Ganesh Himal Mountain Biking – 7 Days

This year for my birthday I wanted to go to Kathmandu to help children with disabilities and without parents. It’s become somewhat of a yearly tradition for me to help such children – it is my gift to myself, but not knowing anyone in Nepal I did a bit of research and eventually found Earthbound Expeditions headed up by the extremely intelligent, warm, and dynamic Rajan Simkhada. I was extremely impressed by how quickly he responded to my messages at all times of day and even more so when I found out how busy he was with civic and community projects aimed at improving life for the Nepali people and giving back. Their Ganesh Himal Charity trip was a wonderful idea but like so many people today with very little time I did not have the amount of time necessary to do take this tour. I explained to Rajan my situation and what I wanted to do and he custom made an itinerary to accommodate my wishes. I was sincerely impressed with his staff such as Shreeram Adhikari who outside of trekking up to the earth’s highest point was assisting in the civic and community projects to aid Nepalese people. Rajan and Shree along with the rest of their staff did everything possible to make my trip to Nepal my favorite one to date. I accomplished all I set out to do and more. In a country with more spirit and kindness than money or infrastructure this is a HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT! I would HIGHLY Recommend Earthbound Expeditions to ANYONE seeking to visit the beautiful country of Nepal, India, Bhutan, or any other area they service. Best Regards, Alex Kruz

During December 2016 / January 2017, my mother and I did an incredible camping trek: the Ganesh Himal Charity Trek, booked with Earthbound Expeditions in Kathmandu. This was our second trek with booked with the company, after the very good experiences we had the first time.

The trek through the Ganesh Himal area is something I highly recommend doing due to its adventurous character and the camping on high altitudes. We passed through villages only on the first and last day of the trek, camping close to the homes of locals who do as much as possible to deliver you a memorable stay. We never encountered more hospitable people than the Nepalese. However, camping in nature, at high altitudes with incredible views of the Himalayan peaks was absolutely an unforgettable experience. The nights were so cold that the tents were frozen from the outside when we woke up in the morning. This was no problem because hot tea and hot water for washing were immediately served after waking up. Do not think that this will be your only cup of tea for the day or that you will have to survive on simple breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food was really of high quality, better than we are used to at home. Cook Kadji was doing the best he could to serve us delicious and varied food during the trek.

All the food, cooking utensils and camping equipment (with a toilet / shower tent included) was carried by the porters, who are as well responsible for our wonderful time in the mountains. It took time to get used to 7 porters carrying all the heavy stuff for you. Especially because we are used to carrying our own stuff as lightweight as possible. Then again, it is a charity trekking and this way they earn some money for them and their families. It was also nice to have some company to talk to and they were amazing at building fires when the sun set and the temperatures dropped rapidly.
The highlights of the trek were Sing-La Pass and Sing-La Top. From here we had amazing views on the Annapurna massif, Manaslu, Ganesh Himal and Langtang Lirung. Where we had to share the view with hundreds of other travelers on Poon Hill, we were the only ones on Sing-La Top.

Our trek ended in the beautiful and tranquil village Darkha, in the Dhading District, where we stayed for three more nights in the homestay of our guide and friend Gopal. This was a warm and happy reunion of me and my Nepalese family with whom I got so close in less than two weeks in April / May 2015.