For 11 years it had been a dream to go to the Upper Mustang region. Keshav - Thank you for making it happen! I will recommend Advanced Adventures to friends looking to trek in Nepal. There are a number of things I want to highlight:
- The service you provided whilst arranging the trek with me from the UK was professional and organised. I had lots of questions over the course of a few months, and you answered all of them quickly and we'll, which gave me confidence in the adventure we had planned.
- As the guide, Lakpa was great. He was friendly, and in particular he was thoughtful about what I might need on a daily basis, and paid attention to what I liked. For example, a real highlight was trying the local raksi (rice wine) at the lodges, and being invited into the kitchens of the lodges, to see how the food was prepared and chat with other guides/porters. Lakpa hadn't been on the Upper Mustang Region trek for a few years due to the global COVID lockdowns significantly impacting the tourist trade - however this didn't matter, because at every step he would speak to local villagers, other guides, and lodge owners to find out tips and latest news for the route, and to get recommendations about which lodges to stay in for the following night. He even telephoned around to local people to find the keys to various temples/monasteries, which was fantastic for gaining us access to local sights. There were a number of times where we deviated from the itinerary, and he managed this well. On one occasion he learned of a better (alternative) route for 2 days of the trek, that he proposed, we discussed, and then agreed. This helped us stay away from the dirt road for 2 days, and get higher up into the mountains to enjoy the landscape and views (my primary focus). On another occasion I wanted to change the itinerary to visit an area that I had read about (and that he had not been to), and he spent time to discuss with local people and other guides to find the best way to explore that new area - which we did the next day! I was very pleased to have been able to explore the area I had heard about!
- As the porter, Mingmar was great - he was friendly and thoughtful, helping where he could, and sharing jokes and laughs. I was so glad not to have carried all of my equipment every day - this meant that I could focus on enjoying the landscape and sights.
- Lakpa and Mingmar brought fresh fruit for the evenings, to have after dinner. This was a lovely thought and added some good variety into the meals - so that we could choose fresh fruit some days.
I look forward to more adventures in the future!
