Kimkim Trip Reviews for Nepal

My recent trip (mid-March 2023) to Nepal was perfectly executed with help from Amanda at Himalayan Trails and the best guide you could hope for, Dawa. The guided site-seeing in Kathmandu was the perfect start to the trip, and provided a great deal of context around the culture and religions of Nepal before setting out on our trek. We explored the Nar-Phu valley for a week, which was incredible. For those looking for an off-the-beaten-path trek with few other people on the trails and a unique look back in time, this is the place for you. We then returned to the main Annapurna Circuit for a side-trip up to Tilicho Lake. Seeing the highest lake in the world was an absolute highlight. This truly was an incredible trip, made all the more easy by the seamless communication with Amanda. I also cannot speak highly enough about Dawa, who was extremely knowledgeable, adaptable to my needs, and also a great trekking companion who I shared many cups of tea and card games with along the way :) I would recommend KimKim, Himalayan Trails, and Dawa to anyone. Thanks so much for an incredible trip!

Me and my best friend, my soul sista, decided to make our first-ever trip together super special, so we decided to go to Nepal. We had never been and didn't know what to expect. We were welcomed with incredible professionalism, hospitality and speedy service in response to our millions of questions.

Kripa from Himalayan Trails Treks & Expedition is fantastic! And the company has done an incredible job hiring the best - from the moment we were welcomed at the airport until our departure, we were looked after by their truly wonderful team. You can tell this company looks after their staff! A special thank you to our "mountain family" Naresh and Milan who spend 5 soul-filling days with us, hiking in the breathtaking and majestic mountains of Nepal. Thank you for my very special birthday cake at one of the local lodges. What a special touch!

I would do this exact trip again, and I definitely recommend Kripa from Himalayan Trails Treks & Expedition to help you plan your next trip of a lifetime.

Nepal exceeded our expectations in everything! The trip was just amazing. Sangita helped us to plan everything we want to visit, provided very detailed information regarding everything. We didn't need to worry about anything. All the hotels were really nice and comfortable, the food was so delicious, we are going to miss it a lot! Our Kathmandu guide Bipin told us numerous interesting stories about Nepal and answered every crazy question we had :) Our trekking experience was also amazing, we very really excited with the mountains. And again we didn't have to think about anything as our guide Akaci was taking care of our route, meals, hotels.

I would like to say numerous thanks to Sangita and her team for this experience! Nepal is a wonderful country and we definitely wish to come back!

Our Trek to Langtang Valley and Kyang Ri was amazing. Our guide Dafuri Sherpa was very attentive and knowledgeable ensuring we had a great trek. Ngima arrange all our transportation and sightseeing guide. He responded quickly to any questions we had. I would definitely book with them again

Susan

My trip was amazing! Chhiring greeted me at the airport and we had tea on a rooftop with Chhewang. From there I started my short hiking trip and Chhiring was an amazing guide! I stayed in beautiful hotel selections thanks to their planning and they were both very helpful. I’m forever grateful to them for the amazing trip they planned and the beautiful spots and culture in Nepal they showed me! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

Our family and friend did the Gokyo Lakes region trek with Kim Kim. It was a fantastic but challenging trek for this guy coming off some knee and ankle sporting injuries. The trip was extremely well coordinated by Ngima and his team. Our guide, Angelu Sherpa, was very attentive and helped us stay safe, keep us on track logistically including through some steep, cold, snowy and icy trails while helping us get the best views and photos. The porters Kunga and Shiring Sherpa were part of team as well and very helpful our group. I give the Kim Kim Nepal team the highest recommendation and would recommend them without hesitation. One thing that I would encourage people to think about is that it can get very cold so layers and good sleeping bags and cold weather outerwear is essential and some sections of icy / snowy trail can benefit from micro-spikes. Sincerely, Chris Daniel

Angulu and our porters were superb. We absolutely loved every minute of our trip to Gokyo. The views of Everest and the other 8000s from Gokyo Ri and Rengo La were stunning. At one point we thought we were going to need to turn back due to snow, but the team kindly waited a day and helped us move quickly when the weather cleared. The tea houses were cold but comfortable, and everyone was very kind.

Activity Reviews

Acclimatization day, Climb Gokyo Ri (5357m)

Gokyo

Trek from Gokyo to Marlung (17,585 feet / 5360 m) via Renjo La Pass

Marlung

Having Ngima and his guides helped us tremendously in our expedition to Nepal. Ngima was very transparent and friendly and he made sure to connect us with wonderful guides and drivers as we flew and drove between Kathmandu and Pokhara for our trekking itinerary. He was flexible and provided multiple variations of plans which allowed us to create the trip that best suited our schedule and needs. I would highly recommend Ngima and the kimkim team for your next adventure!

The week-long journey into Lantang was one of our most memorable experiences. We are so glad to have worked with Kripa baini even before our journey began. She is an amazing planner, super responsive, and highly professional at what she does. Naresh dai, our guide, instilled in us, a sense of belonging in the mountains and a taste for mountaineering. And Dhiraj bhai, our porter, kept us entertained throughout the trek so much that 5-6 hours of walking went by like nothing. This is an incredible team to partner with. See you all again soon!

We had an amazing experience winter hiking the Himalayas for 2 weeks. From booking with Amanda and guiding by Tendu Sherpa, we were well looked after. The trek turned out to be an experience of a lifetime. We had to change our intended route mid-trek and the team executed it on the fly effortlessly. Thank you for the memories!

Absolutely incredible trip. Our guide, sherpa and porter were all awesome. We saw some spectacular sights and it was the trip of a lifetime.

Our trip was led by Tendu and Lhakpa - they were simply fabulous - amazing individuals and truly awesome guides!

This extraordinarily interesting trip was brilliantly planned and executed by the KimKim team - online and on the ground.

We had wonderful and informative guiding through Kathmandu, downtime, fantastic trekking to Pikey Peak with Geshab, Lhakpa and Ganesh who inspired and amazed us, and a fascinating visit to Bhaktapur.

KimKim’s communication was brilliant - even in the depths of the Himalayas. We felt supported and loved the local understanding of culture and region.

The accommodation was exactly as expected, and exceeded all expectation in Bhaktapur! We have recommended KimKim to all our friends, some of whom have already booked or are doing their KimKim trips!

Tendu Sherpa and our equally wonderful Kathmandu in-town guide were both terrific. Professional, kind, knowledgeable. And, importantly, fun.

Tendu Sherpa, for example, went above and beyond to care for our experience starting with our flight into Lukha and on our winter "off-season" trek to Ama Dablam basecamp. He gave us the gift of a glimpse into the beautiful Sherpa community and culture, including guiding us through a Sherpa museum with a family prayer room, sharing stories of his own family, and introducing us to extended family in Namche Bizar. In one beautiful and unexpected moment, our 12-year-old daughter had the chance to play and draw and laugh with 4-year-old girl, Ang Sherpa, and hear Ang Sherpa sing "Frozen".

We lucked out on the 6-day trek with blue skies and clear long views. We also got to visit schools, like the Hilary School, and monasteries.

Back in Kathmandu, we mountain biked and saw more OF the city and the local hills that we otherwise would have. In short, our trip was incredible. We felt safe, welcomed, supported and inspired throughout.

I was hesitant to book with an agency online and i was worried about who they would link us up with. I worried for NO reason! dealing with Kimkim to pay etc was easy and we had no issues.
Working with Sangita was WONDERFUL! Even before we paid she was going above and beyond to try and arrange things and help us feel secure in deciding to book with them. When we were not overly happy with one of the hotel suggestions and we wanted to suggest another trekking route she was straight on it to try and arrange a new plan.
We are a family of 4 with our girls being 15 and 16 years old.
Once we arrived in Nepal, Sangita was so helpful and kind. She made contact with us each step of the way. Each hotel and driver we had to deal with already knew about us and if they were late or needed to change the time she was calling them and then messaging us each step of the way.
We were greeted and welcomed to Nepal by Bipin and Kancha our trek guide on the first day which really helped set the tone for our whole trip.
Nepal is so different to anywhere we had travelled before and we wanted to soak up as much of it as we could so helping us that first day to get on the right foot was v welcome.
The drivers Sangita arranged were kind, respectful and safe.
The hotels were all clean, safe, great food and so welcoming.
Our whole experience with trekking was fantastic. Our guide Kancha was kind, understanding and informative. We made a new route half way thru our trip because it was more of what we wanted and it was perfect. Kancha made sure we were happy and coping each step of the way. Our daughter had a little medical incident straight away and he was as concerning as you would want when it comes to that sort of thing in a place you dont know. All was fine but I do feel if things were more serious we would have been in good hands.
Kancha brought 2 porters and i felt that both were treated with respect by our guide. Harka has the best laugh and he uses it often. Suma was probably bored with our pace as he normally runs the everest marathon in his off days. both were lovely and we felt all 3 made a truly wonderful asset to our trek.
if you want a lovely trek - do the muldai (mulde- take your pick of spelling ) trek via dobato vs poon hill... but you have to want off the beat track and much quieter tea houses - its not for the those that want luxuries along the way.
and if you want to laugh more than you have in ages then go rollerskating in pokhara...
for me i thought nepal was wonderful - my husband would agree, our 2 teenage daughters really loved their experience - i do honestly feel that all the support and personal interest that Sangita gave to us really helped with all those areas that often can be the stress in a holiday - and when you have 2 weeks and its all new. She was worth every single penny!

Hotel Reviews

Oasis Kathmandu Hotel

Kathmandu

staff could not do enough for us. we had a room with 2 double beds which suited our family v well. v clean and comfortable with heat or air con easily v noisy due to its locations but i feel thats likely most places in thamel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ramada Encore

Thamel

exactly what we needed - we wanted some place that was just like any western hotel we have stayed in before so those first 2 nights we could get our heads down and have a v good nights sleep. breakfast was good and the staff were so friendly we had food upstairs on the roof the first night. outstanding food!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Heritage Guest House & Restaurant

Bandipur

the owners were kind and helpful as we needed but since we were the only people staying they didnt seem very interested overall we had a great breakfast and the rooms were clean the view from either side of the hotel is amazing the hotel is a slight walk to the main area of a town -

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Peninsula

Pokhara

the owner and manager is such a joy so try and get to meet him. he pointed us in the direction of anything we had questions about. he smiles very easily and he made every effort to make sure we were happy. the place is really big and open with huge rooms electrics are questionable but it had hot water for showers they are in the middle of building a huge new additional building - could be a v different place??

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Parkside

Chitwan , Narayani

the hotel arranges for the jungle treks etc all thru them. they have their own guide Banta - he was so kind and it was obvious he loved the animal aspect of his job. he was outstanding at sighting animals. thankfully he didnt show us any tigers but we saw plenty of prints in the dirt. we saw lots of animals and he did his best to point out everythign around us. when our daughters were scared he adjusted what we did so they felt better. the hotel has elephant and you can go say hello at any time. they might use it for safaris but we didnt want that the food was really good and the masala tea was the best i had in nepal. the chap that helped us each day (i can not remember his name off hand) was so lovely and professional and laughed with us the owners chatted to us and even showed us his rhino injury!! the rooms are big and comfortable bathrooms are tired but all are clean with nets over the beds

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Bhaktapur Tour

Nagarkot

a MUST do- and take bipin with if you can!! the city is beautiful !!!! but having bipin with us was such a bonus we learned so much that day!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jungle Walk. Free time in Chitwan

Chitwan National Park

this is the canoe trip and the walkign tour - totally do the canoe trip its beautiful. the walking tour was so scary and yet also fantastic. i have no idea what you might see or not but it was really enjoyable and scary. our guides were lovely.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trek Briefing

Kathmandu

exactly what we needed to get us set up for our whole two weeks.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome Dinner

Kathmandu

food was fine but probably the poorest in quality compared to all we had in nepal ... the food overall is amazing so this was only ok. but the experience for Bipin to give us an introduction to the food and way of eating etc was educational. dancing was ok. we saw a better show in chitwan

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

we walked

Trip Briefing. Evening Tharu Cultural Program

Chitwan National Park

ok i wondered if this would be a bit naff... but it was 45 mins and it was really interesting and they were really fun to watch.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Jungle Activities in Chitwan

Chitwan National Park

this is the jeep safari - it felt safer than when we did the walk but you dont get to see as many animals i dont think its v cold in the jeep - in december i think its somethign you need to do but it was not as good as the walk - its better to do all options

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Depart Kathmandu

Kathmandu Int. Airport (KTM)

When we started to organize our trip until the very end was fantastic! Ngima organized our trip perfectly and when we met him we clicked immediately and became friends. He is really a great guy! Our guides for sightseeing Kathmandu and Pokhara were excellent, showing us every little detail and shared stories of both cities. Annapurna panorama trek was such unforgettable experience with beautiful sights and nature. We had great guide Angelo who took care of us as we are his family. Together with the best porter with the most beautiful smile ever! Acconodation and food during trek were amazing. We will surely come again and will give our faith in Ngimas hands again!

Activity Reviews

Trek from Landruk to Ghandruk (6,365 feet / 1,940 m)

Nepal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Kathmandu

Kathmandu Int. Airport (KTM)

Ngima waited for us and welcomed us! Felt really welcomed!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kathmandu Sightseeing tour to Boudhanath, Kathmandu Durbar Square and Pashupatinath

Kathmandu

Guide and driver fantastic! Talked a lot! Find some great stuff about Kathmandu and Nepal!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fly from Kathmandu to Pokhara, Drive to Astam.

Astam

Trek from Astam to Dhampus (1700m)

Dhampus

Eco lodge and their owners fantastic people! Food was exceptional!

Trek from Dhampus to Landruk (6,234 ft / 1900 m)

Dhampus

Trek from Ghandruk to Kimche, Drive to Pokhara

Ghandruk

Pokhara Sightseeing Tour

Pokhara

Fly from Pokhara to Kathmandu

Pokhara

My trip to Nepal through Kimkim was spectacular. I usually make all of my own arrangements as it can be difficult to find companies who cater to solo travelers, so finding this company was exciting. From my start with Erin being so patient helping me form the perfect itinerary, to Krishna helping me while I was in Nepal, my trip was seamless. I’m already looking to book my next trip with them! 5/5 stars for kimkim!

Sangita was fantastic in helping us organise our 2 week stay in Nepal and all the travel in between places. She was very responsive and ensured everything went smoothly, checking in on us daily once we arrived. Likewise Bipin who welcomed us in Katmandu was very knowledgable and made sure we settled in comfortably.
Highlights include our 5 day poon hill trek, the hilltop town of Bandipur as well as safari in Bardiya National park.

Our holiday was memorable! Everything was perfect and we highly recommend travelling with kimkim.
Kripa was very patient in answering our many questions and was fantastic in organising the two weeks.
We did the 9-day trek to Ama Dablam base camp and visited Kathmandu and Bhaktapur.
The trek was fabulous. Our guide Suman was very helpful, punctual, friendly and always cheerful.
In addition, all the transport organised by kimkim was on time and the people we met were very friendly and helpful.

Thank you kimkim for this fabulous holiday and for letting us discover a part of Nepal!

Simply amazing. Awesome flexibility on planning before departed. Amazing guides. Logistics went like clockwork, even when we decided to change plans on a day. Instant responses from Amanda to any question - hate we time of day! Could not recommend this trip highly enough to anyone. Best tour ever….