Lovely facility - like a huge old bungalow. Could use a bit of updating but definitely recommend.

Location

Staff

Very helpful staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Temple Tree Resort & Spa

Pokhara

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Ambassador

Kathmandu

Well located, great people, great restaurant

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Drive to Trailhead & Trek to Ghandruk

Pokhara

We changed our trek. But the whole experience was just amazing. Can’t say enough about Rabin - super nice guy and extremely knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Traditional Welcome Dinner

Kathmandu

Lovely dinner in a lovely place. Enjoyed chatting with Bipin and Rabin.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kathmandu Heritage Tour

Kathmandu

The tour was done in about 4 hours, even after we added Patan Durbar square which presumably was not in the plan. Felt rushed. So many things to take in. Could have definitely used more time.

Sunset Walk at Soyambhu

Kathmandu

Could have used more time here - did not last 3 hours.

Transport