How to contract a trek or trip with us?
When you contact us, we will send you the information about the itinerary or itineraries you have requested.
If you are happy with it as it is, we will move forward.
If you want some variation, we will build it together until we find the itinerary and the way of travelling that truly suits you.
We can contact one group member or the whole group together, no problem.
When you are clear about what you want and that you will travel with us, we will need a series of documents and information.
Passport
The first thing we will need is a copy of your passport. It doesn’t need to be a scanner, it can be a photo, but your passport photo and number must be clear enough, as we usually take these photos for the trek permits. If it’s not good enough, we will need a separate passport photo.
It sounds silly, but make sure it is the passport you will be using on your trip. Remember that its expiry date should be no earlier than six months from your entry into Nepal.
Check out the information on the website about the entry procedure https://planhimalaya.com/category/travel-information/
Hotel rooms
If your trip includes accommodation in Kathmandu, Pokhara, etc. we will need to know the type of rooms you want and who is going to overnight in each. That is, who sleeps in double or single rooms and whether the doubles are twins or KS (single double bed).
Some accommodation has a triple room or can include an extra bed. If you are really interested in this option, please contact us.
Personal Information Form
We will send you a pdf form in which you have to fill in your details for the trip:
- The contact information. Basically, your email and also Whatsapp if you have it, as it is very useful to contact you during the trip. Postal address and VAT number are not necessary if you don’t need an official invoice.
- On the other hand, we ask for contact details of a family member, friend or person you would like us to contact in the (more than unlikely) case that something happens during the trip. Naturally, this cannot be anyone in the group travelling with you.
- For most of the big treks, we ask for insurance that includes helicopter rescue in case of an accident in the mountains during the trek. We will give you more details about this later on.
- If you are not trekking, but you have travel insurance, you can also send it to us, as it makes our work easier if necessary, and we can deal with the formalities more quickly.
- And finally, we will need to know if you have any medical problems or allergies, as well as if there is any food that you cannot eat because you do not like it or because you have any dietary restrictions for any reason (although in general, it is you who choose your food).
Confirmed reservation
Once the programme is correct (don’t worry, there is always time to change things), we will send you the corresponding invoice with the determined amount of the first advanced payment and the bank details in Nepal to make the payment. Normally, you pay 40% in advance by bank transfer and the rest in cash once you arrive in Kathmandu, but we are flexible.
Once the payment is received, the trip is considered contracted.
Please read the terms and conditions and cancellation policy on our website. https://planhimalaya.com/contract-conditions/
Mountain rescue insurance for trekking in the Himalayas
If you come trekking to Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan or Tibet with us, we will ask you to get an insurance that includes helicopter rescue up to an altitude of 5500m, which covers the vast majority of treks. There are some minor treks for which we do not ask for this insurance.
Why do we ask for it?
In general, trekking in the Himalayas is no riskier than trekking in the high mountains in your area and our mountain guides will ensure your safety. However, there is no such thing as zero risk and a bad ankle sprain can seriously make it impossible for you to continue. You will normally be quite far from any vehicle roads, which means that, if a serious problem arises, helicopter evacuation may be necessary. Helicopters will not leave without proof of payment of the rescue fee, either through insurance or pre-payment by you, which will be difficult. Helicopter rescue can cost up to $9000.
You have two basic options: Travel insurance with a trekking extension or the Mountain Federation insurance in your country.
Travel information
It is important that you take a look at the information, notes and travel tips that we have made especially for you. You will find answers to many of the questions you have in your head right now, such as visa, money, equipment, clothes, etc.
We uploaded it online so that you can read it on the metro, in the park, in a café or on top of a mountain. https://planhimalaya.com/category/travel-information/
If you prefer it on paper, ask us for it and we will send you the pdf.
Before you leave
When it’s only a few days away from your trip, we will send you:
- The invoice – just for information purposes – of what remains to be paid in cash in Kathmandu, and so you will already have it in mind.
Our contact details in different formats: - A pdf where you will find the contact details with a copy of our business cards that you can cut out and also, much easier, the QR codes that you can scan directly from the screen to have the contact details on your mobile.
- Vcard files for Google and IOS if you want to import them.
- We will also pass you a series of Google maps geo-locations, in case you are interested in having some (as we can’t be everywhere every year, if you see that there is an error or that some place doesn’t exist anymore we will be grateful if you tell us. In the same way, if you go to any place that you particularly like, we can also include it in the list and so we can complete and improve it together).
- If you don’t want to do the VISA process online or if you have problems doing it, we can also send you a form that you can print out and fill in by hand, attach a photo and present it to immigration once you arrive in Nepal.
And as you already know, don’t hesitate to ask us any questions you may have or request any information you may need. We are here for that.
Thank you
