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80 messages

Richard Ball

Hi there,
I live in Nepal and organise trail running events there. Trail running is a new sport in Nepal, and alongside bringing people from all over the world to enjoy the trails there, I am trying to encourage a new community of trail runners and help talented runners race overseas. You can find out more about running in Nepal here: http://trailrunningnepal.org/ One race I organise goes around Manaslu, and through organising this race with co-organiser, I've gotten to know the place very well. I set up manaslucircuittrek.com to help provide people with information about the tea-house trekking options there and this has somewhat popularised it.

What places and activities do you specialize in?

"As mentioned above, I specialise in running & fastpacking, which corresponds to trekking quite easily, all across Nepal. "

How did you get involved in travel?

"Spending time in Kathmandu easily lent itself to travel, which in turn lent itself to creating adventures for others. "

Please share a unique travel experience you will never forget.

"We all have plenty of adventures, but the experience doesn't always come across in the telling. What I like about Nepal is that there are plenty of unexpected, chance encounters that are super memorable, such as stumbling upon a riotous wedding ceremony in the mountains, an unexpected , colourful festival in a remote monastery, or just the pleasure of dining in a family home. "

Richard is part of the following groups: Nepal Travel Agents
Top itineraries and travel advice
Manaslu Circuit Trek: The Ultimate Off-The-Beaten-Path Trek in Nepal - 18 Days
The Manaslu Circuit Trek features everything you'd want from a classic trek in Nepal: Epic scenery, intimate encounters with local people and their ancient culture, and a...

Recent trip reviews for Richard

Manaslu Circuit Trek
Nepal | Mar 23 - Apr 6, 2016

L
Louis f.
San Francisco, CA | Reviewed on Apr 18, 2016

Overall the trip was very good. The trek was great, the choice of towns to stay, and the overall experience was very good.

The only thing I can think that could be improved was the handoff from kimkim to the agency doing the trek (i.e. magical nepal with the guide). It wasn't entirely clear to me who was responsible for what at first. But honestly this is a small thing, as I said overall things were great.

Local specialist: Richard Ball
Birendra tal after some ice fell into the lake | Photo taken by Louis f
Louis, prakash, and krishna (guide and porter) in front of manaslu from the village of loh | Photo taken by Louis f
Descending to bhimtang | Photo taken by Louis f
The village of goh | Photo taken by Louis f
Sunrise as we ascended the pass from Daramshala | Photo taken by Louis f
Alex
Alex B.
| Replied on May 03, 2016

Hi Louis, thanks for your review! Agree, the handoff could be a bit better explained, and we're working on making this more clear. Glad to hear you had a great trip, overall.

Manaslu Circuit Trek
Nepal | Mar 14 - Apr 2, 2016

K
Karyn A.
India | Reviewed on Apr 09, 2016
Some confusion between Kim kim, ManasIu Circuit trek and Magical Nepal and who I was actually dealing with - need to be made as a clear distinction which agency is doing what. Also I didn't receive any it in art etc until I asked as Magical Nepal assumed Kim kim had given it to me I'm not sure what exactly Richard does. Alex was awesome bit Richard seemed to only be a connection between Alex and Pradeep . Also l spent a week waiting to see if he could match my dates with other hikers. At... Read more

Some confusion between Kim kim, ManasIu Circuit trek and Magical Nepal and who I was actually dealing with - need to be made as a clear distinction which agency is doing what. Also I didn't receive any it in art etc until I asked as Magical Nepal assumed Kim kim had given it to me

I'm not sure what exactly Richard does. Alex was awesome bit Richard seemed to only be a connection between Alex and Pradeep . Also l spent a week waiting to see if he could match my dates with other hikers. At the end of the week I emailed to see what was happening and the reply was like "oh you wanted us to keep looking" - a bit frustrated with the service. Cannot speak more highly of Alex who was available at any time of the day and tried his best to sort out my issues

Local specialist: Richard Ball
Manaslu Trek March 2016 | Photo taken by Karyn A
Manaslu Trek March 2016 | Photo taken by Karyn A
Larkya La pass crossing March 2016 | Photo taken by Karyn A
Manaslu Trek March 2016 | Photo taken by Karyn A
Manaslu Trek March 2016 | Photo taken by Karyn A
Manaslu Trek March 2016 | Photo taken by Karyn A
Manaslu Trek March 2016 | Photo taken by Karyn A
Manaslu Trek March 2016 | Photo taken by Karyn A
Manaslu Trek March 2016 | Photo taken by Karyn A
Manaslu Trek March 2016 | Photo taken by Karyn A
Manaslu Trek March 2016 | Photo taken by Karyn A
Alex
Alex B.
| Replied on May 03, 2016

Hi Karyn, sorry for the minor issues we had during the planning process and that you had to wait for some information. Rest assured, we realize how important this is to receive timely responses, and have improved this since your trip. Glad you had a good trip around Manaslu, and thanks for sharing the photos!