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United States visitors to our site
All our prices are now given in GB pounds or US dollars (for Peru).
UK flights
The prices shown on the Dates & Prices page no longer include the cost of flights from UK to the expedition area. In future for anyone requiring UK flights, the flights will be separately invoiced at the cost to us from our flight suppliers, Atlantic and Pacific Travel, London. This will make it more reliable for ourselves with the present uncertainty of flight pricing and simpler for those of our clients who wish to organise their own flights.
Nepal
The country is now more stable than it has been for some years since the peace agreement was signed in November. Our local agents report that there is still the possibility of strikes being held, but these usually are no more than an inconvenience to tourists. Designated tourist vehicles are allowed to continue running so travelling by road is still possible. The Maoists are now part of the Eight Party Alliance and so are responsible for helping with the solution of any problems. We have never stopped our operations in Nepal during the troubles and I have been there myself at least twice a year since 1995 and have never had any problems.
Our programme continues similar to previously with two new additions. The Annapurna Circuit is becoming somewhat unpleasant in places as two “motorable” roads are being constructed in the Marsyangdi and Kali Gandaki valleys. In particular, on our recent visit, three days walking below Jomsom after the crossing of the Thorung Pass took us through major excavations being carried out manually by hundreds of labourers. We are still happy to continue with the traditional circuit because lower down most people enjoy the trip up Poon Hill to see the sunrise on Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and Machhapuchhare. However, we are also offering an alternative extension earlier in the trek before the crossing of the pass. This will take us into a small region which has only recently been opened to visitors: Nar-Phu. Nar and Phu are two small villages to the north of the trail between Pisang and Manali, and the region is completely untouched by tourism. There are no tea houses so for the five days or so which are required to do the extension we will have to camp. Our programme starts the same as the Circuit at Besi Sahar and we leave the main trail on the fifth day at Chame. The extension takes five days, and on the fifth day we cross a 5300m pass before descending to Manang. After a rest day or two there we continue on the Circuit to cross the Thorung pass to Muktinath in the usual way. Then, those who have less time available can fly back to Pokhara and Kathmandu from Jomsom whilst those with more time can continue down the Kali
Gandaki valley.
The second addition to the programme is the trek we are calling “The Home of the Gurkhas”. This trek starts at Gorkha, the start of the Manaslu Circuit but stays lower with a maximum altitude of 4700m at the Rupina Pass. Gorkha town is the site of the palace of King Prithvi Narayan Shah, the 18th century founder of modern Nepal. His army was drawn from this region and the soldiers took the name of the town. British Gurkhas still mainly come from this region. This trek also passes through a region still undeveloped and so again camping is the order of the day.
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South America
The Peru programme is now much more extensive than before - see the Dates and Prices page for details.
Kazakhstan
The visit to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan last August showed that the region has plenty of potential. The highest mountains are over 7,000m and the countryside is spectacular. Activities include: trekking; climbing; mountain biking; heli-skiing; horse riding;desert safaris; angling for the mighty catfish. Please contact us to discuss bespoke trips.
Schools
We decided to avoid the approach that some companies use of offering a complicated programme of activities over a long period of time prior to leaving for country of the expedition. These supposedly build up the ability of the students to cope with a demanding expedition but add greatly to the overall cost. We prefer to believe that the students will gain all the experience they need on the expedition itself (that being the objective). On our school expeditions we organise all transport, food and accommodation so we know beforehand that the basic needs will be met. The students are then expected to run the expedition on a day to day basis with each student being given the chance to act as leader for a day. In this way, we are able to offer school expeditions at about two thirds the price that other companies are asking. Safety is guaranteed by the provision of a very experienced White Peak leader, GPS, two-way radios and a satellite phone for emergency use. As with all our trips we make a video film of the expedition and every participant receives a free copy of the film afterwards.
We welcome enquiries from any teachers who think that their school would benefit from this sort of experience. We will visit your school to discuss your requirements and on a subsequent visit will give a presentation to students, parents and teachers to show what can be done. If you wish to visit a country with which we are not familiar we will usually carry out a research trip beforehand to set up the expedition.
Leaders
We do not need any more part-time leaders at present so please do not send us any more CVs.
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