I happily recommend Rajan at Earthbound Expeditions.

I was hurridly organising a tour to Nepal, from Australia. Rajan was always very prompt and detailed with his email communication, which immediately made him stand out from other tour agencies who I was considering. He accommodated my last minute variations and tailored the trip exactly to my time constraints and interests.

My biggest concern was that I would turn up to find I had been scammed. But everything lived up to, or exceeded my expectations. The hotel he had arranged for me in Kathmandu was fantastic. Almost too good - I felt like I wasn't experiencing the true Kathmandu, by staying at something so nice! But it was a comfortable way to get introduced to the environment before the challenges of treking to Everest, so was perfect for me.

When I finished the Everest trek ahead of schedule and returned to Kathmandu 2 days early, Rajan immediately came to meet me and altered the itinerary accordingly, fitting in extra activities.

While I expect you can shop around and find some things cheeper, my main priority was for everything to run smoothly and for plans to be flexible. Earthbound Expeditions (ie. Rajan) was fantastic for me - no surprises at all. Considering everything, I am happy with the value for money I received.

The guides organised through Rajan had good enough English to provide a good service. ie. they had strong accents but they understood everything you asked. While treking, I encountered some guides who had better English, but I saw some that were much worse. Most importantly, they were as friendly and flexible as Rajan, which was very helpful.

Great to read the posts here about Earthbound Expeditions. We hope to join you when you return back to Nepal... :)

My family and I took the Everest-Taj Mahal Tour with Earthbound Expeditions - December 2008.. In Nepal, what we enjoyed most were: the mountain flight over Everest / Himalayas and our visit to mountain towns of Nagarkot and Dhulikhel, not to mention the Nepalis themselves.

From Nagarkot, we had about a 15 km hike to Baneppa and from there rode public buses to the mountain resort of Dhulikhel. The hike was memorable because we had the opportunity to interact with the villagers and children. We saw scenic views: waterfalls, rice terraces, farms, hills, and mountains - so different from the chaos of Thamel/Kathmandu. By riding the public buses, we were able to be up close and personal with the local people. We had tea with a family while waiting for the rain to stop and for the bus. In Dhulikhel, we had a good view of the Himalayas right from our breakfast table while being served freshly cooked omelettes.

We hope to return to Nepal and go to Pokhara and Annapurnas. Again, with Earthbound Expeditions who gave us a very professional and personalized service. Rajan (president) did a good job of planning and coordinating our trip. He customized a tour for the three of us. He responded promptly to my every email or inquiry. Throughout our stay, he monitored or coordinated our daily activities.

Rajan also deployed the best staff to take care of us: G.P., our skilled, careful, and caring driver; Salik, our tour guide for the Kathmandu sites, who gave an in-depth and insightful lecture on the temples and on Hinduism/Buddhism; and Shree, our guide in Nagarkot and Dhulikhel, who was resourceful, reliable, and went beyond the call of duty. He even found the best-tasting radish and soy beans for us to eat while we hiked. Thank you, guys! You are great and we miss you.

I think the best asset of Nepal is its people. As a people, the Nepalis are gentle, warm, and friendly.

In India, we did the Golden Triangle of Jaipur, Agra, and Delhi. The Taj Mahal lived up to our expectations – despite the day starting out foggy which can affect your view of the Taj. We were very comfortable in the Holiday Inn in Agra and Jaipur. They offered complimentary bottled water in the rooms – nice touch. Clark International Hotel in Delhi was interesting because it was located right in the middle of the action, close to everything. We had a good driver in Jaspal and a competent tour guide in Gaurav.

By the way, there were power outages in Nepal when we were there. So, while the hotels could run on back-up power generators, it was not enough power to run the heaters, if any. So, be ready to layer and bundle up if you come during the winter. In Dhulikhel, we were given hot water bottles to keep warm in bed – that worked! All part of the cultural experience.

Tip to travelers – never expect your destination to be like home. If you do, then better stay home. Open mind, open heart!

B,C, & G Gonzales, San Diego, US.

We have nothing but the highest praise for Rajan Simkhada and his staff at Earthbound Expeditions. My wife and I spent almost six weeks in Nepal in late September, October and early November 2008. Our visit was centered around a 21-day trek on the Annapurna Circuit but also included time in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Bhaktapur & Nagarkot. Rajan arranged for everything (initially through very responsive email correspondence), made all the reservations, picked us up and dropped us off at the airport, shuttled us to every destination, provided us with a fantastic guide and porter for the trek, invited us to his home for the festival of Tihar, and generally made sure Nepal was one of the most memorable and enjoyable of our traveling experiences (and we have had quite a few). When complications (like a delayed departure from the US) required a last-minute change in scheduling or when we decided to alter some of our plans during the visit, Rajan dealt with the changes without hesitation so that the trip continued seamlessly. The trek itself was definitely the highlight of the visit and our guide (Sudip Baral) and porter (Gopal Tamang) were probably the most knowledgeable and experienced locals on the trail. Other guides and trekkers would come to us for advice and trekking logistics. Sudip and Gopal became (and remain via email) fast friends. When we had spare time in Kathmandu, Rajan arranged for another guide and transportation to local points of interest like Patan, Pashupatinath and Bodhnath that we might not have otherwise seen (or even known about). On our last night, Rajan hosted us at a local Nepalese restaurant with typical food, singing and dancing for a festive farewell.

We learned about Rajan through a friend in the US who had done the Annapurna Circuit with him a few years ago. She had the same kind of glowing recommendations about him that I am now passing along. We are all particularly pleased that our tourist dollars (which were very much on the low end of the range, especially for the services rendered) stayed in Nepal. We are already planning a return visit and fully intend to organize it through Rajan and Earthbound Expeditions. You can't go wrong doing the same thing for your visit!

Michael Zander
Sebastopol, California, USA

Having made the decision to spend my holiday in Nepal this year i set about looking for the perfect company to go with - and i certainly found that in the form of Rajan and Earthbound Expeditions.

I explained to Rajan that i wanted a bit of everything - Himalaya, Elephants and 'city culture' and thats exactly what i got.

The trek was fantastic and my porter and guide were great. They encouraged me when i thought i couldn't walk anymore, ensured that i went uphill 'slowly' so as not to burn out and watched out for me the whole time. The nature, views and people are incredible and i will definitely be coming back for more trekking with EE.

Chitwan was also fantastic and this part of the tour was again organised by EE. I swam with elephants which was a truly awesome experience.

The accommodation in Kathmandu was also very nice and Rajan can organise for you to stay in whichever area of the city you like. As i was there during Diwali it was a bit manic and part of my trip had to be rearranged but they did this without any hassle. I was also invited to spend the brother/sister ceremony with Rajan's family which was a truly memorable experience and i felt honoured to be invited.

All in all it was the most amazing time and Nepal is definitely somewhere everyone should visit. I will certainly be going back and hope that Rajan and everyone else at Earthbound Expeditions will help me with the details....!!