First, the owner Chhatra has been very responsive and knowledgable in answering my questions and arranging my booking. He was a guide before and therefore he knows the mountain very well which makes him a perfect person to talk to if you have any doubts in your mind.

Second, my guide Keshab and Dhana are wonderful. They literally made this trip a hassle free for me. Keshab is very experienced in taking care of a group and caring towards everyone’s condition. He is an amazing guide and we all like him a lot. Dhana is my guide and he has one of the most caring and sweet personalities I have ever seen. He would carry my backpack and encourage me to keep going whenever I feel exhausted in the mountain. I wouldn’t be able to complete the trek without Keshab and Dhana. The supporting guide Dulip and our porters are all fantastic as well.

Last but no least, the company takes care of everything. They prepare fruit every night (so far we are the only group who get fresh fruit at the base camp), measure our blood oxygen level, help us change our flights in Lukla, etc. Everyone of them are super helpful and wants you to have a wonderful memory. They respect the mountain and the environment. I will have no doubts in recommending Nepal Eco Adventure to anyone who wants to go on a trek in Nepal.

We had the most incredible journey with Nepal Eco. Before starting the trip we knew we wanted to trek with a group of people, to meet more travellers and make new friends. Though as fewer people choose to do the Gokyo/ Cho-la part of the trek, this proved difficult to find. After emailing multiple companies, Chhatra promptly came up with the best option for us, we joined a group of 11 others up to EBC then split off with a private guide to cross the Cho-la and climb Gokyo Ri. This meant we got the best of both worlds, we trekked with a group for the majority of the trip but also had the luxury of a private guide to take extra care of us and stick to our own pace.

So, we were privileged to trek alongside 4 of Nepal Eco’s best guides Keshab, Bimal, Lakpa and Ram. Keshab was phenomenal, he always had my back, he stayed at the back of the group to support whoever was slower (often being me), and when I got symptoms of altitude sickness, he knew all the right things to do. He tailored the experience by balancing both the groups & the individuals specific needs to make sure we all made it to EBC, and we all did! His company along the trek was invaluable, a very personable guide/ friend and also hilarious – when I wasn’t struggling for breath I was laughing my head off. Bimal, our private guide, was very attentive to our needs, always making sure we had an extra blanket, were well fed and warm and taught us so much about the land and culture. Lakpa’s laugh was infectious and he brought so much positive energy and support to the group. Ram wasn’t even our guide, he was trekking with a private tour alongside us, yet he still constantly engaged and supported us along the way. We had the best chats and laughs with all our guides. They were all extremely knowledgeable and their primary focus was our health and wellness – as Bimal would always say “if we were okay, then he was okay”.
And of course we couldn’t have done it all without our porter Bhala, everyday having our bags clean and ready for us before we got to the tea houses.

From Australia, we had plenty of options to go with Intrepid/ World Expeditions/ Gadventures or other Niche companies. We chose Nepal Eco for multiple reasons:

1) The Australian companies didn’t offer the Anti-clockwise route: EBC –> Cho la –> Gokyo, (only the clockwise route) and from our research we had learnt that Anti-clockwise is the much smarter route to take for adjusting to altitude.
2) We wanted our money to go towards the Nepal economy, rather than profits going to Australian companies.
3) Their reviews were great and were the highest rated Nepalese company.
4) Their overall tour cost was cheaper.
5) They included all meals, accommodation and extra gear (USE THEIR GEAR – it’s so warm) AND still managed to be cheaper than Oz companies. (Do take into account their tipping expectations, especially if doing a private tour. It’s definitely a well-deserved tip but can come as a surprisingly high extra cost to your trip).
6) They carried an Oxymeter to constantly measure our oxygen levels and see how well we were dealing with the high altitude.

After completing the trek, we definitely made the right choice and are so grateful we decided to go with them. Anti-clockwise definitely proved to be the better route to take, especially when crossing the Cho-La Pass. We had the most experienced, attentive, generous and thoughtful guides who made this a trip of a lifetime. Thank you to everyone at Nepal Eco, I hope to trek with you again!

MY EXTRA TREKKING TIPS:
– Buy a solar power charger for phone/camera (our battery pack died in the cold, even in sleeping bag)
– Buy a camel back for water, it’s so worth it! (Though bring a bottle also for when water freezes in cold temperatures)
– Use a sunglasses chain
– Use sun and wind protection. Sun and wind give you headaches on trek, use preventative measures.
– Buy good trekking shoes, wear them in beforehand (bring blister protection also)
– Take Diamox when you START to feel effects of altitude, not beforehand. OR take half the dose from before starting the trek and then when you start to feel the effects take the full dose. If you are already taking full amount of Diamox, and then you still get symptoms up high alt – you have nothing else to help your symptoms.
– Bring cards and a book, you will have spare time.
– Layer your clothing – merino wool thermals are better than synthetic for smell and breathability.
– Bring antibacterial wipes to wash self and any personal medications/ supplements,
– Bring Voltaren/ deep heat for any muscle/ knee pain.
– Check your iron levels well before trek and supplement if necessary.
– Do some training in high altitude chambers if you have access to these.
– Buy a sim card in Kathmandu for data (super easy and cheap), though it will probably only work for about 6 or 7 of the 15 days, so you will still have to pay for WIFI on trek.
– DRINK LOTS OF WATER.

With us was a friendly and capable team: head guide Keshab, assistant guide Ram and porters Delip, Kamal and Arjun. Keshab is excellent – even as he bantered with us along the way, he would also be attentive and observant. Throughout our journey, it was clear his no. 1 priority was safety, and this is something that gives us confidence and made a tough trek enjoyable.

Importantly, Keshab’s local knowledge… his strong relationship with lodge owners, his experience of the route (how we should pace ourselves so that we reach EBC at the best possible hour, for example), advice on diets (why meat is discouraged, etc)… is invaluable. On our return trek to Lukla, he made adjustments to our two night stops because of the weather forecast, ensuring we would have the best possible chance of getting on a plane back to Kathmandu. With him in charge, we had as close to a guaranteed itinerary as we could get in the mountains.

I really appreciate the team’s efforts and would highly recommend Nepal Eco Adventure – if possible, with Keshab as your guide.

We chose to stay at the Yak and Yeti in Kathmandu. Besides having a brilliant name, it is also a comfortable 4-star hotel with a pool and big gardens. Some of us also managed to fit in an in-house massage on our last day in Kathmandu after the trek! The hotel is in a quiet area despite being walking distance from the hustle and bustle of Thammel.

The 16-day trek wouldn’t have been so successful and so much fun without the expertise of our head guide Keshab and the toils of the rest of the team, Ram (assistant guide), Dilip (porter), Kamal (porter) and Arjun (porter). Being among some of world’s tallest mountains is an incredible experience in itself, but what made this trip truly remarkable was how the 6 trekkers, 2 guides and 3 porters came together as a team. We helped each other along the way (everyone’s health and safety was priority), we bantered, and celebrated every successful ascend/crossing over rounds of Pringles!

Keshab, with his many years of experience in guiding, was extremely observant to our needs, physical and mental condition. We trekked at a good pace, and he prepared us in advance whenever we had to push at a quicker pace (e.g getting into EBC before other teams, so we easily got good photos without other trekkers in the background!). He adjusted our itinerary to ensure that we maximized our chances of getting good views and early flights! Keshab also was able to engage each of us in different topics according to what we showed interest in.

All-in-all the trip was a massive success and we wouldn’t have had this trip done any other way!

The booking was easy and Chhatra promptly provided answers to all my queries.Walking poles, a warm down jacket and a warm sleeping bag were provided for the trek by the company and turned out to be very reliable. The trek itself was really well organised, porters always did a great job and went ahead of the group to book the accommodation.Our guides, Arun and Basu, spoke excellent English, were very knowledgeable and great characters all round. They were always helpful and accommodated all the needs of the group (slower/faster walking, photos, breaks, etc.). We stayed in the best possible teahouses with no major issues.
Our group happened to be grounded in Lukla on the last day and Chhatra and the guides did a great job to get us on the flight the next day, even though there were loads of other stranded tourists.

Overall the experience made me want to come back to Nepal and do another trek in future, likely with Nepal Eco Adventure!