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Firstly, Niru a big thank you to you and your staff for another wonderful time in Nepal. I especially want to express my thanks to you for my recent trek thru the Solu Khumbu area and especially the wonderful experience of visiting and staying in Basa, your home village, and that of many of your staff too.
I have visited Nepal many times, this was my 12 trip since 2003 and like many others returning each year I look for something different from the main treks and also the opportunity to meet and connect with the Nepalese people away from these main trek routes.
The trek through what I call the lower Khumbu areas was simply a great experience and to be able to visit so many areas and villages which see little or no overseas visitors was refreshing. Being in Basa I can see the work that has been completed to make the local people's lives so much better. Congratulations to you and all the sponsors who have contributed.
Visiting the school was a great insight into just how valuable any contributions to the Basa Foundation can be.
The trek itself whilst not going as close to the 'big' mountains as others is still very spectacular and I must say I the walk out to Lamidanda tested my old legs !! I sincerely hope you can continue to attract many more visitors to this part of the Khumbu and that in time a more developed trekking route can be established to benefit these people with additional revenue. I also see that these lower treks can easily be part of the Mera climb experience or easily added to a return from the more traditional EBC trek to enhance that experience.
I highly recommend the trek to others and say again the highlight without doubt was the time in Basa, meeting the village people and just enjoying their welcome. I really enjoyed meeting the families of so many of your staff I have trekked with previously. My thanks also to your sister who hosted my stay in the village. A farewell with so many of the people I had met was a perfect ending that left me very moved.
Santosh my guide and the porters looked after me first class again as I have come to be used too with all your staff.
I hope you have a wonderful successful 2012 and that I may see you again later in the year.
Kind Regards
Wayne McGuire
Australia
Dear Niru, namaste,
Mr. Reiser sent me below blue translated positive mail and thanks you for the beautiful journey.
Please send this also forward to Sikkim and Bhutan Agencies.
In Sikkim maybe it´s better to make the tours in future some shortlier and mybe 1 day longer, because he wrote, there was some days the tours too long to late evening.
The 10 pax - 5 couples . was strict but sympathetic, all venerable doctors and I think, they do recommend good our agencies to friends and relatives.
Best regards
Teuchi
Dear Mr. Teuchert,
I sign up for a very nice trip through the `back` Three Kingdoms. The trip went very well.
The Organsisation by the Company Adventure Geo Treks site was very well, both their own organization of the trip in Nepal as well as the organization of the partner in Sikkim and Bhutan.
As on any trip are situations in which to improvise needs, which occurred mainly in Sikkim.
Especially in Sikkim travel times were too long, so we sat in the car 2 times to 21.00 clock in evening more than once into the deep darkness.
The cars were good in all countries (Nepal and Bhutan Toyota buses, Sikkim three SUVs from foreign manufacturers.)
Supervision by the Chief Niru and his son was in Kathmandu very good.
Niru has for the last day in Kathmandu once a bus for tours made ??available, although it was not foreseen in the program, and he has us on the last night
to an opulent dinner invitation to his house.
We thank you very much for the care our travel arrangements and for your prompt reply to the questions in advance.
We also have told this your care to Niru.
With the best regards and many thanks
Christian Reiser
Dear Niru, namaste,
here is the kind feedback from Mr. Broich to you, thank you so much also from me for your excellent work and supporting, please tell this to the team of this group.
Best regards
Teuchi
Hello Mr. Teuchert,
We were very pleased with Geotreks.
In the preparation you have given us great support.
At the airport of Kathmandu, we were picked up promptly by Milan Rai.
The next day our guide Kathmandu-the city has shown. He knew an incredible amount of history, culture and religion to report.
The very best care was on the trek.
The guide Temba Sherpa, the cook Dibasch and the whole troop were top. Temba has everything well organized. He has divided the various stages of wisdom and vision into account condition, weather, altitude, etc.. He was constantly treated there for us and his team are always friendly and well supported.
Along with the climbing guide, I'm with him up to the Mera Peak, sure from his merit.
The people in Basa have given us an unforgettable reception and farewell.
The performances of the children of the village band and the music - great.
The welcome dinner and nice evening at the house of Niru Rai at the end of the trip was very nice.
Many thanks to you, Niru Rai and his men in Kathmandu.
Please spread the word to Nepal. I also write a little trip report in the guestbook.
A warm greetings and happy x-mas holidays
Karl-Heinz Broich
Feedback to trek
Dear Niru,
Namaste!! Now it's been quite a long time, since Franz and I had dinner at your house and then left for Germany. But at home we had so many things to do that I did not have time to write to you before today. But I still have in mind that I want to give you some feedback regarding our great trek in Lower und Upper Dolpo.
First of all – thank you very much for the perfect organisation of everything. Everything worked out just fine – even the weather was cooperative (most of the time). So here is some more detailed feedback:
So we are very satisfied with your company and the crew that you provided for us. We don't know when we can afford another trek in Nepal, but we will certainly contact you whenever we decide to go trekking in the high Himalaya again.
All the best and a successful trekking season without any health problems or accidents for your staff and clients.
Best wishes,
Christiana Beck and Franz Hierlmeier
I just wanted to thank you and all of the fine people in your organization for the best trek I have ever been on.
I have taken treks all ovver the world and have travelled to 81
countries in my lifetime. Your organization is the VERY BEST travel
company I have ever dealt with. Your attention to detail is
unsurpassed.
The entire group had a fantastic evening at your home and it was most
kind of your wife to cook for us. It was a memorable experience and an
evening I shall never forget.
I was sad when Ganesh took me to the airport as I realized this
wonderful journey through Nepal was coming to an end. I assure you
that you will see me again in 2008 either with a trip Jeff has arranged
or on a trip I will coordinate directly with you.
Thank you again for makiing this a very special trip. I had a
fantastic time. Please have any potential clients contact me for future
references as my experience with your organization was exceptional.
"...there is something in man which responds
to the challenge of this mountain...
the struggle is the struggle of life itself
upward and forever upward..." George Mallory
Jay Almer
USA
I'm happy to write a recommendation fro Niru and his trekking agency.
I know Niru since 1994, when I mad my first trekking with him arround Dhaulagiri and to Mustang.
In this time he worked for a big German trekking agency - Henkalaya and was its best guide.
Later Henkalaya solved his contract with Gorkha Trekking (the old
agency for which Niru worked - this was a problem of the chief
of the agency and not of Niru.
Since this time Niru started to work with a own agency. We had a lot of very nice trekking tours together.
Niru has very big experience, because he started as porter, worked as
guide assistent, cook (he is a excellent cook) and guide for
trekking groups and mountian climbing (Everest, Pumori, Ama
Dablam, ...). His trekking tours have a excellent service (good
tents, very soft matrasses, good dining tent, ....and many
things, where I think it isn't necessary). But he provides also
for Nepalesian relation good equipment for his stuff (tents, clothing,
...). He has good relations to his stuff. Many come from his
village in Solu area or this reagion. Often I walked with the
same people, they like to work for Niru, because he pay a fair
price. Neverless Niru makes good trekking prices, because he
know very well the market and isn't interested to earn the big
money. In Dolpo we met a French group, which lost their porters. Our
porters helped them oin their rest day. Next day all were back to
go with us.
From his income Niru supports the school in his village and pay the teacher.
Trekking with Niru and his stuff is like trekking with friends. Also
his other guides are excellent - trained by Niru, some are
coming from his village. They and Niru speak quite good English.
For our last tours aside of the normal trails Niru or one of his
friends went to check the way. Niru has become a really good
friend of me. I was lucky to invite him also to Germany. What I
believe, there is no other agency in Nepal with this experiences
which offer such a good service for a very good price and with
such very kindly people.
You can find other cheap agency, also some good, also some kindly people, but not this combination.
All guests of Niru, which I know were very happy with his tours.
With Niru you can't make a mistake.
I wish you nice vacations in this wonderful country with these nice people.
If I can do something for you, you need more information about trekking in Nepal ... let it me know.
Best regrads
Holger
Germany
In last october we have spend 3 weeks in upper Dolpo region with
the crew of Adventure geo trek. They have demonstrated an extreme
professionality and skill even in tough situations. Excellent comfort
and food compared to the severe conditions we were.
We hardly recommend them and wish you a happy trek.
Luigi and Lella Borroni,
9 via villa della Regina,
10131, Turin, Italy
Hello Niru,
after quite a long time I visited your homepage again.
Here are my remarks:
You could update my recommendation by the following:
2001 Dolpo trek
2003 Kanchentjunga trek
2004 Manaslu trek
2006 Extended Makalu trek (Sherpani col trek)
Whenever I Will plan to travel to Nepal I will do this via Niru's Adventuregeotrek company.
I ever felt absolutely save as well as a deep touch of professional
experience combined with an unforgettable way of "easy living"...
something we are increasingly going to lose in our western world.
OK, Niru, it is a pity that we haven't met in Austria while you
stayed there this summer. I have been there as well, but just a little
too late and at a different location. Anyway... hopefully we will
meet again somewhere sometime somehow.
If you need support on recommendation please let me know.
The first trek to Dolpo and the fourth one to Ambulapcha col have been most impressive
and absolutely unforgettable for me.
I will keep on thanking you for those unique experiences.
Please keep in mind that you are always welcome to me whenever you come to Europe again.
Please greet my friends Dorje, Chiri, Pasang, Prasad, Pancha, Ganesh
(!), Milan and Phedindra (I never forget the nice time with him in
Kambachen).
All the best to you all.
Hope your dog does a good job too.
Niru, keep up.
Best regards from Germany.
Yours
Peter Desing
Germany
Niru Rai is the director of Adventure Geo Treks in Nepal, who
organized our expedition to Tibet and West Nepal. naturally, Niru is
also keen to take advantage of any good ideas that will be of benefit to
the business and would be interested to take up discussion with you
and G&M to see what can be done.
as a personal note from myself:
i am aware that there are many trek/adventure/expedition companies out
there whose main interest is to pocket a client's money and then
forget about him as fast as possible. my experiences on our
Kilimanjaro and Tibet expeditions proved Adventure Geo Treks and Gane
& Marshall to be very professional and we were very well taken
care of and very satisfied! i believe that if you are able to work
out some good ideas and are able to put them into action together,
these are definitely two companies that show character worthy of
working with eachother and i'm sure that clients doing business with
either you will come out very satisfied. (otherwise i would not have
mentioned the idea of introducing you.)
I wish you best of luck and success and if there is anything you think
I could be of assistance with don't hesitate to contact me. ...and
of course I'd be interested hear if there are any positive
developments.
Ken
United Kingdom
We can recommend Niru Rai and his Firm highly. They are very
reliable and give an individual and personal service. We felt they were
very concerns about giving us a pleasant holiday. They are skilful
and experienced, knowing a lot about the mountains. They made our
trip to Kalapattar and the stay in Kathmandu very successful. We will
use Niru next time going back.
If You have any questions, don't hesitate to make an inquiry.
We wish You good luck.
Per Reidar Andersen
Norwey
Hallo Trekkingfreund,
viele Grüße aus Chemnitz in Deutschland sendet Dir Teuchi.
Die Adventure Geo Treks Agentur kann ich dir für eine Nepalreise
100%ig empfehlen. Sowohl von der sehr guten Rundum-Betreuung, von der
Verlässlichkeit und der Herzlichkeit der Mitarbeiter, als auch vom
Preisleistungsverhältnis her.
Für eine Trekkingtour empfehle ich ein Zelttrekking, welches dem
Lodgetrekking eindeutig vorzuziehen ist, da man hier viele
Bequemlichkeiten und Vorteile genießen kann. Das beste ist die
Unabhängigkeit von Hütten und der Abstand zu anderen Trekkern. Der
eigene Koch bereitet täglich wechselnde frische Mahlzeiten zu. Das
Wasser wird immer abgekocht, die Teller und Bestecks über Dampf
sterilisiert. Das ist in den Hütten meist nicht der Fall, wo nicht so
sehr auf Hygiene geachtet wird.
Wenn du noch Fragen hast, bitte melde dich bei mir.
Da ich schon fünf mal Nepal und zweimal Tibet bereist habe, kann ich dir diesbezüglich Tipps und Anregungen geben.
Du wirst die Reise mit Niru´s Adventure Geo Treks Agentur nach Nepal
nicht bereuen, sondern als einmaliges Erlebnis in ewiger Erinnerung
behalten, das verspreche ich.
Falls du Interesse an Trekking-Reiseberichten an den Everest, den Manaslu, den Dhaulagiri, die Annapurna, den Kangchendzönga, ins Humlagebiet in Westnepal usw. sowie nach Tibet an den Mount Kailash, zum Königreich Guge oder nach Lhasa hast und die genauen Vorzüge einer Reise mit Niru´s Adventure Geo Treks Agentur erläutert haben möchtest, schick mir einfach eine kurze mail.
Zu den Preisen: Ich habe oft die Preise verglichen zwischen den großen Reisebüros, sowie Adventure Geo Treks. Die Unterschiede bei den großen Touren von 25 Tagen sind da schon mal bei 1000 Euro und mehr.
Mit herzlichen Trekking-Grüßen - Namaste
Teuchi aus Deutschland
Klaus Teuchert
Bahnstr. 27
09116 Chemnitz
Deutschland-Germany
Reference letter from Robert.
Dear Niru,
I gave Jeff my opinion on your company and your skills. You find the text below. I hope you are fine.
Best wishes
Robert
Dear Jeff,
my friends and I have been several times trekking in Nepal and before
we met Niru 2004 we had two agencies who organized our treks. 2001 we
did the Dhaulagiri circuit. On the way it turned out that our sirdar
had not enough food to allow us to gain hight slowly. Thus one porter
and one of my friends had quite severe problems with the high altitude
in hidden valley. Another time with a different agency when surrounding
Manaslu the Sirdar did not really know his way around und the the only
mountain he could name was Manaslu.
So it was a new experience to have the trek oranized by Niru. 2004 we
trekked the Everest region by going from Lukla via Renjo La and Cho La
to Island peak. Our Sirdar was Ganesh, a nephew of Niru. He knew every
stone on the way and organized the trek very well. Our groop was
trekking during the daytime on its own with two guides, but the kitchen
crew always was waiting for us to serve us a late breakfast and a meal
in the early afternoon. The porters always reached the campground in
time and were well equipped.
The two-men tents as well as the rest of the equipment were in a good
shape(we especially appreciated the hot water bottles before going
into the cold sleeping bags). Ganesh did a very good job when we
climbed Island peak. Here you have the possibility to go up there from
base camp, which means an ascent from 5000 m to 6200 m and back in one
day which can be very hard. Abetter alternative is to go to high camp
which is at 5500 m. If you start early you can be alone on the top of
the mountain. One problem is that quite a lot of people want to go to
high camp, but there is only space for a few tents. Somehow Ganesh
managed to set up our tents plus kitchen tent (!!) in time and in
addition fixed ropes for us along quite a steep slope which is situated
below the peak. The kitchen crew managed to cook a good meal in the
evening before our ascent.
In summary, I don't think you can do wrong if you let Niru organize your trek.
Best wishes and have a good trip
Robert
Niru, I have now sent the message below to over 300 friends. I hope you enjoyed it and that it may help to develop future business for Adventure Geo Treks. Jeff
To: friends in address book
We anticipated arriving in the midst of a country in civil war, if our
flights would get us into Nepal. Instead, our group of 5 middle-aged
men arrived in Katmandu on Apr 28, two days after King Gyanendra gave
up absolute power and recalled the Nepalese parliament. In the
preceding weeks hundreds of thousands of demonstrators had daily taken
over the streets to protest the King's abuse of power. The King had
ordered the military to shoot demonstrators, and 17 pro-democracy
demonstrators were killed by soldiers. The massive street
demonstrations were the culmination of a growing hostility of the
people toward the King's antidemocratic practices and his inability to
quell the Maoist insurrection, which had spread from certain rural
provinces to most of the country.
By the time we arrived in Ktm the demonstrations had ended, the
Maoists had declared a 90-day truce, and the major democratic parties
had agreed to reconvene Parliament. We found a people delighted with
the prospect of lasting peace and excited about the restoration of
democracy. Our conversations with Nepalese revealed a deep distrust of
the King and hope that the Maoists will be integrated into the
political process. We learned that tourism was down by 75%, and there
had been cancellations of 50% of booked expeditions. (Two members of
our original group of 7 had cancelled out of security concerns just
before the declaration of peace.) There were fewer Westerners in Ktm
than I'd seen in my 6 expeditions to Nepal, and other than a few
intrepid Israelis, our members were the only non-locals on the trails.
The fewer trekkers on the trails made narrow bridge crossings quicker
and easier, and finding times & places to pee along the trail
without being seen by others was less challenging. With fewer
customers in the teahouses and our group monopolizing campsites, our
all-male group also enjoyed unrestrained farting & belching, which
is always enhanced by altitude and unfamiliar foods.After settling in
at the Katmandu Guest House and sharing tea with my friend Uttam, the
hotel manager, we spent a couple days sightseeing in Ktm, led by
Sangha, a guide supplied by our Nepali expedition co., Adventure Geo
Treks. We viewed cremations at Pashupati on the banks of the Baghmati,
ate lunch overlooking the giant stupa at Bouddhanath, and walked among
the monkeys in the high temples of Swoyambho. Particularly
interesting to me was an audience at Pashupati with the Milk Baba, a
Hindu holy man who has consumed no food or drink other than milk for
over 25 years. He is slim, healthy, an engaging conversationalist (thru
an interpreter), and offered to prepare a meal for us and his
disciples, although he wouldn't partake. We flew up into the high
Himalaya and landed on the airstrip in the Sherpa village of Lukla.
While the views from the twin-prop plane are spectacular, the landing
is always a big thrill as the runway begins above a sheer drop-off of
hundreds of feet and ends at a cliff-face, so there is no room for
pilot error.
In Lukla we met up with our crew of porters, cook & kitchen
staff, sirdar (head guide) and climbing guide, 17 in all, provided by
Adventure Geo Treks, who would tend to all our needs over the next 15
days of hiking, camping & climbing. Nepali expedition companies run
treks and mountaineering expeditions in the British tradition, which
assumes that clients will engage in challenging hiking or climbing but
expect to be well fed and pampered at the end of the day. While our
porters carried 60 to 80 lbs of supplies up steep and hazardous trails,
we carried only day packs with as much or as little as we chose. One
of our members even had our sirdar, Ganesh, carry his day pack each
day due to a flare up of low back pain.
We spent the first two days trekking the Everest Base Camp trail
through the lower Khumbu region, spending the nights at the Sherpa
villages of Phak Ding and Namche Bazaar, the trading center of Sherpa
and Tibetan commerce along the Base Camp trail. On our "rest day" in
Namche Ganesh led us on a 4-hour day hike up to the Everest View Hotel
for lunch, then through the village of Khumjung, where we viewed the
famous/infamous Yeti skull and the first Hillary school for Sherpa
children. [I gave pens, colored pencils and magic markers to all the
children I met, partly as bribes for photo ops, as I hope to create a
photo exhibit of the children's faces of Nepal with Bateman
Photography.] That evening we visited the most famous resident of
Namche, Gheylsan Sherpa, who served as one of the three high altitude
porters on the first summit of Mt. Everest in 1953 by Tenzing Norgay
and Edmund Hillary. I had met and interviewed Gheylsan in 2003 for an
article I was writing, and had brought him a copy of the April 2003
edition of Outside Magazine, which had his picture on the cover, but
which he had not seen. He had kept the worn and tattered copy of the
magazine by his side these three years. His family was delighted with
our visit, and served us salted yak butter tea (which we politely
choked down) and cookies. Gheylsan and his wife are quite old for
Sherpas (late 80s in a country with average life-span of 49), and he
has hearing problems. As we left, Mark & Vitto asked me whether we
ought to offer them a gift of money, which I summarily dismissed as
inappropriate. But then we conferred as a group outside the house, and
Ganesh told us that it would be well received. Ganesh and I returned
with a gift of 2,000 rupees (just under $30 US) from our group, and
Gheylsan was so touched he leaped from his seat to present me with a
kata (traditional silk scarf) in appreciation. The next day we branched
off the main trail onto a trail new to me; the Gokyo trail. The
altitude and wear on middle-aged bodies began taking their toll on our
group, as Greg developed severe cold-like symptoms and migraines and I
started suffering pressure headaches. Greg and I spent a recovery day
in the stream-side village of Machermo, while the others trekked on to
Gokyo. The following morning, Bill, Mark & Vitto hiked to the top
of Gokyo Ri (5360 me; 17,581 ft), while Greg and I caught up with them
for lunch in Gokyo. Beautiful blue lakes -- water on top of the world
-- surround Gokyo.
We camped in a yak pasture, called Dragnag, the following night.
Vitto confessed over breakfast he'd acquired a severe case of yak-phobia
he'd spent the night with a trekking pole in his hand convinced that a
giant yak would break thru his tent and gore him. In the morning we
scramble climbed up the Cho La, one of the highest and steepest passes
in the region (5330 me; 17,482 ft). I was the weeny of Cho La as I'd
developed a sinus infection, which sapped my strength, and I had a very
difficult time reaching the pass. Our cook, Dorge, showed great
patience and sensitivity by staying near me as I struggled to the top
of the pass, but without humiliating me with offers of assistance.
We were tested severely with two consecutive very long and difficult
days of hiking and scramble climbing. Mark, a reserve colonel in the
USMC, attested that the two days were the most physically challenging
of his life and more difficult than Marine boot camp. When asked how
hard it would be to climb Lobuche East (our planned climbing peak),
Ganesh replied with a cheery laugh, that it would be at least 150%
harder than Cho La. Mark and Vitto decided that their goal to
experience the Himalayas had been met, and they preferred to pass on
attempting the climb. In the morning they trekked out with our
climbing guide, Norbu, and part of the crew to head back to Lukla.
Bill had not intended to attempt the climb of Lobuche, so he took our
English-speaking porter, Gopal, and headed up to Everest Base Camp,
which was his ultimate goal of the trek having previously visited the
Tibetan side of Chomolungma (Everest). Greg and I decided we would
lower our sights from Lobuche East (6119 me; 20,070 ft) to the less
difficult Pokalde Peak (5806 me; 19,044 ft), which I had climbed in
1998.
To reach Pokalde base camp, the rest of the crew, Greg and I had to
scramble up yet a higher pass, Kongma La (5535 me; 18,155 ft).
Although Greg's cold symptoms returned, he and Ganesh went out on the
snow fields and practiced with ice axe & crampons after we arrived
in base camp. I spent about 18 hrs. huddled in my sleeping bag trying
to rest & regain strength for the climb. In the morning Greg
decided not to chance it, so Ganesh and I went up Pokalde at sunrise;
the only ones on the mountain. It was partly cloudy, so our views of
the Everest Massif and the other 8,000 meter peaks in the area were a
bit disappointing, but the final fifty feet of free climbing rock at
over 19,000 feet was one hell of an adrenaline rush.
I collapsed into my tent totally exhausted after our descent,
requesting only a wash bowl & puke pan. I wanted to lie in my tent
the rest of the day, but, unfortunately, our climbing permit was for
Lobuche, not Pokalde, and another team had crested Kongma La just after
Ganesh and I descended, and Ganesh wanted us out of base camp before
the other group set up its camp and came over to ours asking questions.
[We could be fined and Ganesh's guiding license would be at risk for
climbing without a permit.] So, after 1/2 hr rest we hurriedly broke
camp and began the trek out to Dengboche. Ganesh and I fell behind the
rest of our crew as I was laboring at such a slow pace. We got lost
in dense fog and had to navigate by listening for the roar of the
rushing Imja Khola river, fed by the glacier runoff from Everest. What
should have been a 3.5 hr descent to Dengboche turned into 5 hrs of
blindly picking our way down rocky mountainsides. While I got grumpier
by the hour on exhausted legs, a sweet smile reposed on Ganesh's face
and words of encouragement and jokes spilled from his lips -- so
typical of the strength and sensitivity I have experienced in Nepalese
guides. I rewarded myself with my 2d bucket shower of the trek in
Dengboche.
Reunited with Bill and Gopal, we trekked through a vast and blooming
rhododendron forest to the Buddhist convent at Deboche and then to
Tengboche Monastery. We camped on the monastery grounds from where one
can see the majestic white peaks of the greatest mountains in the
world, Everest, Lhotse, Lhotse Shar, Nuptse, Ama Dablam, Pumo Ri, etc.
In the morning Ganesh and I obtained a private audience with the High
Lama, Rimpoche Tenzing, who presides over Tengboche Monastery and is
the most revered lama of the Sherpa people. I presented him with a copy
of The Chrysalis Reader, a book of essays, including one written by me
about the 50th Anniversary celebration of the first summit of Mt.
Everest at Tengboche Monastery in 2003, which Lama Tenzing and Peter
Hillary had hosted. Lama Tenzing seemed quite pleased to receive the
book, and spent an hour in conversation with me (Ganesh interpreting).
When asked what message I might take from him to friends in the US, he
replied, "Tell everyone to cultivate love in their hearts. Tell the
truth. And promote love in the heart and truth telling through
religious discipline."
We returned to Namche Bazaar and were lucky in our timing to be there
for the Saturday market. But it was not as lively as I have seen it
in the past, as there were so few tourists and the Tibetan traders, who
hike all the way from Tibet to trade with the Sherpas, were few in
number, we were told, because the Nepal government now refuses them
entry as the Tibetans don't pay taxes.
Our hike back to Lukla ended with the last hour in pouring rain, a
good sign that it was time to go home. We had a final night in a lodge
with hot showers and a final dinner with our crew; dancing &
singing led by Norbu and his 100 verses of "Resper, resper, resperee,
sometimes monkey, sometimes donkey ..."
Back in Ktm we reunited with Sangha for more sightseeing in Pataan
and Bakhtapur, temple cities in the Katmandu Valley. Bill, Greg & I
explored more of Ktm on foot and trawled Thamel, Durbar Square &
Durbar Marg for presents to take home. Our last dinner was at Niru
Rai's house with his family, Ganesh & Sangha. Niru is the owner of
Adventure Geo Treks. The feast consisted of too many courses to count
and many glasses of Mrs. Niru's home-brewed rakshi.
My relationship with Niru began 9 months ago by email, when I
discovered his company in my research of Nepali expedition companies. I
determined that his co. would provide the best experience to our group.
We were not disappointed, as the crew performed above our
expectations. The food that came out of Dorge's makeshift kitchens
each day was extraordinary. Ganesh's cheerful leadership and the
crew's typically happy & considerate Nepali personality encouraged
our own good humor every day. And we were treated with surprising
extras like hot water bottles & liners for our sleeping bags each
night and gifts of t-shirts & duffels at the end of the trek.
Although, all the guys agreed that "the best experiences of the trek
were the hardest days," the next time, I intend to include more rest
days between hard days. And I do regret that none of the other guys
were able to experience the technical climb of a Himalayan peak.
After our dinner at Niru's, Bill and I walked the darkened streets of
Thamel one last time and treated ourselves to a Guinness at Thamel's
"authentic" Irish pub. We remarked on how much safer we felt at night
on streets in Nepal than we would in American cities, noting that this
is a culture in which busy vehicle traffic stops to allow animals safe
passage and only the military & the Maoists have guns.
Namaste,
Jeff Rasley, May 2006
Adventure Geo Treks made our holiday a great experience. They were
extremely helpful and friendly and went out of their way to make our
experience in the Himalaya an adventure to remember! We highly reccomend them to anyone planning trip to Nepal.
Thanks
Michael
Germany
Trekking im Tsum Valley – Eine schöne Erfahrung im Frühjahr 2010
Ende März 2010 startete ich zusammen mit 3 nepalischen Begleitern (Guide Binod und den Trägern Dhambar und Eka) von Kathmandu nach Arughat Bazar. Ziel war eine Trekkingtour in das abgelegene Tsum Valley, nach vorherigen umfassenden Informationen von Niru.
Die ersten 4 Tage bis zur Abzweigung in das Tsum Valley folgten der Route „Rund um den Manaslu“, dann wurde es einsam und richtig schön. Unsere Route: Lokpa – Chumling – Dumje. Von dort ein Tagesausflug zu einem schön gelegenen Aus- sichtspunkt mit Super Aussichten auf die gesamte Gruppe des Ganesh Himal.
Dann Aufstieg nach Chekampar, immer weiter talaufwärts zur Rachen Gompa. Empfehlens- wert ein Abstecher zur Milarepa Cave, oberhalb des Dorfes Lar. Über Chule-Nile ging es dann zum letzten Anstieg hoch zur Mu Gompa. Wirklich sehenswert ist auch das oberhalb der Mu Gompa gelegene Nonnenkloster Deren Gompa. Die Aussichten über das Tsum Valley und die umliegenden Berge sind herrlich. Der Abstieg zurück durch das Tsum Valley
Richtung Buri Ghandakital und weiter zum Ausgangspunkt Arughat Bazar ist zwar gleich, bietet aber immer wieder neue Aussichten. Alles in allem eine wirklich schöne, interessante Zelttour zu einem absolut fairen Preis und sehr freundliche, zuvorkommende Begleiter.
Trekking in Tsum Valley – A beautiful experience in spring 2010
End of march 2010 I left Kathmandu for Arughat Bazar together with 3 nepali companions (Guide Binod and porters Dhambar and Eka). Our destination was the remote Tsum Valley Region after getting comprehensive information before from Niru.
For the first 4 days the route followed the main trekking route “Around Manaslu”, and after that it became lonely and really beautiful: We were passing Lokpa – Chumling – Dumje.
From there a day trip up to a viewpoint with phantastic views to whole group of Ganesh Himal. Further up to Chekampar and Rachen Gompa. A half day’s side trip to Milarepa Cave above the village of Lar is advisable. Passing Chule-Nile we finally reached Mu Gompa. Also worth visiting is Deren Gompa, apx. 1 hour above Mu Gompa. The views above Tsum Valley and the surrounding mountains are wonderful. The descent back through Tsum Valley in direction of Buri Ghandaki Valley and further to Arugaht Bazar however is the same, but it offers again and again new perspectives. All things considered a really beautiful and interesting tented tour at an absolute fair price and also very friendly, obliging companions.
Bernhard, Tübingen, Germany
We were very happy with the services of Adventure Geo Treks: were very understanding and patient with
all our demands. They are very helpful and feels like you are doing the trek with your friends. Their friendly nature from the field staffs to office managers made our experience really great.
Morten B' Andersen
Norwey
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