Clients Review

It was my first trip to Nepal and I read a lot of reviews before choosing Nepal Mother House. I was planning a solo trip with a trek to the Tengboche monastery during the Mani Rimdu festival.

I communicated by email a few months ahead, and Mr. Karna always responded very quickly. He asked for a small deposit, and I liked the fact that the guide/porter would be flexible, so, I could enjoy the trek at my own pace. I had to visit the office a day before the trek for preparations, and Mr. Karna took his time, explained everything very clearly, all my concerns dropped . I also met my guide/porter Sundip. He and his friend accompanied me to the bank, then to a place where I could rent my down sleeping bag, I felt they were patient, and answered all my questions.

I was glad I had Sundip with me when arriving at the airport, it seemed rather complicated to get on the right flight, but he knew what to do.
During the trekking I had lots of freedom, Sundip was often way ahead or behind me, but we always connected before continuing, so I could enjoy taking photos and walk at my own pace. We had some good laughs in the evenings. He made sure I was OK when some symptoms of altitude set in, advising me to rest, drink sufficiently, and he checked on me regularly. He always found me a single room at the teahouses, and served me food and beverages. He also made sure that there was no garlic in any food, as I am allergic to garlic. He was very respectful.

To give an honest review, I will just add one remark of what was missing. As a guide, I had expected to learn more about Nepalese culture, the history, about the Tengboche monastery, my final destination, or just about the sherpa lifestyle... I ended up doing research after the trip which informed me more of what I had seen.

I only have good words to say about Mr. Karna, he is a very honest, respectful and reliable man, I hope to go back to Kathmandu someday, and I will definitely use his services/Nepal Mother House again. I highly recommend this agency! I will always have very fond memories and great pictures from this trip. Thanks to Mr. Karna for making this possible and for his excellent service!

Karna was good enough to arrange a bespoke trek through some very remote territory. having trekked in the Himalayas five times before I really wanted to get off the beaten track for what I believed would be my last big trek. Sadly after only three days, I got very ill, which only got worse (it has been diagnosed as probably being Typhoid and one or two other nasties as well!). We initially tried to walk back out to Tummlingtar but eventually, I was too ill to stand.

As there was no other way to get out of the area we were in (there had been some landslides so mules were out as an option and I wouldn't have lasted the time taken to carry me out) I had to be helicopter rescued and then spent a week in hospital before an emergency flight home. Throughout this process Karna was great, he did everything. When things go wrong is when you actually see the true colors of an organization like this and I cannot fault the way they acted. Karna even visited me in the hospital every day and kept in contact with my wife back home. He's a quiet unassuming man who has plenty of experience himself of treks - I had lots of time to chat to him that week. My guide was Bombasingh, I had asked for an older, experienced guide and that is exactly what Karna provided.

Bomb, as he's known, took great care of me, he did so much for me despite falling a bit ill himself. He visited me three times a day in the hospital and refused to go home himself until he had got me into that wheelchair at the airport and wasn't allowed any further! I can really recommend him too. The only thing I can't recommend is the route from Tummlingtar to Jiri. It's a very impoverished area with terrible sanitation and no way out except by chopper, to be fair Karna had tried to dissuade me from this area before I booked the Everest Base Camp Trek from Tumlingtar known as Arun Valley Trek. Whenever you go through an agency you do put your life in their hands and I am happy to say that they really came through for me.

There are plenty of other agencies that are not like this (in hospital I saw large groups come in from other agencies, all members having AMS which shows they had been taken way too high way too quickly), Nepal Mother House is one of the few agencies left that I would feel I could actually recommend and if you get a chance I would also recommend Bombasingh, a great guy who probably saved my life.

A tough trek on rough terrain in a remote area. We've done seven treks in Nepal previously including 3 high Passes and Dhaulagiri Circuit and found this really hard on the legs. 50 years of mountaineering experience gave us the mental strength to cope!

It's now possible to do the trek in lodges for a small group but some lodges are quite small. We (2 of us) started in late September just before the main season so didn't have a problem. Doing Kanchenuinga North Base Camp first means the hardest section of the foothills in a forested valley is done at the beginning. The walk out from South Base Camp is largely on open hillsides with views for inspiration.

Karna at Nepal Mother House was superb. Having founded his business on 10 years of portering, he really knows the game. He handled us in just the right way in respect of our previous experience and willingly sorted queries and problems. Sabut, our guide, was superb with a great sense of humor which made the trek really enjoyable. Kishman, our porter, looked after us really well and we felt like part of a family. Both were cooks who contributed to our meals on several nights. Food, incidentally, was really good with veg and mushrooms straight from the ground into the pot with pork or chicken on some nights - beautifully spiced too.

We managed the trek in 20 days of walking but 22 days (minimum) would be more comfortable. Take a lightweight inflatable mattress as some lodge mattresses leave something to be desired.

Nous avons choisi cette agence après un bon premier contact par mail et des offres de prix intéressantes.

Grand bien nous en a pris, le patron M. Karna Rana s'est avéré d'un grand professionnalisme doublé d'un accueil très amical. Très à notre écoute et attentif à nos demandes (nous avions besoin d'un trek sur mesure en raison du laps de temps très court que j'avais au Népal), il nous a profilé un séjour au timing PARFAIT en compagnie d'un jeune guide (Subarna) d'une rare bienveillance et gentillesse... Un magicien à ses heures, réussissant l'exploit de me rapatrier à Katmandou en pleine période d’élection alors qu'aucun bus et 4x4 n'était censé circuler !!! En sa compagnie, notre expérience népalaise a été bien plus qu'un trek au Népal, celle d'un vrai échange !

Je suis moi même accompagnateur en montagne, cherchant le maximum d'autonomie dans les pays que je parcours et force est de reconnaître qu'un bon guide permet de voir et de vivre bien plus que des paysages !!!

Si notre expérience vous convainc de choisir cette agence, on vous recommande plus que fortement ce jeune homme, le bien nommé Subarna...

Google Translate:

"Manaslu tour and Tsum Valley trek (Manaslu and Tsum Valley trek)"

Jan 22, 2018 mocochain, Lans-en-Vercors, France

We chose this agency after a good first contact by email and attractive price offers. We took it very well, the boss Mr. Karna Rana proved to be very professional, coupled with a very friendly welcome. Very attentive to our needs and attentive to our requests (we needed a tailor-made trek because of the very short period of time I had in Nepal), he profiled a stay with PERFECT timing in the company of a young guide (Subarna) of rare benevolence and kindness... A magician in his spare time, managing the feat of repatriating me to Kathmandu in the middle of the election period when no bus and 4x4 were supposed to circulate!!! In his company, our Nepalese experience was much more than a trek in Nepal, that of a real exchange! I myself am a mountain guide, seeking maximum autonomy in the countries I travel through and it is clear that a good guide allows you to see and experience much more than landscapes!!! If our experience convinces you to choose this agency, we highly recommend this young man, the aptly named Subarna...

The commendation and praise mentioned in many of the reviews are not exaggerated and I fully agree with it.
Mr. Karna proved very reliable and capable organiser coping with everything we threw at them and we did require a lot of flexibly from the start to the end of Manslu Tsum Valley 22 Days. He matched a perfect experienced guide to our needs and not only that, along with the porter they were also wonderful people to have around. Our satisfaction was everything to them. Mr Karna required a small deposit to book the right men which is fully understandable. The pricing overall I found very competitive. It’s not easy to write a review when you are totally satisfied and are referring to very experienced people who know their environment like no one else and who will simply do their best for you. Nepal Mother House is highly recommended to everyone and to those who require customising the treks whatever their needs.
Special thanks to our guide and porter.

My friend and I have just returned from a great 26-day trek to Manaslu & Tsum Valley with Nepal Mother House.

The owner of Nepal Mother House, Karna, was a joy to deal with from the start, being very professional and helpful at all times. The whole experience was very easy with Karna organising all the details whilst allowing us the flexibility we desired. The trek itself exceeded our expectations and our guide, Jayaram Nagar (Jay) was always informative and ready to help, unlike some of the guides we observed with other groups. A number of other travellers we spoke to who organised there own guides/porters were impressed by how smoothly our trek went and concluded that they saved little or no money by organising their own treks and that it was not worth the added hassle.

The extension to Tsum valley is highly recommended to see some of the last examples of true Tibetan culture, despite being situated in Nepal. November was a great time to go (our Trek was November 6 to December 4) with reduced numbers of tourists and perfect weather. November is slightly colder than October but this was not an issue, with the coldest night we experienced being around -7 celcius the night before Larkya La pass. Daytime hiking temperatures were generally pleasant.

Tsum valley and Manaslu circuit have recovered well from the 2015 earthquakes and there is no reason to avoid this area; in fact they have suffered from reduced tourist numbers and need our support.

Mother House Treks organized our trek to Everest base camp, from the first email contact I felt confident. The trek was fantastic, the organization was perfect, we had a porter called Pasang (not sure if that spelling is correct!) he was very helpful, our guide Kiran was very good helpful and friendly also his English was excellent. I would not hesitate to recommend Karna who made every effort to make sure the trip went well. Thank you for a great trip.

Karna and the Nepal Mother House staff, thank you for helping me in fulfilling my long-time dream to trek in Nepal.
For years I was looking for the opportunity to trek in Nepal. 6 month ago when I did my research about the right agencies to work with, Nepal Mother House came up as one of the best.

From my first contact, and through many interactions Karna was very responsive, focused, he gave me a reasonable pricing and more than everything else, he gave me the feeling that I have someone whom I can trust in organizing the perfect Ultimate Manaslu trek.
I was not mistaken.

Karna provided us group with a great guide, Prem and a very good porter Asis. Karna managed all the required logistics before, during and after the trek. He fulfilled all of his commitments in the best way. Karna helped in calming down my family when I was away up in the mountains with no working communication. As one of my friends needed some medical help, Karna was on his side making sure that he will get the right treatment.

Prem, our guide was very knowledgeable and experienced. Prem educated us about the region, the scenery, the people and the cultures. Prem knew how to lead the group, how to set the proper paste. He came up with good suggestions for adapting the original plan to meet the actual group paste and conditions. He knew how to handle challenges and how to work around some procedural issue when it arose.

Overall, I could not have chosed better, 

We ordered our trek to Manaslu Circuit from Denmark. Karna was very helpful, informative, honest, and quick at replying. When we arrived in Kathmandu we meet up and everything was sorted and ready - no problems. Our guide Pasang was also great - a fun and happy guy, who took good care of us and helped a lot when we were sick and could not carry our own bags. He made the trek even more fantastic, so hope to get him as a guide if you go!

Just finished last a week a 15 Day Trekk to Tzum Valley Nepal. with the Nepal Mother House service. It was nothing short of incredible, to experience the Tibet/Nepal culture of the area. We visited a number of Buddhists monasteries and also stay with a family overnight, eating, cooking and enjoying a culture that was so different and beautiful.

The guide and porter that Mother House assigned to us was nothing short of incredible, like having dedicated staff members who took care of all of our needs, from education of the culture to serving tea and food at every stop, Not to mention providing medicine for a cold I caught.

Nepal Mother House is a professional service that really knows its business. I felt safe, secure and engaged throughout the trip. At the end of the trip both the guide and porter invited us to their homes for food and yet again a fabulous experience. There are so many agencies in Kathmandu who provide this service but how lucky was I to find one with such professionalism and attention to the details that really matter on a Trekk like this.

Mother House Treks took us on a wonderful journey up to Annapurna Base Camp with a lovely Nepali guide and porter.

One the first day I was very sick and we were unable to walk very far, the guide took good care of me and ensured that we only walked as far as I could manage. I was worried we weren't going to make it to the top but he adjusted the timetable accordingly so that we could still keep to a schedule without overdoing it as I was still a bit weak during the following days.

A most beautiful ascent although also a very hard trek I have these people to thank for getting us to the top. In paying everything in advance it then become's the guide's responsibility to book and pay for the accommodation and the food along the way.

We felt very well taken care of and would recommend this company to anyone looking to trek in the region.

Karna was then so kind and friendly on our return, we were never forgotten.

Thank you :)

I have used Karna and his company few times - and comparing to many other companies in KTM, Nepal - they are really honest, give you fair prices and dont want to scam you in anyway. I have used to for my trips: Three Passes Khumbu and for Around Dhaulagiri - staff, guide, and communication with Karna were on really good level.