GETTING AROUND BASICS
IN THE UK
IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND
Audley Travel T 01993 838300, W audleytravel.com. Quality tailor-made and small-group tours in Nepal. Classic Journeys T 01773 873497, W classicjourneys.co.uk. Nepal specialist offering the usual range of treks, plus several tours run by professional photographers. Dragoman T 01728 885644, W dragoman.com. Extended overland journeys taking in Nepal and India. Exodus T 0845 863 9600, W exodus.co.uk. Established company with trekking, cycling and sightseeing trips to Nepal, India, Tibet and Bhutan. Explore Worldwide T 01252 884223, W explore.co.uk. Recommended operator offering Nepal and Tibet trips, featuring trekking and cultural activities. Good for single travellers. Footprint Adventures T 07546 872801, W footprint-adventures .co.uk. Specializes in wildlife and birdwatching tours, plus trekking. High Places T 0114 279 2790, W highplaces.co.uk. For the more serious trekker, focusing on high-altitude trekking and scaling peaks. Jagged Globe T 0114 276 3322, W jagged-globe.co.uk. Climbing, mountaineering and serious trekking expeditions. Mongoose Travel T 01271 850224, W mongoosetravel.co.uk. Small company offering cultural tours and treks, with good ethical and environmental credentials. Mountain Kingdoms T 01453 844400, W mountainkingdoms .com. Smallish specialist company with particular expertise on Nepal. Naturetrek T 01962 733051, W naturetrek.co.uk. Leading specialist in birdwatching and wildlife tours. On The Go Tours T 020 7371 1113, W onthegotours.com. Established operator offering tours throughout Nepal, as well as trips to India, Tibet and Bhutan, and a pan-Himalayan tour travelling between them. Traidcraft T 0191 265 1110, W meetthepeople.skedaddle.co.uk. Sustainable “meet the people” tours involving stays with small-scale farmers who produce fair trade products. Wildlife Worldwide T 01962 302086, W wildlifeworldwide .com. Trips for wildlife enthusiasts.
Abercrombie and Kent Australia T 1300 851924, New Zealand T 0800 441638, W abercrombiekent.com. Upmarket tours of Nepal and India. Intrepid Travel Australia T 1300 797010, New Zealand T 0800 600610, W intrepidtravel.com. Small-group tours, mostly treks on standard routes, but also wildlife, rafting and India trips, with an ethical emphasis. Peregrine Adventures Australia T 1300 854445, W peregrine adventures.com. Tours across Nepal, some combining visits to India, Bhutan or Tibet. Ultimate Descents International Australia T 03 543 2301, W ultimatedescents.com. Pioneering rafting operator with an extensive range of trips.
Getting around Getting around is one of the biggest challenges of travelling in Nepal. Distances aren’t great, but the roads are poor and extremely slow, and public buses are crowded and uncomfortable. Tourist buses are available on the main routes, however, and you can always hire a motorcycle, or charter a taxi, car or 4WD vehicle, or catch a flight. Nepal’s highways are irregularly maintained, and each monsoon takes a toll on surfaces. Wherever you travel, the route will probably be new in parts, disintegrated in places, and under construction in others. The country has a truly appalling road safety record, and accidents are common. And, in
NEPALI PLACE NAMES
Even though Devanaagari (the script of Nepali and Hindi) spellings are phonetic, Above the Clouds Trekking T 1 800 233 4499, W aboveclouds transliterating them into the Roman .com. Family-run operator offering some unusual treks, including alphabet is a disputed science. Some “heli-trekking”; good for family treks. places will never shake off the erroneous Adventure.com W adventure.com. Traveller community that spellings bestowed on them by early specializes in finding the right tour operator for those who want to get off British colonialists – Kathmandu, for the beaten path. instance, looks more like Kaathmaadau when properly transliterated. Where place Canadian Himalayan Expeditions T 1 800 563 8735, names are Sanskrit-based, the Nepali W himalayanexpeditions.com. Wide range of small-group treks and ipi8hfBu+Fu1Tqp6g5eaALs= pronunciation sometimes differs from the climbing expeditions. accepted spelling – the names Vishnu Friends in High Places T 1 781 354 9851, W fihp.com. US-Nepali (a Hindu god) and Vajra (a tantric symbol), company offering mostly customized itineraries, especially treks. for instance, sound like Bishnu and Journeys International T 1 800 255 8735, W journeys.travel. Bajra in Nepali. We have followed local Worldwide trekking agency covering the standard routes, plus a few pronunciations as consistently as possible off-the-beaten-track options. in this guide, except in cases where to do Mountain Travel Sobek T 1 888 831 7526, W mtsobek.com. so would be out of step with every map High-end trekking and rafting company, with easy to strenuous routes, in print.
IN THE US AND CANADA
plus wildlife and customized trips.
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