Treks The Himalaya Arunachal Pradesh & Nagaland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 The Kingdom of Bhutan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 The Kingdom of Sikkim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 The Kingdom of Nepal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 The Annapurna Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 The Everest Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Tibet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 China Yunnan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 South West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Northern India Garhwal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Himachal Pradesh & Kumaon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Dharamsala Treks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 The Former Kingdom of Ladakh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 The Karakoram Mountains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Central Asia Outer Mongolia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Tien Shan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 South East Asia and Japan Thailand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Laos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Vietnam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Cambodia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 South America Peru & Machu Picchu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Northern Peru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Ecuador . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Bolivia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Patagonia Chile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Argentina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 North America Grand Canyon & Yosemite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Europe The Alps/Greece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 The Middle East Oman/Jordan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Trekking Peaks Mera & Island Peaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Stok Kangri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Mount Fansipan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Mount Olympus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Cultural Tours Definitive Cultural Tour of Bhutan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 First Class Tour of Nepal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Land of the Windhorse – Travels in Tibet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Train to Lhasa – Travels in Tibet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Cultural Highlights of Bhutan and Tibet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Definitive Cultural Tour of Central Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Indo China Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Undiscovered Cambodia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Overlanding The Roof of the World Expedition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Morocco to Mauritania – The West African Coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Morocco, Sahara – Road of the Kasbahs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Contact us: Himalayan Kingdoms Ltd. Old Crown House 18 Market Street Wotton-under-Edge Gloucestershire GL12 7AE United Kingdom Tel: 0845 330 8579 (local call rate, UK only) Int. Tel: +44 1453 844 400 Fax: +44 (0)1453 844 422 E-mail: info@himalayankingdoms.com www.himalayankingdoms.com Contents General Choosing your Holiday What the Price Includes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Styles of Trekking and Touring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Programme of Treks and Tours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Grading System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Why Choose Himalayan Kingdoms? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Hotels We Use Worldwide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Private Tailor-made Treks and Tours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Our Trek Leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Booking your Holiday Things You Need to Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Booking Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Booking Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Back Flap Financial Security/ATOL & AITO/Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . Back Cover Our website This brochure can now be viewed on-line. Just follow the link from our Home page. You can also download detailed, photoillustrated day-by-day itineraries, take a photo tour of many of the treks and tours, see weather charts and maps, quick search by Trek Name/Destination/month of departure/grade/style of trek, enquire for flight prices, sign up for our monthly e-newsletter, read our news and book online… www. himalayankingdoms .com

2 tel: 0845 330 8579 (local call rate, UK only) international tel: +44 1453 844 400 www.himalayankingdoms.com …a trekking holiday? Our small group adventure walking holidays range from easy treks in the lower foothills right through to long distance hikes into very remote regions. There are jungle treks where you will meet colourful hill tribes, classic circuits of some of the world’s highest peaks, pilgrim trails to holy mountains, base camp treks and paths crossing glaciers. Some are designed to suit families, a few are planned to spread over Christmas and the New Year. We offer treks under canvas, ‘tea house’ treks, itineraries that use hotels and luxury lodges as bases, even a few in South East Asia that make ‘homestays’ with village families. On world classic routes we provide many extras and vary the routes for added interest – on some of the really remote expeditions you might meet locals who have never seen a westerner before! Our treks are led by experienced European leaders, or increasingly, by well-trained local guides or Sherpas (see opposite page). On average trekking involves 5–8 hours hiking per day, including a lunch stop somewhere on the trail. A common misconception is that if you are a slow walker you may hold people back – not so! During the day group members often ‘string out’ and there will usually be an hour or two between the first to arrive in camp and the last. You walk at your own pace and stop when you feel like it. There will always be local staff at the front and rear ensuring no-one gets lost. …a cultural tour? Our adventurous cultural tours are not ‘tourist trap’ experiences. We have set out to provide hotels and lodges of comfort and character, expert Leaders and/or guides, and itineraries to get you under the skin of the exciting, remote countries we are specialists in. They will give you good exercise, and include any of the following – gentle walks to visit hill tribe villages, exploration of temple complexes, game-viewing and bird-watching, attending festivals, mountain flights, city tours, visits to floating villages and dramatic journeys by either mountain road, first class rail, or river cruise boats. You will experience unique customs, deeply rooted religions and open-hearted, colourful peoples. We take you to many places where mass tourism has not spoilt the atmosphere. How many people, for instance, have even heard of The Plain of Jars in Laos, let alone visited it? What is… …a trekking peak? Essentially, our trekking peaks allow you to climb to your chosen summit and back in a day from Base Camp/High Camp. The highest is Mera Peak, 6,476m/21,246ft and the lowest Mount Olympus at 2,917m/9,570ft. The routes we use are chosen for their objective safety and sometimes involve easy angled snow slopes, straightforward ridges and occasionally minor scrambling. They will all be led by European Leaders chosen for their breadth of mountaineering experience, backed up by our usual teams of Sherpas, cooks and local guides. You will trek/climb carrying only a day sack. On all these expeditions we have carefully designed interesting treks to provide proper acclimatisation. In the main cities we provide 4-Star hotels. For the higher, more remote peaks we will provide a Sat Phone and Gamow Bag. These treks are open to fit, determined walkers who have previously undertaken “Strenuous” treks; previous mountaineering experience is an advantage but not essential. Please note that we will vet your hill walking/mountaineering experience before accepting you onto the trip. On some trips you may use crampons and an ice axe, ropes will be used for glacier travel, and you may camp on snow. These trekking peaks are all fine objectives in their own right from which you will return with a high sense of achievement. …an overlanding tour? The majority of companies offering overlanding tours use converted trucks, taking upwards of 20 people, who are ‘roughing it’, and are aimed at the young backpacking traveller. We aim to offer a wholly different type of overlanding! Our Toyota Land Cruisers have been modified for expedition travel, and give greater freedom and comfort than a truck. We provide an experienced western European Leader/Driver Guide. They are equipped for camping in the wild, but when overnighting in cities we use 3- or 4-star hotels of quality and character, and the best available hotels in small towns (see page 71 for more details). Considerable research has gone into designing itineraries that give you plenty of time to explore on foot the places of interest that you will pass through. The aim is to take you to see the very best landscapes, the most interesting ancient cities and ruins, and sample some off-road adventure. Please see page 6 for an explanation of the Grades used on Himalayan Kingdoms’ treks Who travels with us? Here are some statistics based on 2007 trek and tour bookings: Age 00–19 years 2% 20–29 years 3% 30–39 years 9% 40–49 years 17% 50–59 years 26% 60–69 28% Over 70 5% Sex Male 56% Female 44% Marital Status Single 39% Attached 61% Grades Tours 6% Expedition grade 3% Strenuous 25% Vigorous/Strenuous 11% Vigorous 10% Moderate/Vigorous 17% Moderate 6% Gentle/Moderate 6% Gentle 16% See also Things You Need to Knowon page 72 • A European leader, Sherpa leader or Sirdar, or an In-Country leader. The type of leader is specified in the information box for each trek/expedition/tour • Economy class return air fares from the UK • UK Departure Tax • All internal flights and hotel/airport transfers • Good standard hotel accommodation (usually 4 star) in main cities, on a bed and breakfast basis • Best available hotels in outlying towns, usually on full board • All road transport by private vehicles • All camping facilities and all meals on trek • Camp staff to carry out all camp work • Costs of all porterage and their insurance • Sightseeing where specified • A free high-quality Himalayan Kingdoms kit bag The price does not include • Travel insurance, (see back cover) • Visa fees • Lunch and evening meals in major cities • Airport departure taxes, except UK Departure Tax • Bar bills and laundry • Optional trips • Tips The price includes