Booking local

Why Us?

When you book a Nepal trek with a large international company, your money travels a long way before it reaches Nepal: through a head office in Melbourne or London, a regional agent, and then on to the guides and porters on the ground. MountainKick cuts that chain.

We are not the agent for the ground team. We are the ground team.

What that means for you

01

Your money stays in Nepal

Locally owned and run, with no international parent company and no profit leaving the country. What you pay goes to Nepali guides, porters, teahouse owners and local communities. With a large operator you pay for their marketing as well as your trek. With us, you pay for your trek.
02

You deal directly with the people running your trip

When you contact MountainKick you reach the team in Kathmandu: the people who plan your trip, brief you before you start, and pick up the phone if anything goes wrong on the trail. There is no overseas call centre in between.
03

Itineraries built by guides who have walked the routes

Kumar Thapa Magar, our co-founder and lead guide, has led groups across the Everest, Annapurna, Manaslu, Langtang and Tsum Valley regions for over twenty years. When we say the acclimatisation plan on our EBC trek works, it is because we have seen what happens when it does not.
04

Group dates that always run, or your own private trip

Our group departures have no minimum. Every listed date runs, even with one person, and groups are capped at 8. Or run any trip privately on your own dates, at your pace. Need an extra acclimatisation day? You take it.
05

Licensed, local guides on every trip

All our guides hold government-issued NTB licences. They speak English, know the routes in every season, and carry first aid kits and pulse oximeters. They can stop or turn back if your health needs it, and they do.
06

Porters are looked after

One porter carries for two trekkers, with a maximum load of 30 kg. Our porters are insured, paid fairly and properly equipped. They are part of the team, not day labourers hired at the trailhead.

How we compare

	MountainKick	Large international operator
Ownership	Locally owned, Kathmandu	International head office
Where the profit goes	Stays in Nepal	Leaves Nepal
Who you talk to	The Kathmandu team, directly	Overseas customer service
Departures	Group dates that always run, or private on any date	Fixed group schedule
Flexibility	Private trips can change on the trail	Limited by the group itinerary
Guides	Nepali, NTB licensed	Nepali, NTB licensed
Everest Base Camp (14 days)	From $1,160	From $1,700 to $4,500+

Yes, the guides row is the same. Your guide will be Nepali either way. The difference is everything around them.

The bottom line

Same mountain, different trip

The mountain will be the same mountain. What changes when you book local is where the money goes, who you are dealing with, and how much room you have to adapt when the unexpected happens. In the Himalayas, it always does. See how we give back.