Traveller reviews

“Had a fantastic experience with the company (and Bec/chitwan) due in large part to the top notch guide services provided, which was complemented by fast turn around for questions emailed through. Saroj our primary guide managed our group really well, and ensured everyone was 100% safe, and physically / mentally good for the trek. Whenever there was a challenge, it was sorted skillfully, and efficiently, and he decidedly went the extra mile. Our secondary guide (ganesh) supported him ably and made sure we got there and back in one piece. Whilst the organisation may want to rethink a couple of hotel choices (primarily the lukla one), everything just worked, and this made it s great experience. Happily recommend the company to others.”

“14 Day Nepal Trip with Jungle Safari. I will start off by saying thanks to Prakash and Rajul our guides, awesome jobs guys thank you, Also to our porters amazing job carting our packs around. And to the driver who pick us up from the airport on arrival and took us back on departure. Great trek, great company, amazing country, beautiful people.”

“My family and I went on the 14 day trek through the Annapurna region, starting in Kathmandu and ending in Pokhara. First time tavellers to Nepal, from the airport welcome to the airport drop-off 14 days later, everything was made easy for us. We were able to navigate and see the best sights of Nepal accompanied by knowledgeable guides and Porters every step of the way. The Chitwan experience was phenomenal, complete with elephant rides and cultural experiences. A huge thank you to Haka for the up close and personal introduction to Rhinos, elephants and various native wildlife of Nepal. From then, we got to travel to the foothills of the Annapurna Himalayas. Beautiful sights, hard but manageable stairs into beautiful mountainside tea houses for a truely Nepalese experience. Our guide Binod, and porters Prem, Suvas and Shishir were so friendly, welcoming and engaging throughout the trip. Thank you boys for helping us along the way and teaching us some Nepalese as well. You really did make the experience that much better. This was a great trek for a novice family and we loved every moment.”

“The scenery and the experiences that we had while trekking were near magical. Note November is a no rain month and viewing conditions in the mountains are superb, in the mornings particularly. Shankar our guide contributed hugely to our experience. So did a wonderful group of now new friends that we walked and shared with. Shankar demonstrated exceptional expertise, care for us, flexibility and communication skills. The company’s customer focus was obvious to us in the design of the trek especially its route and distances. Other trekkers we spoke to were not so fortunate. Aspects of the company’s communication and administration could be improved. But you can contribute to the quality of your experience - always ask questions. The company is a willing correspondent. We moved on the backs of our porters. For their benefit we suggest that trekkers take no more than 10kg per person on the trek. You don't need more. And tip generously. Despite contrary messages there was ample bottled drinking water in the areas of Nepal that we visited. This is especially true where we trekked. There was always bottled water and beer and ample good quality food plus the ubiquitous lemon, ginger and honey tea. We suggest you don’t need to carry more than a litre of water at any time but check with your guide. It’s not all magical: . The fitter you are the more you will enjoy trekking. We are well beyond average levels of fitness and did it tough particularly on the first couple of days trekking. We wore elasticised knee guards when trekking. They helped. . Tea houses, our nightly accommodation and lunch stops were crowded as was the track itself at times . Yes 'squat' toilets are prevalent and seldom salubrious . Showers were more prevalent than they might have been. They were also far more cold. Hand basins were not numerous. In one tea house there was one for perhaps 40 people. . We bought internet access at tea houses. It was usually slow . There are NO ATMs on the track. Take lots of local cash. Tipping is the norm. . Time and distance by road are very flexible concepts in Nepal. Our experiences of road quality included “terrible” and “scary”. “Confronting” is a genteel description of the driving. . In public areas rubbish disposal is rudimentary. This includes Annapurna and Chitwan and rivers and streams (and Everest).”

“Our excellent guide, Binod, met us at the airport. We were a day early and met up with the other two travellers ( making a party of four) on our Luxuary Escapes package. Great, just we four! As we were a day early, it was dictated that we were to take the city tour that day, instead of the end of the trip. A bit confused, off we went and had a good tour of some of the big name sights of KTM. I soon realised that the itinerary change was due to, two pax being on the standard package and two on the luxuay package. At the team meeting on the first night various options were offered ( due to the mix of packages we were on) and over the coming days, everyone worked out what suited them and everyone was happy. Off to the trek. A magic 6 days of mountains and rivers and steps and guest houses and rivers and all the things that Nepal is famous ( and infamous for) As I said Binod was our guide and we were assigned two porters, Goness and Rupness (apologies if I got the spelling wrong) all three you men were excellent in there humour, intelligence and their never ending care of we four. We shared lots of stories, apps, dancing (on one memorable night in a rather cold guest house) all of which went to make a great trek and later, our “wind down times” at Pohara and Chitwan. Now to the pluses and minuses of the experience. (Let me say at the outset - Having hiked and trekked 1000’s of kilometres around the world, staying in everything from a 6* lodge to sleeping under a tarp, nothing phases me.) -This trek Is not a grade two walk, on days, there are four to five hours walking up and down many steep and uneven stone steps - guesthouse accomodation in the off season ( when numbers are low) is more likely to turn the heating on till later in the night and may not have hot water in (some rooms) - from what I can see on TA, the packages will run even if there is only one paying guest, so you need to expect that there will be things that will change to make the trek financially viable Summary- I dragged my long suffering wife along on the journey (she had never been to Nepal) and we teamed up with two fit and vibrant ladies, an excellent guide and two strong, intelligent porters. We had a fabulous time! As ever my credo is true, it is not so much the places you go, its the people you meet. Remain flexible and be informed. I hope you find this more useful than me saying it was the most unique, life altering experience ever🤔”

“Just came back from a 14 day trek including jungle safari, etc. Prakash Rijal and little Prakash were truly amazing. They made our debut into trekking so easy. HSJ were unbelievably helpful and professional. Hubby is already planning his next trip - hopefully with the two Prakash's again.”

“This trip exceeded my expectations, not only the beautiful scenery but the professional and kind way the social journey team enhanced our experience. We were a small group of 5 and nothing was too much trouble for our experienced and funny guide Bindon and two wonderful porters Harry & Basanta, they truely made it an unforgettable Journey. Thank you guys you are super stars. This trip should be your bucket list.”

“For my first visit to Nepal, i wanted to experience most, if not all, that Nepal had to offer. HSJ offers all that i wanted in a single package. For the trek, we were accompanied by guides Mingmar and Ganesh and three porters - Prakash, Ramesh and Suman. Throughout the trek, they all have been very professional and always polite. Being proud Nepalis, they were very happy and willing to share the local Nepalese culture and food. The job done by the porters is praiseworthy. In spite of the heavy loads, they were very cheerful and willingly taught us a few Nepali words. It was made easier for me to converse and take photos of local people thanks to them. They made me experience the local culture and made me feel like family among them. The five nights spent in tea houses were made more enjoyable due to the cheerful and playful nature of the guides and porters, which also amde me appreciate the back-to-basics experience. There was unfortunately no guide from HSJ who accompanied me to Chitwan and was left with the hotel guide, who luckily did a wonderful job. I would however suggest HSJ to provide better assistance for the the bus trip since I was left alone, without any guide, bussing from Chitwan. Instead of 7, it took me 12 hours to reach Kathmandu. If i had no local number, i wonder how i would have managed to get myself to the Kathmandu hotel. Overall, I would happily recommend the trek with HSJ but i would suggest ensuring assistance and guide availability for the rest.”

“White water raftting, Chitwan National Park & an 8 day Annapuna trek with a Nepalese flat / slightly up slightly down twist was an experience of a lifetime. Binod (Binny) our guide, leader & inspiration during some tough days was simply the best. He is a walking Nepalese encyclopedia and is a very professional young man. Binny's team of porters, Rupesh, Dil, Ram Krishna, Sudip & Buddi were extremely helpful & accommodating throughout our trip, nothing was too hard for them. We were kept informed from start to finish on what we can expect each day & everything was perfectly organised. Accommodation was good, food was fantastic, beer was cold...A HUGE thank you to Binny & his team !! If you thinking on doing a trek in Nepal you MUST insist on these young men as your guide & porters. They made a great experience fantastic !”

“What a blast we had.. ! 16 friends & family set off for the adventure of a lifetime. The weather gods didn’t bless us for most of the trek .. however even in less than perfect conditions we were guided and looked after by Binod Dhakal and his team of experienced, assistant guides and porters. My advice is if offered flights to Pokhara or anywhere that is going to take a few hours drive ....take the flight option. It would be worth every cent. We wasted precious time on Public buses, long haul (10 hrs) on extreme 4wd tracks that were actually main roads. On the long haul I clicked 38000+ steps on my fit bit but barely took a step that’s how harrowing the trip was. Nevertheless we arrived relatively unscathed from Kasara Resort in Chitwan to Gorkana Resort in Kathmandu. Both beautiful and more than comfortable. Time to relax in the last few days. Trekking in Nepal is never easy as you are either going up,up, up!! Or down, down, down. However the majesty of those mountains and the rainforests and jungle makes the aching limbs worth it. How blessed we are to have experienced such a journey together. Thanks Himalayan Social journey for providing such a capable and experienced team headed by Binod Dhakal.”

“We did 19 days, India and Nepal and there was some great moments and some less than good bits. India, we were originally a group of two but on the first day we were brought to the office and was encouraged (to put it lightly) to change into a group that was on a slightly different tour. The people in the group were nice but the tour guide Sudam was not so good. Did not speak enough English to be a tour guide and was quite off-putting. In all we were glad to see the end of that part of the trip. There were a number of uncomfortable moments due to bad organisation. We flew to Nepal, it was like a breath of fresh air. We met our guide Shishir Tamang at the airport. He was there with a smile. I found the hotel at Kathmandu ok. We met our porter Huri Tamang at Pokhara. Quiet man but overall nice and very helpful. When it was time for trekking Shishir was amazing. He encouraged us to go at our own pace, was never impatient and issues we had were quickly resolved. The guest houses were stayed at were clean but basic. They (Shishir and Huri) helped arrange our food and they were generous enough to bring our food to the table when it was ready. It was amazing trip in Nepal. We also went to Chitwan as an add on. Chitwan itself was great but the 8 hours on the tourist bus either way was terrible. We were booked for a flight but Chitwan airport was closed for a week. When we got back to Kathmandu there was Shishir at the bus stop, happily waving to help take us to Gokarna Resort for our last few nights. He was such a great guide and we were sad to part with the cheery man.”

“An amazing two weeks spent in Nepal!! Our trip was so fantastic and we have our guides Pradip and Binod to thank for making our holiday a trip of a lifetime. They went above and beyond to make sure we were always having a great time. Also thanks to our porters - Dil, Suman, Basanta, Machindra & Ganesh - who are the strongest, kindest and hardest working men I’ve ever had the privilege to meet. And thanks to Arun, our jungle safari guide in the Chitwan region. HSJ took care of absolutely everything from beginning to end and I would definitely recommend them to anyone looking to explore Nepal.”

“Chitwan National Park is an incredible wildlife experience and a must-visit destination for nature lovers! 🐘🌳 The park offers an unforgettable safari experience where you can see wild elephants, rhinos, tigers, and a wide variety of bird species in their natural habitat. The lush greenery and diverse ecosystems make this park a true gem in Nepal’s natural beauty.”

“I can't recommend Himalayan Social Journey enough. The owner Ram was incredibly organized and did everything to make our trip unforgettable. Paban (guide) and Michael Jackson (porter) were such a delight. They even taught us some fun Nepalese phrases. And the 8-day trek to ABC was exactly the experience/budget we wanted. During the trek we were already making plans to do another trek with friends in the near future. It is wonderful to know that you're supporting a company that gives back to their community (i.e., building a school in a remote village where Ram is from).”

“We booked our trip from home (Malaysia) and found Ram who was very responsive and helpful whilst planning our trip. Service was great, pick-up was on-time and we had a great guide (Bishnu) with good friends aka porter -Raju/Biswan. We trekked about 7 days around Annapurnas Circuit. During the trek Bishnu was very helpful and ensure our trip enjoyable. He had full knowledge of local cultures and areas and who really knows where to find the best food in town. Thanks to Bishnu, he helped us to meet local people / school children’s and to share some good times of their lives. He made us feel like family the entire time we were there. Unfortunately weather was not very good but we knew that it was not a best time for trekking (early August). May be one day we will be back again for ABC trek. It is a totally awesome experience. we want to thanks Ram and his team especially Bishnu/Raju/Biswan who was with us for 2 weeks for an amazing adventure. Segar Rajoo (Kuala Lumpur”

“From the moment I booked the the trip to Annapurna Base Camp, to being dropped off at Kathmandu airport, Ram and the guys at HSJ were incredibly helpful and made an already great experience even better. I loved the 10 days trekking and the guide and porters were very knowledgable, helpful and fun (especially learning how to play Nepali card games). I am already thinking about the next trip back to Nepal and would go straight back to HSJ, as the trip was seamlessly executed and theres the added benefit of supporting Ram with his charitable work around Nepal.”

“Namaste! Overall, the people involved with HSJ made the difference. Highly recommended. Ram, the owner, was very welcoming and personal in his dealings with us all, we felt very informed across the entire time and no request was a problem for him. Very friendly and professional. The accommodation in Kathmandu I felt was quite good given the other options around us. In Pokhara it was excellent. A big difference we saw was that we seemed to get the pick of the guesthouse rooms well in advance. We never had to worry about missing out and also got the good info from Saran each day on which showers were always hot or which facilities were a bit nicer etc-very welcome info after a hard day walking. We also stayed at some places along the way which were a little different to the usual stops. Places where the food or accom was a little better etc..This was a great move I thought, sometimes we had walked an extra 15 minutes and had landed at a better destination than most did. These guys really know where the better places are and this is where it comes in handy each day. The trek itself was only a little more strenuous than I thought, but most certainly achievable. The first few days will be a little tough on the body but its amazing how fast your body responds. Overall this is still a trek that most people could do. Be prepared for what seems like an infinity of stone steps up huge mountains and then down again as this is the majority of the walking, especially before you get right up in the higher altitudes. Altitude symptoms for most people are a dull headache for an afternoon and a morning around ABC. The way the team planned it made a huge difference to how we managed the symptoms. It didn't really give any of us much grief though so don't be too concerned with it. They're keeping their eye on you. Only a few small things I'd recommend to improve the experience... Flying directly back from Pokhara to ktm most definitely, after a couple of days in Pokhara to regroup after the trek. Missing out on the rafting after the trekking kinda sucks (it was great) but given you have to drive for the best part of a day on one of the worst roads in the world to get from Pokhara to Kathmandu I think not doing the rafting is a good trade off. The road really is shocking. It would not make a big difference to the costings to fly back so definitely ask to do it. Any time you need a great driver to take you somewhere, Dilip is your man. Excellent SAFE driver and when you're in Nepal, this is a huge plus. The other driver who took us from Pokhara to Nayapul to start the trek was also a very skilled and experienced driver but was way too fast. And I've travelled extensively on asian roads...We had an awesome 4WD too when other groups had little minivans- another plus to HSJ. But it doesn't matter how good a driver you are if you're travelling at twice the speed limit, even on flat roads...slow down. I don't want these small things to overshadow the rest because this really is an amazing experience with an exceptional group of people running it. I will most definitely be recommending HSJ, Saran, Bhimsen and Amrit to others. And I will be back. You all made this more than a trek, especially Saran. Day after day you made sure we were looked after and we knew everything we needed to know. We all noticed and appreciated the difference you made to our time there, thank you. As for the mountains and what it feels like to be up there.....? You just have to find that out for yourself because I haven't got the words to do it justice. Just book it, you won't regret it. Troy”

“Flexible itinerary! Get to trek/hike to non touristic mountain and stay at local villages. Highly recommended the experienced local guide(Parvin) and our strong Porter(Munat). Parvin did a great job and we are impressed of his professionalism. Paragliding at Himalaya mountain range was one of the best experience. Thank you Ram for the well organised trip. Our next target will be Annapurna base camp!”

“The whole experience from the moment we got off the plane to when we were returned to the airport was outstanding. Every aspect of the trip was well organised and our every need catered for. Our tour guides Saran and Milan obviously knew the mountains well and ensured we enjoyed the experience and gave us a trip of a lifetime. The accommodation was clean and our guides ensured we were comfortable. The porters who shared the trek with us were delightful and enhanced the whole trekking experience. The whole team from HSJ were professional in all aspects and aimed to provide us with a memorable experience. Thank you for showing us the beauty of Nepal and it's people. Highly recommend HSJ to anyone thinking of trekking Nepal.”

“This was my first time in Nepal and im so glad i went with Himalayan Social Journey as the lengths they went to, to see that i had the most enjoyable time possible, were absolutely amazing. As the trip progressed i think i changed my mind about 4 or 5 times, and not only were Ram and Milan immediately accommodating, but in most circumstances they even gave me several options. My City tour with Ambika was insightful with laughs all the way, and my Trek up to Annapurna Base Camp with Milan was not only Safe due to his extensive experience, but actually just felt like i was trekking with an old friend. They left such an impression that i was already planning our next trip, before i even left !!”

“I’m so much pleased to recommend Himalayan Social Journey (HSJ) to those who wish to have a trekking experience in Nepal. They offer an affordable price with excellent services. I found them very helpful, informative and very responsive to all my queries and requests. They have successfully delivered all their promises and kindly tailor-made the trip based on my needs. I had a 7-day trek to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) last October. It was SO amazing!! The views along the trek were such breathtaking beauty. I also had a chance to interact with Gurung people, one of the tribes in Nepal. Visited their mini museum where I could see the Gurung ancient utensils. A special thanks goes to Shankar, a friendly, attentive and caring guide who has taken care all the necessary things for this trek. October was a peak season but Shankar managed to book the lodges for my (and other 3 friends in the group) stay during the trekking. He is also knowledgeable about the area that I could gain a lot of information from him. Impressive Trip!”

“An amazing experience. Such a stunning corner of the world. What really made the trip were our guides especially Mingma Sherpa who couldn't do enough for us and happy to go a pace we were comfortable with. If you happen to be lucky enough to have Mingma on your tour his also got a great eye for photography.”

“What an amazing experience. The guide and the porters were wonderful and could not do enough for us. The whole group had a fun time and the whole trip was so well organised. This was our second time with the company and we will definitely be back again next year. Thank you to all involved.”

“Thanks to our guide and porters who worked tirelessly so we could enjoy our trip fully. Great fun, well organized, patient and caring. A successful trek.”