Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

For a one-off inspiration: seeing yak herders on the open mountainside collecting yak dung for fuel and realising that a way of life which has existed for hundreds of years is still practised. For the more gradual inspiration more appropriate to a long-distance walk, it was the slow change in colour and vegetation from late summer in the lowlands to autumn in the uplands. For the small things in life it was realising in Samdo at 3,860 m that the sun on the tin roof of the shower cabin outside the teahouse meant that a hot bucket shower was not only possible but actually desirable.

Thoughts on Group Leader

I have been on many Exodus trips, but for sheer unconfined, unabashed, joyful exuberance and enthusiasm Chandra takes the prize. The image of him singing and dancing in the local bus on the way back from the end of the trip, as we swayed and lurched millimeters away from a drop of hundreds of metres into the gorge below will stay with me for the rest of my life. In terms of practical competence, the three trekking guides we had were outstanding: Prasan (the head guide), Sagar and Mingma.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If your fitness is not permanently high, make sure you do (as a minimum of preparation) the Exodus training plan. Then you won't notice the long distances and hard ascents and will have plenty of time to take in what you are walking through. Don't arrive expecting to be able to buy the snow spikes from the guide as you can't: you will need to walk into Thamel to get some. If you want to save space on your packing for the flight, the down jackets and sleeping bags you can hire from the guides are really good quality.

Suggestions

Although you lose the motor traffic after the second day, you don't lose the road for much longer: it's been blasted a lot further. What prevents the traffic from using it is the lack of bridges to connect the blasted sections, but once the funding is found to build these the jeeps will be there. Fortunately the guides have found paths and sections which, in the main, avoid the need to walk on or even near the road, but its use by motor traffic will inevitably change the way of life, just as it has in other valleys and locations. Despite all that is said about plastic drinks bottles, they are still on offer in every teahouse and they just end up being burnt in stinking heaps. A Steripen or filter bottle might seem to be an expensive investment even after netting off the cost of bottled water, but for the sake of this environment it must be worth it.

Most Inspirational Moment

Being lucky enough to be on this trip with of our wonderful guide Valerie Parkinson who was the first British woman to complete a successful Manaslu ascent without oxygen. Her bedtime stories of her mountain adventures kept us enthralled. .

Thoughts on Group Leader

I have travelled previously with Valerie and her gentle encouragement, expert care, attention to detail and ability to keep an entire group motivated, combined with keeping expectations realistic, led to an unforgettable and happy experience for all of us.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Get friendly and make connections with the local guides, porters and the lodge owners to genuinely enhance your understanding of what goes into making these trips work so well. Some of the lodges are quite basic so please don’t expect too much in terms of amenity or comfort. However, I was genuinely surprised that some had Wi-Fi (payable),decent hot showers (payable) and occasional power sockets (free) in the rooms to keep devices charged up and that really did feel like luxury!

Suggestions

Read the trip notes thoroughly and be prepared physically and mentally ready for quite a long walk. There are optional beautiful afternoon walks available on some of the shorter days which I highly recommend as most of us only have the opportunity to visit these special places just once in our lifetimes.

Most Inspirational Moment

We had a number of health issues within the group due to the altitude, cold and a few bugs which spread around. The way the group, which was largely the same as on the Annapurna Circuit in 2019, pulled together and everyone supported each other was inspirational. It just goes to show that when you get really good people around you it makes a huge difference and we all felt that a bit of adversity helped the group really bond together

Thoughts on Group Leader

We wre a tailormade trip so we requested to have Tsering Dorje Sherpa as our Guide as he was the guide on our 2019 Annapurna Trip. We also had Tsering and Kaji who were both multiple 8,000-metre peak summiteers! To say we felt humbled was an understatement but they were all absolutely fantastic and we really appreciated their company, their experience and their shared recollections of time on the big peaks

Advice for Potential Travellers

Read the trip notes well, be prepared for all weathers and eventualities and enjoy it

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing Manasalu at sunrise

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent and very helpful

Advice for Potential Travellers

Make sure you are fit, there are some long trekking days

Suggestions

The day we crossed the Larke Pass we were trekking for 12 hours. On the descent I felt light headed due to lack of of food, I asked for the group to have a rest to eat which we were given. I felt the time between setting out and reaching the lunch stop was too long. I was not the only one of the group who felt like this. I would like to suggest a packed lunch is provided for everyone and this is eaten at the shelter passed on the ascent to the pass.

Most Inspirational Moment

Crossing the high pass after getting up at 2.30am. It was hard but the views are worth it.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Sukman was a great leader. Always happy and smiling and kept our spirits high.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Hardest of all the treks in Nepal so need a good level of fitness. Also take snacks to keep your energy levels up.

Suggestions

Well worth doing the trek now while its still relativity quiet compared to other treks on Nepal. A road is slowly being built which could ruin some of the trail so best to do it now

Most Inspirational Moment

Getting over the pass with a chest infection

Thoughts on Group Leader

amazing leader and couldn't thank him enough for his patience on my difficult day

Advice for Potential Travellers

be prepared for hard and some long days

Suggestions

I would like to nominate my leader Sukman Pakhrin

Most Inspirational Moment

Three things for me personally – 1) crossing the Larke La and being over 5000m again, 2) the rest day in Bhimtang was so welcome with great weather, views, and a quiet teahouse, and 3) the last night's celebration in Bhundanda, which fell on Nepali New Year, so much drinking and dancing – never to be forgotten!

Thoughts on Group Leader

Bikash was an outstanding leader. Always present, always well organized, always supportive and encouraging. Above all reassuring and confident. I’d trek with him and Kushman, our guide, again anytime. Our porters were great people also.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Do it – this is an outstanding trek for so many reasons. Be patient in the first couple of days as it is very hot and the road plays its part, but that’s all quickly forgotten as you push on.

Suggestions

Do the trek soon as the road is going further and will be increasingly difficult to avoid. It will inventively make the area more accessible, which is really good for the local communities but will lessen the trekking experience.

Most Inspirational Moment

Walking up to the Larkya Pass as the dawn slowly broke behind us revealing snow covered mountains all around.

Thoughts on Group Leader

As always Valerie looked after us really well and added that bit extra to the enjoyment of the trip. This time sharing her experiences of climbing Manaslu by reading excerpts from her diary of the trip.

Advice for Potential Travellers

I was pleasantly surprised with my first experience of a lodge (Teahouse) based trip. Remember you need to budget for buying your own lunches and evening meals on this trip but the food available is tasty and the choice varied enough to cover most desires. if you need a 'pick me up' along the way then try the Apple Fritters with Custard! Although the rooms in the lodges are basic they were all clean and the beds comfortable. Remember a supply of wet wipes for the nights when it is too cool for a proper wash.

Suggestions

A fantastic, quieter alternative to the more well known Annapurna Circuit but don't wait too long before doing this trip. Roads are slowly being driven in from both ends which will be good for the local population but could detract from the scenic value of the trip.

Most Inspirational Moment

Hard to choose as each day was inspirational for different reasons.

Most Inspirational Moment

Crossing the Larke pass was awesome even to the point of being spiritual. Visiting the Tibetan villages high up near the border was a privilege and seeing how the villagers live and survive in such austere circumstances given the altitude and logistical challenges with getting supplies across the mountain passes

Thoughts on Group Leader

Dorjee was just brilliant; intelligent, entertaining , respectful, attentive and informative. He ran an excellent team of porters and guides who all got on very well together

Advice for Potential Travellers

Potential travellers do need a certain level of fitness but you don’t need to be an elite Athlete or a regular on the triathlon circuit. The main issues that can cause pain and grief are of course the lower limb joints namely feet, ankles, knees and hips, so be prepared. The trip allows for good acclimatisation for the high pass at just over 5100 meters. Personally, I did take diamox which caused me no side effects although I did continue to suffer from early morning headaches over 3,000 meters and I would definitely take it again if I do another high altitude walk. I suppose in some ways I was using the diamox as an insurance against feeling very unwell with the altitude. The exodus team also insisted we complete the lake louise scoring system for AMS every day which ensured that appropriate action could be taken in good time in case of AMS

Suggestions

Considering I was very apprehensive when the holiday was approaching in case I wouldn’t cope with the physical challenges and fitness required, I managed extremely well; just sore knees on the last day. The trip proved to be a memorable experience and I would not have missed it for the world.