When my daughter ( 25 yrs ) told me she was very keen to trek EBC. I told her that I wanted to visit India.

As New Zealand is around the other side of the world I suggested that we combine our trips.

It ended up being a daunting task as their are so many trekking companies in Kathmandu to chose from.

I was able to narrow it down to six trekking company's.

Touch of the Himalaya were by far the best.

Not only did Madan respond alot faster than the rest but his replies were personal and professional.

I had reasonably fast responses from some of the other companies but the responses were not personal.

Also, we did not want to be put into a larger group which would have been the case if we went with the other companies.

Touch of the Himalaya were also cheaper.

So please take it from me as a business owner in New Zealand as I did my homework! We are so glad that we chose touch of the Himalaya.

While trekking to base camp I could not help but compare or guide Ram and porter Roshan to other guides and porters.

Ram and Roshan stood out for us over the 17 days trekking.

They we're so much more FUN than other guides and porters.

They consistently had fantastic attitudes smiling and being jovial with us

which really helped my daughter and I to relax.

Rams English is great and although Roshan english was limited, it really was not a problem.

When my daughter got a stomach bug at Namche, Ram made the call to let her rest up for an extra day.

So our 15 day trek became 16.

Then she also ended up having sinus problems in Tengbroche, Ram suggested she have an extra days rest.

So 16 days became 17.

We tried to make Dingboche but as she was to weak, Ram suggested we stay at Tenzings lodge Sunshine guest house in Orsho.

Which by the way was great.

Ram was in constant communication with Madan in Kathmandu who was in constant communication with family back home via messager on facebook.

WHY?

Because Touch of the Himalaya are the best, they really care.

They are so flexible, our trip exceeded our expectations.

Not only did we end up completing EBC

But Ram encouraged and gently guided us up Kala Pattar at 5545 meters.

Ram and Roshan lead us over two passes Cho LA Pass and Renjo Pass each at 5350?

My daughter had alot of difficulty getting down the icy steps over Cho LA.

Ram lead her down safely by taking her hand and placing her feet in the correct holds all the way down.

Once again the extra pass was organised by Ram as we went.

He must have an extremely understanding wife by extending the trip as we went.

So my advise is have a plenty of buffer days at Kathmandu.

Because if you end up loving the mountains as Samara and I did you may decide to extend the trip.

Madan changed the flight from Lukla to Kathmandu which meant he had to work a little magic but it happened.

I really would like to give Touch of the Himalaya a 6 out of 5 stars but of course that doesn't exist thank you so much guys for giving us the time of our lives.

In a group of four people plus two guides and two porters we started the Manaslu Trek end of February. Everything was planned perfectly. First some sight-seeing in Kathmandu where we could learn some things about the culture and religion in Nepal. The Jeep ride to the starting point was a lot of fun. On every step on the way I felt save. With our guides and porters we had a lot of fun every evening. They gave a lot of effort to make us feel confortable and you could feel their passion in showing us the nature and the culture of the Manaslu region.

Due to too much snow we weren't able to walk over the Larke La pass. We reached Syala (3500m) and the weather was perfect. Although we couldnt do the whole Circuit we were so happy in the end. Its totally worth it to do it. I can only recommend Touch the Himalaya Treks. They all are very professional and lovely.

My friend and I have just completed the Manasulu / Tsum valley trek and can’t recommend it highly enough – but go soon as there’s lots of evidence of its growing popularity. And be prepared for an intense physical challenge: 30 degree heat down to freezing; “Nepali flat” all the way (ie quite a lot of up and quite a lot of down); routine vertiginous drops, effects of altitude, etc.

All of this, however, is easily outweighed by stunning and varied scenery, local culture, lovely people and not too much tourism. Passing briefly through the tail end of the Annapurna circuit made us SO glad we’d chosen our route. We spent about 5 days In Tsum (but could’ve taken longer) and trekked for 18 days in total. 3 or 4 days R&R in Pokhara at the end is definitely the thing to do at the end.

Having a good guide / agent is key to having a good experience. We booked through Touch The Himalaya. Madan Neupane, the guy in charge, was friendly, efficient, experienced and proactive in meeting our needs – and also very fair in what he did or didn’t charge us for.

He fixed us up with the guide to die for: Ram Adhikari. Ram was experienced, full of local knowledge, very concerned for our welfare and above all fun and friendly (not something every trekker seemed to be experiencing). Ask for him by name if you can when you book.

Go soon – before you’re too old or it changes!