I’d like to say a couple of good things for Annapurna Foothills which I hired a trekking trip to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) the summer of 2011. I found the company through the Internet, and while many people recommend me going with such and such company, I decided to find it on my own. It is an exhausting task to read the reviews and visit the homepages of numerous companies that sell their services on the Net. After some frustration I found Annapurna Foothills and I decided to give the face of the company -Ngima Sherpa- a phone call. Listening a person’s voice gives me some reassurance when I am going to invest my money.

Nigima's communication through emails was quick and easy, so I resolve to go to ABC with his company. He and my porter-guide Kaanchha Sherpa were waiting for me at the lobby of my hotel. Ngima was very organized from the beginning to the last day of my trip in Nepal and I have no complaints whatsoever about his job. Not only had I hired Ngima’s services for the mountains but also we share some meals gaining some insight about his country and the trekking business in general.

Moreover, Ngima got me an excellent friend and guide, Kanchha. For around twelve days Kanchha was committed to see to all my needs during the trekking; he is a “ Superman Sherpa” as other hikers described him; to be honest he is like a mom in the mountains, he was always helping me, cooking when was needed or looking after other trekkers that we met along the route.

If I decide to return to Nepal and I’m honestly thinking about Tibet, I would like to do it again with Annapurna Foothills; I recommend Ngima and Kanchha Sherpa without hesitation. If you want to talk in more details please send me an email to: calvino_@hotmail.com

Cheers,
Edgardo Méndez
Okayama, Japan

Spanish version

Este verano 2011 durante el monsón realicé un trekking con la compania de montaña Annapurna Foothills al campamento base del Annapurna. Luego de leer interminables y frustrantes paginas decidí escoger por cuenta propia mi propia firma de montaña

Mi primer contacto con Annapurna Foothills fue a través del amable Ngima Nuru Sherpa quien respondió prontamente a mis interrogantes y comentarios acerca de mi future viaje. Durante mi primer día en Kathmandu, Ngima quien fue muy organizado desde el principio me esperaba junto Kanchha quien me serviria de guía-porteador durante mi viaje. No solo planificamos el viaje, sino también compartimos interesantes comidas aderezadas con comentarios acerca de la montaña, el país y en general sobre la cultura nepalí.

Por otra parte tambien tengo palabras de reconocimiento del trabajo de Kanchcha Sherpa quién estuvo presto a servirme durante todo el camino; otros montañistas lo llamaban Superman Sherpa por su inagotable energía y su deseo de ayudar a todos por igual: turistas y dueños de los hostales con la preparación de las comidas.

En un futuro viaje no dudaría en buscar los servicios de Annapurna Foothills, Ngima Nuru Sherpa y Kanchha Sherpa; y si alguién desea contactarme les dejo mi correo electrónico calvino_@hotmail.com

Adios,
Edgardo Méndez
Okayama, Japon.

We trekked around the Annapurna massive in April 2011. Some friends who had done the same trekking some years before recommended Ngima to us and from that very moment everything was very easy. We have to say that we are independent travellers and we are not used to travelling with a guide; for that reason it took us some time to make up our minds. Now we know it was the right thing to do.

Right from the beginning we realised the Ngima was a professional, so we trusted him completely and followed all his advices concerning breaks, timetable, food and acclimatization. We know that if we had trekked on our own we would probably have had problems with altitude because we would have ascended faster and wouldn’t have rested enough. If Ngima said that we had to start early because of the heat, the day was really hot. When Ngima said that we had to start early to get to Jomson before midday because of the wind, it was a gale!

The way Ngima organises the trekking is easy to follow for people used to moderate trekking. The length of the stages and the regular ascent make you enjoy even the toughest stages. We also want to mention the importance of our porter Gelju in our enjoyment, who was also a good companion.

Apart from the trekking itself, Ngima told us lots of interesting things about Nepal, its culture, Buddhism and about his people, the Sherpas. We must say that apart from English, Ngima speaks Spanish. Because of all these things, and because he proved to be a very good person, we highly recommend Ngima and his company Annapurna Foothills Treks & Expedition and we wish him the best luck.

You can read about our trekking in our blog
Nosgustapasear.blogspot.com

Raúl y Lourdes
Bilbao
Spain

Spanish version

Hicimos el trekking alrededor del Annapurna en abril de 2011. Unos amigos que habían hecho este trekking unos años antes nos pusieron en contacto con Ngima y a partir de ese momento todo fue muy sencillo. Tenemos que decir que por lo general viajamos de manera independiente y que nos costó tomar la decisión de ir con un guía y un porteador, pero desde luego, fue una decisión acertada.

Desde el primer momento nos dimos cuenta de que Ngima es todo un profesional y que teníamos que dejarnosns llevar por el en todo lo referente a paradas, comidas y todo lo relacionado con la aclimatación. Estamos seguros de que si hubiéramos ido solos habríamos tenido muchos problemas con la aclimatación porque probablemente habríamos alargado las etapas y no hubiéramos descansado lo suficiente. Cuando Ngima decía que había que madrugar porque haría mucho calor, realmente hacía mucho calor o cuando en la etapa de camino a Jomson nos dijo que había que madrugar porque haría mucho viento, aquello resultó casi un vendaval!

El trekking, tal y como lo plantea Ngima, es asequible para alguien que esté acostumbrado a andar por la montaña. La longitud de las jornadas y el suave ascenso están perfectamente estudiados y hacen que disfrutes del trekking hasta los días más exigentes. Tampoco nos podemos olvidar de nuestro porteador Gelju, que resultó una muy grata compañía.

Además de su buen hacer, nos contó infinidad de cosas, desconocidas para nosotros, sobre Nepal, su cultura, el budismo y sobre su etnia, los sherpas. Hay que decir que, además de inglés, habla un español bastante aceptable. Por todas estas cosas, y porque nos demostró ser una muy buena persona, recomendamos contratar sus servicios y le deseamos muy buena suerte.

El relato de nuestro viaje está en nuestro blog en la siguiente dirección
Nosgustapasear.blogspot.com

Raúl y Lourdes
Bilbao
España
lourdessss@hotmail.com

Dear Trekker
Here's my comment:

"Thank you for two exciting weeks in Nepal. I will never forget the beautiful mountains, your interesting stories, the nice people we met on the way. I can recommend your services at any time."

Trekking Area: Annapurna base Camp

Martin Stroebele
Walchenseeplatz 12
81539 Munich
Germany

http://www.stroebele.biz

Our words fail to express the feeling that we have had accumulated during the trip with Ngima and his fellow team members. Ngima, Mingma and Gelo were really noteworthy. I came to know about this company through internet in the lonely planet forum. We made a similar trip in India before coming to Nepal . It is very difficult to know the kind of person we may encounter in the trek. But I was lucky enough to have such a wonderful boy like Ngima.

We returned back to the country with lots of good reminiscences. We brought the wonderful memory of the trip, beautiful landscapes and wonderful people of course. Nevertheless, I had never thought that experience was the part of the deal and the relationship with the team. We were six in numbers altogether in the team i.e. two friends, me, Ngima and two porters. It was a good team indeed. We soaked in the customs and lifestyle of the area of the Annapurna and the customs of the tribe of the Gurung, thanks to Ngima.

Usually after the work day at 5 or 6 pm, there is nothing special to do in such kind of trekking. We chat and play cards, make jokes and laugh together. Damn! we played even gestures. Cool. In the group, some used to speak Nepali and others little Nepali and English. Some even used to speak English and Spanish too. Ngima has the good command over English and Spanish. Therefore, he tried to link everyone in the group. The people in the group were tactful in a sense that they handled every situation very carefully. They offered clean meal and we truly enjoyed their conversation. The team was quite careful in our safety when we felt like doing something different.

Ngima has got more than 12 years experience in this field. He is aware of the danger of avalanche, altitude, sickness and possible injury. In a word, I think you can find people as good as Ngima and his team in Nepal , but better it seems impossible. I make trip every day and I always intercropped in between one to Nepal or India . It is my second trip to Nepal and my third to India . I did trekking in Annapurna in 2007. If I can manage time in the future, I will be doing trekking with these people and strongly recommend you as well. They will make your trip a life time experience. That is for sure.

If you have any queries regarding the trek, then please feel free to either mail me at fportela@mundo-r.com or call me at 91 699 46 62.

Our best regards and Namste
Yours Friends,

Fernando Portela.
Spain

Spanish version

Nuestra experiencia con la agencia Annapurna Foot-hills Treks & Expedition y especialmente con su responsable Ngima Nuru Sherpa y sus porteadores, Mima y Gelo, es realmente digna de destacar. Los conocí por internet en el foro de Lonley Planet. Otras veces que había viajado a la India también contacté con guías de la misma forma. Siempre tuve buenas experiencias pero nunca sabes que tipo de gente te vas a encontrar y en quién confiar un trekking de este tipo.

La experiencia no pudo ser mejor. Nos traemos un recuerdo maravilloso del viaje, paisajes, gente ... pero nunca creí que parte de esa experiencia fuera el trato y la relación con guías y porteadores. En total éramos seis personas, dos amigas, yo, Ngima y los dos porteadores. Un buen equipo. Veíamos otros grupos también reducidos de cinco o seis personas en los cuales no había un grupo como tal. Por un lado los viajeros y por otro los porteadores y el sherpa. Nosotros nos empapamos de las costumbres y forma de vida de la zona de los Annapurnas y de las costumbres de la tribu de los Gurung, gracias a Ngima.

En este tipo de trekking una vez que acabas la jornada diaria, a las 5 o 6 de la tarde no tienes nada que hacer. Nosotros hablábamos, jugábamos a las cartas (nos enseñaron juegos y nosotros a ellos), nos reíamos mucho. Coño!! incluso jugábamos al gestos. Buenísimo. Uno que sólo hablaba nepalí, otro algo de inglés y nepalí. Ngima, Nepalí, Inglés y bastante bien el español, yo algo de inglés y mis amigas solo español. Y Ngima el enlace de todo. Son una gente realmente excepcional. Y al mismo tiempo, algo que también se agradece, muy discretos. Es decir sólo participaban en tu vida, conversaciones o en las comidas si tú se lo ofrecías, si no te dejaban a tu rollo. Eso también es importante. A veces te apetece hacer la jornada caminando a tu bola. Pero eso sí siempre extremadamente preocupados por tu seguridad y de que todo esté en orden.

Ngima creo que tiene más de 12 años de experiencia en estos temas. El conoce el peligro de avalanchas, a que hora pasar por determinados sitios según la estación de que se trate, mal de altura, posibles lesiones…. En una palabra, creo que podéis encontrar gente tan buena como Ngima y su equipo en Nepal, pero mejor me parece imposible. Todos los años hago un viaje pero siempre intercalo en el medio uno a Nepal o la India. Es mi segundo viaje a Nepal y mi tercero a la India. Mi trekking por los Annapurnas lo realicé en Noviembre de 2007 y esperó hacer otro en 2009. Por supuesto con esta gente. Os la recomiendo de verdad. Suponen la diferencia entre hacer un trekking espectacular o hacer un trekking realmente inolvidable.

Si tenéis alguna pregunta sobre el trekking me podéis escribir a My móbil phone is 699 91 46 62,
fportela@mundo-r.com
Our best regards.
NAMASTE.

Your friend,
Fernando Portela.
Spain

I was trekking on the Annapurna Base Camp Trek in November 2007 together with two friends. It was wonderful getting to know rural Nepal and experiencing the enchanting scenery of the mountains. Ngima Sherpa was our trekking guide. It was his great enthusiasm that made our trip an unforgettable experience! He was reliable, perfectly organised and did far more than the necessary "guiding job": for example getting up in the early hours to run before us to secure accomodation, providing a girl we met on the trek with equipment when her shoes became broken or recommending accomodation in Karthmandu. The daily parts of the trek were well organized with enough time for breaks and to accomodate to the altitude. The lodges were excellently selected. Airplane and bus transfer from and to Pokhara were well planned. Ngima`s English is very good and he always tried to explain about Nepali culture giving us more insight into the daily life and religion of Nepali people. We trekked together with two porters who carried our heavier luggage. Both of them were well equipped and our guide cared for their accomodation and meals (I mention this since we met porters of other trekking groups who seemed ill equipped taking into account altitude and low temperature and had to carry really heavy loads!).

In summary our 2 weeks trek to the Annapurna Base Camp was a a unique experience and I can fully recommend Ngima as a reliable trekking guide.

Trekking Area: Annapurna base Camp

Anne Katrin Baumgaertner
annebaumgaertner@web.de
Muenchen, Germany.

We are two people from Ireland . We both are in our sixties. I am Claudia Egremont-Lee Paul and my friend’s name is
Claudia Egremont-Lee. We find our guide Ngima (Tour operator) and his staffs very kind and professional. The company we received during the trek is simply wonderful. Ngima has got a good public relation with local people and it made our trip easy and comfortable. We strongly recommend this trip who loves adventure.

Trekking Area: Annapurna sanctuary

Claudia Egremont-Lee, UK

Hi Ngima,

Thanks for your everlasting patience and flexibility when we needed a stop for a tea break, take a picture or even wanted to change our route.

All was possible with you and also anything could be arranged. Super! We also liked your company as a guide and person a lot during (and after) our trekking and of course playing some games of Yathzee in the evening.

We still owe you a piece of appelpie :-).

Again thank you so much for everything!

Trekking Area: Ghorpani Trekking

Namaste,
Rob & Linda, Holland

Spanish version

Hallo Ngima,

Bedankt voor je eeuwig durende geduld and flexibiliteit wanneer we wilde stoppen voor een thee pauze, het nemen van een foto of zelfs toen we onze route wilde aanpassen.

Alles was mogelijk en alles kon geregeld worden. Top! We vonden je gezelschap als gids en persoon zeer prettig tijdens (en na) de trekking en natuurlijk de potjes Yathzee die we 's avonds gespeeld hebben.

Je hebt nog steeds een punt appeltaart te goed van ons! :-)

Nogmaals enorm bedankt voor alles.

Namaste,
Rob & Linda, Holland

Contactamos con Ngima Sherpa previamente por Internet, siguiendo algunos foros.

En Katmandú nos ayudaron con los permisos para el trek y los billetes de bus a Besisahar. Otro punto importante, es que en caso de problemas físicos, como mi diarrea adquirida en Katmandú, siempre tendrás en quién apoyarte para resolverlos. Son unos profesionales comprometidos con su trabajo y sus clientes. Además personalmente son gete honesta, fieles, atentos, amables y encima simpáticos.

Además de facilitarte la intendencia en las mejores condiciones posibles, obtienes intercambio de información y trato humano. Con ellos comprenderas cómo viven los nepalís, cómo valoran su trabajo, un trabajo que les permite vivir dignamente y mejorar no solo las condiciones básicas de alimentación y alojamiento sino de educación y progreso de su familia y país. A lo largo del trek tuvimos oportunidad de conocer mejor Nepal gracias a las conversaciones que manteníamos con Ngima Sherpa.

El trek merece mucho la pena, no solo por los paisajes sino en especial por la vivencia en el entorno, sus gentes y la sensación de estar donde estás. La travesía es físicamente asequible si estás acostumbrado a andar en montaña. Son jornadas de entre 5 y 8 horas con desniveles alrededor de los 1000mts, exceptuando el día de “cumbre” casi nunca se acumulan subidas y bajadas en la misma jornada.

Para nosotros los días más duros fueron el día que cruzamos el Thorong La, por la altitud, y el de la subida a Gorephani por sus 1600 mts de desnivel.

Graicas
Ana & Julio
juliodzm@yahoo.es
Spain

Ghorepani Trekking

I made Ghorepani Trek through Ngima’s company on 10th October. Everything turned out exactly true whatever he had described with me during planning. In my opinion, he is the best guide and other team members were also wonderful. After a week, I saw and acquired a lot in spectacular terrain and enjoyed local culture and amazing hospitality from local people. I am very happy and satisfied with Ngima and his team.

Meindert harms, Holland

Annapurna Base Camp Trekking

I enjoyed a lot the Annapurna base camp trekking. I had an amazing time on the trip. In the beginning, I was little bit worried about coming to Nepal for I didn’t have any plan in advance. However, Ngima (The MD of Annapurna Foothills treks and expedition) removed my confusion and asked me to be confident. I got more than he promised. He made my trip perfect in a sense that I really got a life time experience. I really had a great time in the trip. I think will be coming back to Nepal in the future as well. Everything was perfect and you don’t have to be worried about anything. It was awesome.

Claudia and Alfredo, UK and Spain

Annapurna circuit Trekking and Chitwan Tour

We are two adventure-loving girls from Geramn. We did three weeks Annapurna circuit trek with Annapurna Foothills treks and expedition. Our first experience was 13 days trekking tour which is a part of Annapurna circuit from Besishar to Pokhara. It was the first time trekking in our life. We never felt bored due to our lovely guide and other amazing others members of the team. We found the Chitawan national park the most relaxing place in Nepal. We did three days jungle safari tour there. We are completely satisfied with the hospitality we received. There is no room for complain. Ngima organized everything well and he was always there when we needed him. Therefore, we highly recommend this trekking agency for everyone.

Gabrielle, Australia