Flexible local company
Great locally based company. Flexible and able to cater for couples through to larger groups. Have used them for Annapurna and for Everest/Gokyo lakes treks as well as around Kathmandu. Will even sort out Kathmandu hotels and airport pick up etc as well as cultural tours
Great organisation and network in Nepal
Jagat and his team were top notch with organising our trek, transfers and accommodation both in Kathmandu and on the Everest trek. Our guide Gopi and porters were excellent especially when I had to come down early due to altitude sickness. My other two friends are still up there doing the Island Peak climb. Jagat has a strong network in both Kathmandu and on the Everest trail so things can be organised easily.
I strongly recommend you use Independent Trekking Guide Cooperative
Family trek with small children in Langtang valley
We spent a week in the Langtang valley with Chet and his team. We did a 7-day trek with our 3 children aged 6, 4 and 1 years old. Everything went very smoothly thanks to the professionalism of the team. Chet and Jagat welcomed us at the airport and took care of us up until the very last day. The tea houses along the trek were carefully selected with good food and no food poisoning. Chet has been a very kind, attentive guide. The 2 porters were also incredibly kind and helpful. The children loved it! We will certainly use this organisation when we go back next time.
BADASS !! Manaslu Circuit 2023
My friend and I’s first time in this wildly beautiful country was made into the most incredible experience by the people at Independent Trekking Guides Co-op. From the first few emails to arriving in Kathmandu, all along the journey until our parting we were taken care of in all ways and beyond. The organization, communication, attentiveness, and flexibility were top notch. Seamless from the very beginning, even when plans change, inevitably. Perhaps most importantly they possess a kindness and presence that is uniquely Nepali and brought a depth and sweetness to our experience that is hard to put into words. Thank you Gopi, our guide, for bringing us through the mountains and for your immense knowledge, humour, heart and focus over the 2 weeks we spent together, suffering and triumphing moment to moment. Chandra, our porter, thank you for your warmth, your spirit, and absolute beast mode strength that I will revere and talk about as long as I live. Gopi and Chandra enriched our experience and perspective of Nepal and it’s people, landscapes and ways that are entirely unique and both astounding and inspiring. We very much became a unit together in our own way and worked together till the very end. I will never forget coming down off the Larkya La pass and sledding down the snow together (trying not to fly off the side) after a gruelling journey and the bliss that brought us to laugh and be silly. Jagat, thank you for your commitment to excellence in providing people from around the world with such an immensely wonderful experience of your country and to your own people through the same love and care you pour into your community. I absolutely cannot recommend Independent Trekking Guides Co-op of Nepal more… they are it and they are doing it right. The value, depth, connection to the culture and land, and commitment to safety and experience is unlike any other tour company out there. Time in Nepal changes your life in many subtle and huge ways, some that I have yet to know or understand myself and I look forward to coming back for more, and I will be journeying with none other than these guys. Much love to Jagat, Gopi and Chandra, and everyone else we encountered along the way. Till next time. - Laura & Abbie
Blast!
We had a blast! Guides were so caring and hospitable! They worked very hard to ensure we have a great experience in Kathmandu and on the trek. Would love to go on another adventure with them!
Best team I have seen
This is my fourth expedition with Independent Trekking Guides, and each one gets better! Our team of 20 travelled the Tamang Heritage Trek as well as the Langtang trek, climbing Yala Peak as the high point. Chet was our lead guide, and was exceptional. No food/water-born illnesses on the trek, which is a credit to the attention to detail that the ITG cooks paid to each meal. At base camp, incredible energy was put into chopping ice and melting it for drinking and cooking. The cooks created amazing meals at our high camp as well. The ITG staff is the most friendly, considerate, and knowledgeable team I have seen in Nepal. Highly recommend
Excellent guide service!
Jagat and his team were amazing to work with. This was the second trek that I've been on with them, and I can't say enough good about the experience. If you are planning a trek in Nepal, I would definitely recommend this outfit. Very professional and friendly. Previously we used them as a guide service for the Poon Hill trek. This year we did the Helambu trek. We booked the Helambu trek several months in advance, but the week of the trek the area received significant snowfall. The guides safely led our party through the trek with no injuries. We also had a wonderful Jeep tour on the way back to Kathmandu. It was a great experience working with them!
Highly Recommend
People heading to trek in Nepal typically do so to see and experience the magnificent mountains. Many. However, end up discovering Nepal’s greater gem – her people. Their warmth, hospitality and cheerful smiles are unmatched anywhere in the world, in my opinion. And Jagat Lama and his team at Nepal Independent Trekking Guides exemplifies this like no other. Of the 13 trips I have made to Nepal so far, I’ve spent time on 11 of them with Jagat, Chet, Chandra and many others within the cooperative. I consider them among my most cherished friends. As far as leading treks, I wholeheartedly endorse them. They are masters of organization and maintain an unparalleled network of porters and guides. Your safety is their prime concern. They offer flexibility and freedom you won’t find in many, if any, other Nepali outfitters. You’ll never be herded like cattle on tight schedules, forced to push ahead at a pace you’re not comfortable with. They know exactly how to make your trek as outstanding as it can possible be – perfect for you and your companions. They will open a window for you into the most wonderful people, sights, tastes and experiences authentic Nepal has to offer. I highly recommend them.
A very different trekking company
Even though I never had the great pleasure of trekking with Jagat Lama or any other of his team, I know some friends who have and were utterly pleased.
I met Jagat Lama 9 years ago or so and try to see him every time I come to Nepal which is almost every year. He's always been of great service for anything I needed his help or advice for, took time off his over busy schedule with a smile, and is just a delightful person to be with, speaking excellent English, being always polite, kind and cheerful.
2 years ago he helped organise a trek to Mustang for my son and myself.
By the way, Jagat Lama has started out as a porter at a very young age and this is probably the toughest job in the world, having to carry weights sometimes up to 80 kgs, having to deal with high altitude, bitter cold and fatigue, eating poorly in order to save money for their families, getting very low salaries ; such is the tough life of a porter. But Jagat Lama had great vision and talent.
So after many years of extremely hard work and thanks to his capacity of having learned English so quickly , Jagat Lama then became a guide taking groups or individual clients all over Nepal. His kindness and proficiency earned him a lot of sympathy and faithful clients coming back year after year.
But having experienced himself the hardships as a porter, who very often are ruthlessly exploited demanding them to carry maximum weight, Jagat one day decided that this was enough. He thus created his own Trekking Guide Cooperative working only with locals and making sure that they were treated correctly concerning weights and salaries as well as ensuring them decent conditions during the trek!
This makes his company stand apart from many other mostly profit oriented companies, a lot of which are foreign.
And in his spare time, which means Jagat Lama has hardly ever a moment for himself, he goes to his native mountain village Kumari, but the many extraordinary achievements Jagat Lama achieved there, are too long to explain here. But you might want to check it out: "healthanded4nepal.org"
There you will find out how Jagat Lama struggled all his life to help his remote mountain village Kumari, creating the first school and hospital which were sadly destroyed during the devastating earthquakes in 2015. But instead of moaning and giving up, Jagat just rebuilt everything!!! Yes!! It's truly impressive when you learn about his his story and I'm deeply honoured to have such a compassionate and humble human being as my friend.
By the way, you must check out his Kumari coffeee shop not far from Swayambhunath temple, the best coffee (organic of course) of the whole valley!!!
Totally tailored to my needs and so well looked after
This is the real deal. It is the best collection of independent, authentic and experienced Nepalese trekking guides. Jagat met me at my hotel and organised for me to be accompanied by Gopi Lama for a 6 day trek in the Annapurna region. We could stop or go slow whenever I liked and he always got me the best rooms in the guest houses. He was knowledgeable, spoke great english and was great company. And the route we took matched all my requirements to see the best views but not too much climbing at my age of 65. Highly recommended. And not expensive.
