Our experience in Nepal was magical.

Nepal | Oct 24 - Nov 11, 2019

Our experience in Nepal was magical. It was a return visit for my husband and I and we were not disappointed. The place remains amazing, the people warm and welcoming and our overall experience reinforced our love of the country. The Kathmandu Guest House was a good start with a great location in the bustle of the old town. Amit, our guide in the city, was sensitive to our wishes, thoughtful and informative. He did not rush us at any time but gave sensible advice on how long to stay and where to be. The Balthali Lodge was our only disappointment, not a view shared by our travelling companions I don’t think! We thought its location 2 hrs east of Kathmandu added unnecessary travelling for a view of the hills we could have found west of the city. The road to the resort was shocking, even by mountainous Nepalese standards! This made our drive to Bandipur long and required an earlier start than would have been necessary from a more westward location. This left us with little time to explore the beautiful old town again before it was dark. Another half day here would have been better - possible if we had been that side of Kathmandu the previous night. The Old Inn was as lovely as we remembered! Our trek lived up to all expectations. Our guide Nema and his assistant Nema Tassi were excellent. They set a brilliant pace and were attentive to our needs and safety at all times. Accommodation along the way was first rate and the morning views from Gurung Lodge, La Bee Lodge and Himalayas Lodge were all stunning and worth waking up at dawn for. The tea house in Tadapani was basic but adequate, the cold and damp were simply due to altitude and cloud! The morning view made up for it and was quite stunning. The Hungry Eye Guest House in Ghorepani was much better than “just a tea house”. Our trek up Poon Hill was worth every step and we enjoyed wonderful views of the Dhaulagiri range and the Annapurnas. We were genuinely sad to say goodbye to our team, including two splendid porters who always raced ahead to get us the best rooms they could! The drive down from Ulleri was exhilarating, made more so by the brilliant and thoughtful driving and I’m sorry I don’t know the drivers name. Arriving at Temple Tree Resort in Pokhara was a treat. Lovely hotel in the Lakeside area and a great place for R&R. I’m glad we chose an extra day here. Next was the rafting trip. It was enormous fun and as people who’d rafted before exhilarating and made us smile the whole way. We had been led to believe it would be a drift, we were glad it wasn’t but if we’d known there were rapids involved may have dressed differently! Sukra Lama was a brilliant boatman and his team provided us with amazing food and a comfortable camp in lightning time great team work! Recommend him to anyone. Our next location was Tharu Lodge in Chitwan. A lovely place, great food and comfortable accommodation. Our jungle walk, elephant day, Jeep safari and river safari were all magical in their different ways but the highlights were 5 grazing rhino in the meadow and watching the elephants bathing and playing n the river. Our return to Kathmandu gave us an extra day to explore Patan. On reflection perhaps we should have asked for a hotel that end of the city for a change but the central location of KGH in old Kathmandu was still great.
Our driver over the visit was good. Always
punctual, helpful and polite. My only reservation was that he seemed to rate speed over comfort and at times his determination to arrive on time made for scary moments and a bumpy ride. However, he is not responsible for the state of the roads!!!!
As you can tell we thoroughly enjoyed our return visit and would happily recommend you to friends wanting a tailored tour and indeed all the individual operators.