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Mads Mathiasen

A veteran in the adventure travel business Mads has organized and led trips in Turkey, Morocco, Tibet, India, Cambodia, Bhutan, Australia and Sri Lanka but Nepal remains his true love, where he spends his time trekking, biking and guiding people through Kathmandu’s narrow alleys.

What places and activities do you specialize in?

"Anywhere off the beaten path in the Himalayas"

How did you get involved in travel?

"Born in Denmark with an unbroken lineage to the Vikings, Mads wasn’t the most likely person to become a mountain man of the Himalayas. After high school he spent a year traveling South Africa, then continued to Asia and fell in love with Nepal. What was to be a one-year trip turned into a new life and adopted home. He began his career as a mountain bike and hiking guide in the Kathmandu valley and the years flew by. Soon he found himself guiding and arranging trips across the Himalayas from Ladakh to Bhutan reveling in meeting local people and learning about their cultures."

Please share a unique travel experience you will never forget.

"There are so many I don't know where to begin..."

Mads is part of the following groups: Bhutan Travel Agents, Nepal Travel Agents
Top itineraries and travel advice

Recent trip reviews for Mads

All good! Mads is professional, responsive an...
Nepal | Nov 3 - Nov 14, 2023

Maciej
Maciej K.
Switzerland | Reviewed on Nov 16, 2023
All good! Mads is professional, responsive and knowledgeable. Suman, our MTB guide was great as well: good English, very motivated and flexible. Read more

All good! Mads is professional, responsive and knowledgeable. Suman, our MTB guide was great as well: good English, very motivated and flexible.

Hotel Review
Hotel Manaslu
Kathmandu

Nice hotel, but the beer was a bit overpriced :-)

Local specialist: Mads Mathiasen
Mads
Mads Mathiasen
Local specialist in Nepal and Australia | Replied on Dec 13, 2023

Hello Maciej, thanks for your review, it was a great pleasure to meet you and the entire group in Kathmandu and I am super happy you guys had a great ride around Annapurna with Suman! We hope to see you out in the Himalayas again soon for another ride! All the best, Mads

Absolutely amazing trip. Perfect organisation...
Nepal | Nov 3 - Nov 14, 2023

Gleb
Gleb S.
Switzerland | Reviewed on Nov 15, 2023
Absolutely amazing trip. Perfect organisation by Mads and his guides. Read more

Absolutely amazing trip. Perfect organisation by Mads and his guides.

Hotel Review
Hotel Manaslu
Kathmandu
Local specialist: Mads Mathiasen

Entire Annapurna Circuit experience was amazi...
Nepal | Nov 3 - Nov 14, 2023

Michal
Michal P.
Switzerland | Reviewed on Nov 15, 2023
Entire Annapurna Circuit experience was amazing. Our guide, Suman Thapa did a great work to make all the logistic work and to assure max experience for us. Kudos! Read more

Entire Annapurna Circuit experience was amazing. Our guide, Suman Thapa did a great work to make all the logistic work and to assure max experience for us. Kudos!

Hotel Review
Hotel Manaslu
Kathmandu
Authenticity & Character
Location
Central location
Staff
Cleanliness & Comfort
Local specialist: Mads Mathiasen

Manaslu and Tsum valley trek
Nepal | Feb 27 - Mar 21, 2018

M
martin c.
New Zealand | Reviewed on May 05, 2019

Mads, his team and especially our guide and porter could not be faulted when it can to looking after us. A dream trip

Local specialist: Mads Mathiasen

Group departure - Three Passes Trek: Ultimate Trek in the Everest Region - 22 Days
Nepal | Mar 10 - Mar 29, 2019

David
David L.
Singapore | Reviewed on Apr 08, 2019

Tough, upexpected weather overall. Guide was great and knowledgeable, and accommodating. Had a good memorable trip as such.

Local specialist: Mads Mathiasen

Group departure - Manaslu Circuit Trek - The Ultimate off-the-beaten-path Trek in Nepal - 13 to 19 days
Nepal | Nov 12 - Nov 26, 2018

Graeme
Graeme S.
New Zealand | Reviewed on Dec 05, 2018

The Manaslu trek was excellent. It had great changing scenery, interesting people, nice teahouses and good food. We visited a remote school by chance on a Sunday and meet one of the teachers, and some of the kids, which was a real highlight of the trip.

Our guide Nawang was excellent, always making sure we were enjoying ourselves and full of information and a good sense of humor. He was helped by two great porters in Ngima and Gelbu, and this team of 3 made our trek so enjoyable, thankyou!

Thanks Mads and Amanda, organisation was great and thanks again for your time and efforts.

Local specialist: Mads Mathiasen

Culture, trekking and wildlife in Nepal
Nepal | Oct 21 - Nov 7, 2018

B
Beth H.
United Kingdom | Reviewed on Nov 14, 2018
The brief for our trip was culture, trekking and wildlife. The itinerary was finalised months beforehand, apart from the very end which was subject to confirmation. Mads suggested various options for earlier in the trip depending on how we departed from Nepal but being realistic, this was never going to happen as it would have meant changing the whole itinerary. In the end, we agreed to go to Suklaphanta but this was the most disappointing part of the trip. October is the wrong time of... Read more

The brief for our trip was culture, trekking and wildlife. The itinerary was finalised months beforehand, apart from the very end which was subject to confirmation. Mads suggested various options for earlier in the trip depending on how we departed from Nepal but being realistic, this was never going to happen as it would have meant changing the whole itinerary. In the end, we agreed to go to Suklaphanta but this was the most disappointing part of the trip. October is the wrong time of the year, apart from anything else.

Our main guide was very pleasant but as a trekking guide he didn't usually come in to museums with us and didn't seem particularly knowledgeable about flora and fauna. Lodge staff were all very helpful and nice and the guides were generally very good. We loved the scenery in the Annapurnas and seeing a tiger in Bardia was a highlight of the trip.

Local specialist: Mads Mathiasen

Kathmandu, Nepal
Nepal | Oct 9 - Oct 13, 2018

Marlynn
Marlynn R.
West Linn, OR | Reviewed on Oct 21, 2018
Overall experience was good. There was one time it took almost 3 days to hear back from Mads regarding what gear I should bring on the trek so I had to wait to know if I needed to buy anything or bring anything that I didn't have on my list. My 2 guides is Nepal were great -- Dawa and Prathicksha. Both were knowledgeable about the areas they took me. The best part of the trek was being on the trails. The worst part was trekking on the roads, especially the 30 minute walk when it was hot... Read more

Overall experience was good. There was one time it took almost 3 days to hear back from Mads regarding what gear I should bring on the trek so I had to wait to know if I needed to buy anything or bring anything that I didn't have on my list. My 2 guides is Nepal were great -- Dawa and Prathicksha. Both were knowledgeable about the areas they took me. The best part of the trek was being on the trails. The worst part was trekking on the roads, especially the 30 minute walk when it was hot and dusty and trucks were coming and going from Panauti to the trail we turned off at the rice fields (past Khopasi village).

I would say be leery of going to the Herb Nepal Farm overnight -- the experience was great, so was the food, but I got a small abrasion on the front of my right shin there going up the narrow stairway in my cabin and ended up having surgery to cut out the infection and then came home early so did not go to Bhutan for 12 days as planned, and landed in PDX in the emergency room for continued care of my infection which will take a long time to heal.

It turned out I got the bacteria acinetobacter, which the infectious disease doctor said in Portland was rare and that bacteria is mostly found in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq, so he was surprised this bacteria showed up in Nepal. Just something to be aware of if you have other clients you are taking to that area -- they cannot get even a small scratch on them or cut or it may turn serious.

I should not let my injury deter my experience as I enjoyed my whole trek overall.

Local specialist: Mads Mathiasen
Mads
Mads Mathiasen
Local specialist in Nepal and Australia | Replied on Oct 24, 2018

Dear Marlynn, that is terrible that the infection turned so bad, never heard of this bacteria before, really strange. Too bad you had to cancel you trip to Bhutan but at least there is something to come back for :-) Very happy to hear you did enjoy your time trekking and seeing Kathmandu with us. Thanks for the feedback. Kind regards. Mads

Varied trip for a family
Nepal | Aug 5 - Aug 13, 2018

A
Aislinn S.
United Kingdom | Reviewed on Aug 15, 2018
Mads was really helpful from the outset and helped me work out a fantastic itinerary for myself and my family. We thoroughly enjoyed it all from the trekking with our lovely guide chheering, the white water rafting expedition and our luxurious stay at Chitwan. Our adventure to lumbini and across the border was fun but would maybe fly from Kathmandu next time! Amanda, our contact in Kathmandu was faultless- giving us excellent recommendations for meals and providing us with a phone so we could... Read more

Mads was really helpful from the outset and helped me work out a fantastic itinerary for myself and my family. We thoroughly enjoyed it all from the trekking with our lovely guide chheering, the white water rafting expedition and our luxurious stay at Chitwan. Our adventure to lumbini and across the border was fun but would maybe fly from Kathmandu next time! Amanda, our contact in Kathmandu was faultless- giving us excellent recommendations for meals and providing us with a phone so we could contact her if we had any problems and then resolving any issues with incredible speed. We loved Nepal as much as when we last visited it nearly 20 years ago and now our 3 children love it as well. Thank you all so much.

Local specialist: Mads Mathiasen
Mads
Mads Mathiasen
Local specialist in Nepal and Australia | Replied on Sep 28, 2018

Ask, I am so happy we have been part in making your 3 children fall in love with Nepal! Also nice to hear that you loved it as much this time as 20 years ago, so much has changed since then. I am glad you liked the place in Chitwan, I think it is amazing. We would love to see you back in Nepal, maybe try the Christmas holidays next time and see the super clear mountains views. Thanks, Mads

Nepal trip 2018
Nepal | Apr 27 - May 13, 2018

P
Peter M.
United Kingdom | Reviewed on May 20, 2018
I cannot speak too highly of the team at KimKim. From the moment I first made contact to the very end of our trip the service was outstanding. They focussed on finding out exactly what we wanted and then provided way above expectations. Mads put the trip together checking throughout if it was exactly what we wanted. The city guide Rajive was very knowledgeable and informative. The Inn Patan was a great place to stay. The trek was just the right level for us. It stretched us. OK some... Read more

I cannot speak too highly of the team at KimKim. From the moment I first made contact to the very end of our trip the service was outstanding. They focussed on finding out exactly what we wanted and then provided way above expectations. Mads put the trip together checking throughout if it was exactly what we wanted. The city guide Rajive was very knowledgeable and informative. The Inn Patan was a great place to stay.

The trek was just the right level for us. It stretched us. OK some basic teahouses, but some pretty good ones too, and the views, unbelievable. Our guide on the trek, Suman, was a guide, a butler sorting out food orders etc and a guardian angel keeping an eye on us at all times. Suman and our porters, Manoj and Laxman, became part of our family. They were suoerb and great company.

The pavilions in Pokhara is a fantastic hotel to relax in. Then Chitwan. The Baraha Jungle resort is luxurious but you must go to Tiger tops and be with the elephants.

Finally I must mention Raj, the office manager. He made sure the trip worked. He seemed to have a sixth sense and once when one of our party had to get a doctor within minutes. he phoned me up to check all was OK. How he knew I don’t know as we did not tell him. Constantly checking in the background I guess. Perfect as we did not want to be on an over organised trip but were glad of his quiet efficient organisation.

Perfect trip. I highly recommend Mads and his team to you if you are going to Nepal.

Local specialist: Mads Mathiasen
Mads
Mads Mathiasen
Local specialist in Nepal and Australia | Replied on May 25, 2018

Hi Peter, thanks for taking the time to provide such detailed feedback. It is wonderful to hear that you loved the trip and specially that you formed such good relationships with the guides. I have shared this with the entire team and everyone is very happy. Thanks for traveling with us and we hope to see you back. Mads.