Outdoor Himalayan Treks — Local services in Kathmandu Metropolitan City

We had a very disappointing experience with this company and lost a lot of money. Here is our story:

One day before our planned departure for the Manaslu Circuit, the forecast showed 100% rain for several days and thunderstorms starting in the next three days. We informed the agency and asked to postpone the trek.

We clearly explained that we wanted to delay the trek by eight days and start only after the bad weather had passed. They new from the beginning that we are very flexible and can wait for good conditions.

Instead of taking the weather seriously, we were told:

the weather forecast was “not accurate in high season,”

“look how beautiful it looks right now” (even though the bad weather was forecasted to start in three days),

there was “no danger,”

and that we should “just postpone for three days and start on Monday.”

Based on these reassurances, we ended up postponing by only five days, even though we originally preferred to wait longer for safety reasons, until the weather showed sunshine again. We had to pay for new permits, but to be fair, they assisted us with the process — that part of the service was good.

The next day, when we returned to pay the difference for the new permits and bus tickets, we were met with this reaction: “I feel so bad for the guide that you changed the dates. Please don’t change your mind after these days again.”

The brother of the person we originally booked with even blamed us for changing the dates (as you will read later, sticking to the original date would have put us in the middle of the worst days of the disaster).

One day before starting: Still no safety warning

After waiting the five days, we returned to the office one day before starting the trek to pick up the equipment. At this point, the heavy rainfall had already begun and the bad weather we had warned about had fully arrived (the news even called it a Cyclone at that time).

Despite this, we were not informed about the increased risk of landslides or rock falls, not warned about any danger, and not advised to postpone again — even though the situation had clearly become Unsafe (which we figured out once we arrived at the next day).

There was no message, no update, no warning from the agency. Instead, we were simply told to enjoy the trek the next morning, as if nothing was happening.

This lack of communication was extremely irresponsible.

During the trek: Extremely dangerous conditions

Once we started, the situation was far worse than the agency suggested:

continuous and heavy rain

landslides and rockfall

closed and blocked trails

roads cut off

isolated villages

more than 150 helicopter rescues

several fatal accidents (we spoke directly with the group of two victims who tried to rescue them — it was heartbreaking)

We were unable to continue safely and spent three days stuck, making only very small and risky attempts to move forward. Every trekking group we met turned back.

Had we followed the agency’s advice to postpone by only three days, we would have been caught exactly in the middle of the worst days. And the trekkers who tragically died started on the date we originally had been told to begin (5 days back). Just imagine.

Our guide was overwhelmed as well — and even the other guides didn’t know which trails were still safe.

After the trek: No responsibility taken

When we confronted the agency afterwards and asked why we were not honestly warned about the danger, the answer was simply:

“You chose the date.”

No apology. No proactive communication No responsibility. No acknowledgement of what happened.

We were repeatedly told that weather forecasts are not accurate in high season. However, this turned out to be completely wrong. Every single day, the forecast was 100% correct for the areas we were trekking in — at least up to 2,500 meters, which is as high as we managed to go. The rain, the thunderstorms, the timing: everything matched the forecast precisely. This makes it even more concerning that the agency dismissed these warnings instead of taking...

It is really hard to put into words just how amazing Outdoor Himalayan made mine and my husband’s experience in Nepal. From the communication beforehand to being met at the airport to being welcomed to the hotel to celebrating Dashain with the staff to the hike itself (Mera peak) to our wonderful guide and so so many other things, this company was fantastic. Ram (CEO of the company) welcomed us like a part of the family and he was always on hand to ensure our questions were answered and that we were getting the most out of our trip. We had recently got married and were on our honeymoon in Nepal and we were actually treated to an insane surprise just before our planned departure from Kathmandu to Lukla (which should have been a long drive followed by a plane flight) that we were instead going to be flown directly from Kathmandu to Lukla by helicopter, courtesy of the manager of the company. Neither of us had ever flown in a helicopter before and this was genuinely one of the most memorable and special experiences we will ever be lucky enough to have - seeing Everest amongst the Himalayas from the air is something we won’t forget. Despite starting on such a high, the hike didn’t fail to disappoint. We did the Mera peak trek which takes around 13 days in total. Our guide (Biswas) absolutely made our trip - he was so knowledgeable and patient and kind and funny and we had a really great time getting to know him over the two weeks. He made the time fly by and was just great company. He was also really good at ensuring we did extra acclimatisation walks on some of our shorter days so that we would hopefully be prepared for the push to the 6476m we would need for Mera. Our porter (Radz) was also fantastic. Everything was sorted for us - the accommodation on the route was great, we were helped with ensuring we had the correct gear (including the down gear and snow boots and crampons), and this organisation just meant we could focus on enjoying the challenge of the trek. Everyone we met from the Outdoor Himalayan team was great - there were so many thoughtful touches, such as being taken out for a congratulations meal when back in Kathmandu. And the team also ran out on our last day to get us some farewell momos (our favourite food in Nepal) and we had some momos and beers with them before we needed to head off for our flight. I really cannot overstate how glad we are and lucky we feel that we chose this company to do our Nepal trek with. We had chosen them based off blog posts we had read and I cannot emphasise enough how happy we were with this choice - you won’t regret it! It made our trip one of the most memorable travels we have experienced and I am pretty sure we will be back out to Nepal in the future to do other treks with...

I had two really amazing trek with Outdoor Himalayan Treks in 2018. On first occasion my wife and I went with to Manaslu Circuit in May 2018. We were so genuinely impressed and happy with our interactions with Mr. Rammani Rijal and our guide Rupak Rimal that I decided to go again in December 2018, this time from Jiri from Gokyo. My experience this time was even better. Mr. Rammani is extremely trustworthy and honest in his dealings. I found that the rates charged by the company are competitive and their services excellent. Their advice and suggestions about where to trek given your time, budget and interests are also spot on. This company also takes safety seriously— they equip their guides with first aid kits, crampons, ropes and ice axes regardless of the difficulty involved in treks. I think this is a seriously important trekking safety. The company is professional and trustworthy and it appears that they take good care of their employees as well.

On both occasions Rupak Rimal was my guide. Rupak is a fantastic guide and all my future treks in Nepal and perhaps even elsewhere in India will be with him. He is young, energetic, fun, friendly and is extremely knowledgeable about local customs. He is responsible, (I trusted him with my money since I did not want to carry my wallet around in trekking), safe, and yet flexible. He understands the needs and limitations of trekkers, including when to push them to complete their goals and when to suggest rest or alternatives in the interest of safety. You can trust him. He really wants you to complete your trekking goals but without taking unnecessary risks. I trust his judgment in the mountains now. In manaslu trek while crossing the Larke La, he saved me from an enormous rock fall, which could have seriously injured me. Rupak is also an exceptional and enthusiastic photographers. He carries an impressive DSLR camera with him and takes spectacular landscape photos and photos of trekkers (with their permission). You have to see his photos to truly appreciate his photography skills. Rupak’s command over English is also extremely solid. He has a very good sense of humor as well. He has no bad habits and is a really good company. In short I could not have found a better guide than Rupak. Rupak is now a friend and part of my family. I will strongly recommend going with Rupak for a safe, fun-filled and memorable treks. All in all Mr Rammani and Rupak— part of team Outdoor Himalayan Treks— are a great team. You can trust them with your money, time...