Reviews

My husband and I spent 10 days trekking around the Manaslu circuit from the end of September to early October through the guidance/outfitting of Nepal Mother House. It was amazing. Here are a few thoughts about the guiding company (Nepal Mother House), the Trek (Manaslu), the time of year, and the suggestions that we have.

Nepal Mother House -- I Would 100% recommend this company to other travelers headed to Nepal. Before arrival, we had communicated a lot with Karna, as he fielded our many questions and helped sort out our specific requests. Karna is responsive over email and Skype and did his best to answer any questions that we had. Because of cultural differences and a few language barriers (he speaks great English, but we found it occasionally hard / some lost in translation over Skype!), we arrived in Kathmandu a bit skeptical and holding our breath as to what we had signed up for. Karna was there waiting for us the minute we stepped outside, staying up past midnight to take us to the hotel (which is great --- trust wherever he puts you up!! We were at the International Guest house which we ended up staying at long after the trek). Because Nepal Mother House is a smallish organization, they are so personal. On our first full day in Kathmandu Sightseeing, Karna walked to our hotel to pick us up, then walked us back to his office where the 10 or so porters and guides had all gathered for daily check-in. It was fun to meet them all and began the personal experience with our guides. Overall, I'd recommend and trust Nepal Mother house on another expedition and appreciated that it was VERY well priced (maybe even too cheap, we know that we were not ripped off at all upon calculating things).

Manaslu Circuit Trek -- Highly recommend it. Next to Annapurna, but a PERCENTAGE of the foot traffic. The locals at the tea houses are authentic and excited, not over westernized, no hiking next to roads, very remote, beautiful, and overall a great first Nepalese trek. Because of some timing constraints, we adjusted the plan to be a 10-11 day trek, rather than the original proposed 15+ days. As two in shape but fairly normal people, we found the "fast" track to be completely doable. I would not have wanted to go slower, as we would have been sitting at tea houses for the majority of the day rather than hiking. Typically we hiked for 5-7 hours --- which is very doable seeing as there was nothing else to do other than drink tea, look at the scenery, eat, and sleep.
Time of Year -- We started the trek in mid/late September, and wish that we could have started 2 weeks later. The rainy season is no joke. On the trek, we had 2 or 3 days of rain that we had to push through -- not ideal, but not terrible. The benefit of going early was that there were VERY FEW other hikers, and really made the whole experience feel authentic and unique. There was always a bed available and many perks like getting to sit in the kitchen with the Nepalese to stay warm and talk at night. If we did it again, we'd likely go in December, after the rush of hikers but in the colder season.

A few suggestions -- we opted for the "private transport" from Kathmandu to the trailhead, somewhere in the neighborhood of $300-400 totally round trip. This felt like a lot at first but was 100% worth it. On the way home, the road was jammed and it took us 17 hours to travel which should have taken a few. We were soooo thankful to be in our car (with the driver, guide, and porter). The public bus may be "fun" and a little more cultural, but I'd opt to get some extra culture elsewhere and take the private transportation option. If you can swing it, also bring your own sleeping bag, as those were rented to us and fine but definitely not the cleanest. We used water purification tablets the whole time and those worked great.

Our guide was Sabut and the porter was Isor -- they did a great job. Thanks, guys!! Hope to be back someday soon and miss Dahl Bat and Rakki!
 

We were a group of 3. Karna was recorded to us by our daughter who had used him a couple of years ago. Karna was very flexible to accommodate our requirement to have access to power in our rooms each night. Our guide Jayaram was very professional and patient. We had to redesign our Annapurna Short trek midway as one of us was struggling. Jayaram came up with a great alternative plan that meant we could all continue the experience together. Our porters Dharaj and Umesh were also very professional and attentive.

We are a team of 10 people from Hong Kong in an age group ranging from the '50s to 69 and have just completed a 19-day trek in Everest Base Camp and 3 Passes (Kongma La pass, Chola pass, and Renjo La pass) during the period 8-28 November 2019. We were very pleased with the professional services provided by Nepal Mother House Treks.

Karna, our trekking agent was very responsive to our needs and the communication with him was effective and honest. The package arrangement gave us enough time for acclimatization and flexibility to cope with the strenuous trek. We didn't have any major AMS problems hindering our progress. We felt very happy-go-lucky for the accomplishment.

Our guides Subarna and Suman were very attentive to our needs. They were caring and always kept us informed of the forthcoming challenges. They were young and possessed a high level of energy to look after us in connection with hot water, battery charge, medical help, meals and accommodation arrangements, etc. along the trek. They always tried to find the best available accommodation lodges for us along the trek for which we felt grateful for this.
Subarna was never away from our team and always around for our needs. He was very communicative and approachable so that you wouldn't feel bored with him, and so was Suman. Not only were the guides exceptional, but the porters were also friendly and helpful. We were thankful for being given such an efficient team of guides and porters for our Everest 3 Passes Trek with EBC. Thank you, Karna.

Most importantly, the trekking cost with Nepal Mother House Treks was very competitive and worthy of value for a once for a lifetime adventure. We have no regrets!

We highly recommend Nepal Mother House Treks as your choice of trekking agent, you won't be disappointed!

We highly recommend Nepal Mother House Trek ! The tour was very well organized. Communication and planing with the agency before travelling to Nepal was very personal! Special thanks to Suba for being the perfect tour guide and thanks to Kanil, 1st class porter :) during our 3 Days Annapurna Short Trek.
We would definitely book the next trekking with the same team again!

I highly recommend Nepal Mother House for delivering on both price and quality for trekking. The owner, Karna Rana, worked with me to design a custom 21 day trek around two mountain ranges Manaslu and Annapurna. The experience of trekking with guide Suman Thapa and porter Biraj Rana was wonderful! Suman was very knowledgeable about the region. We're fairly strong trekkers who live at high altitude, and Suman let us explore way beyond the normal trekking areas on side hikes. He also arranged a jeep and taxi for us to avoid hiking on some dusty road sections around Annapurna, allowing us even more time for side hikes and cultural exploration.

Returning to Nepal in October 2019 after completing the Manaslu Circuit Trek the previous year, my wife and I once again organized our trek through Nepal Mother House. We traveled to Makalu base camp which took a total of 20 days including the return flight to Tumlingtar from Kathmandu. We were accompanied by our guide Ashok and our two porters, Ishwor and Umesh.

The Nepal Mother House staff are outstanding in their commitment to ensuring you achieve your goal during the trek and that you do so safely. Karna, who runs Nepal Mother House in Kathmandu, was very accommodating in arranging a custom trek to suit our ability and timeframe. Ishwor and Umesh were the supermen behind the operation, tirelessly carrying our bags to the next destination and always greeting us in the morning with a warm smile and a cup of coffee or tea. Ashok (the man with a plan) worked closely with us planning the days ahead and accommodating our needs if we were tired or needed additional time to acclimatize. There are several difficult river crossings and landslides to negotiate along the way. Our team was always there supporting us, carrying our daypacks when needed, and carefully guiding us safely through each challenge. Your friendship, dedication, and support made the trip a success and one filled with a lifetime of fantastic memories!

With regards to the trek, we found it found it more difficult than the Manaslu circuit, given the steep profile and rapid gain in altitude which seems typical of treks in Eastern Nepal. One won’t find the luxuries of the Annapurna circuit here with respect to food and accommodations. Although more than satisfactory, both are quite basic as this route has only recently been made available as a complete teahouse trek. Dal Bhat, noodle soup, omelets, and chapatis are the staple. We encountered a lot of rain during the first four days through the jungle and thick forest heading up to Khongma. As the monsoon tends to linger later in this part of the country, we suggest trekking from late October through to the end of November for the best chance of clear weather.

On a positive note, given its remoteness and undeveloped nature, you will find few trekkers along the way. On our first night at base camp, we were the only ones there! Highlights of the Makalu Base Camp Trek include the day over the four passes from Khongma to Dobato. The views here are simply stunning with the first glimpses of the major peaks including Chamlang, Tu Tse, and Makalu as well as passing by the holy lakes of Sano Pokhari and Thulo Kalo Pokhari along the way. The section from Langmale to base camp is a welcome break from the relentless climb where you’ll be surrounded by the high Himalayas, traveling through picturesque glaciated valleys until Makalu finally dominates the view. Unlike other treks we have been on, you are so close to the mountain at base camp. Makalu simply towers above all else and it's bewildering to think how any would climb it. We spent two nights there with a day excursion to Swiss Camp (Hillary camp) which offered stunning views of Nuptse, Lhoste and the Everest east face. This view is also possible from Everest viewpoint side trip. Both are highly recommended.

Karna at Nepal Mother House Treks provided me with good advice and a timely response as I planned my trekking in Nepal. My guide, Pratap Magar was very resourceful and accommodating throughout my Ghorepani Poon Hill trek. I recommend this company as they do many treks in the Annapurna area.

We were a small group of 5 who were introduced to Karna and Nepal Mother House Treks & Expeditions by another client of theirs. We were given all the necessary information that we required for our 12 days trek to EBC by Karna, who answered all our queries, being first-time trekkers.

We were met on our arrival in Kathmandu by Karna and taken to our accommodations. The next day we met our guide Jayaram Magar and were given our trek briefing by the both of them. Our trek was really a once-in-a-lifetime worthwhile experience for all of us. Jayaram is a great and experienced guide. He was assisted by very helpful porters especially Ram and Mikman who kept us entertained by singing local songs as we trekked each day.

Our accommodations at the various tea-house lodges were mostly comfortable and homely. Our food was mostly local vegetarian fare by choice and the best fare during our trek was at Namche Bazaar. We were fortunate to have good weather conditions throughout our trek. The scenery was lovely and green along the trail and we were thrilled by our first views of several mountain peaks especially Mt. Everest as we approached Tengboche.

We hope that the facilities at the accommodations in Gorak Shep can be improved further for the comfort of the trekkers. When we arrived back in Kathmandu from Lukla, Karna was very helpful in organizing day tours for us at short notice to places like Patan and Bhaktapur.

All of us had a great trek to EBC and an enjoyable stay in Kathmandu. We look forward to arranging our next trek with Karna and Nepal Mother House Treks & Expeditions in the near future.