EBC with Peace Nepal Treks: a professional, challenging, life-changing trek
Nir is a very accommodating, flexible, friendly, and organized leader of Peace Nepal Treks - an extremely affordable Nepalese guiding company! My boyfriend and I planned our trip with Nir nearly 4 months in advance, and he was timely with emails and worked with us (and our endless questions/curiosities!) every step of the way. The plan and itinerary are straightforward and Nir ensured that we were well prepared for the trip.
We were lucky enough to have Bil as our guide - an amazing man who we developed a wonderful friendship with along the journey, sharing stories of our lives together. He ensured our safety, health, and joy in trekking through the beautiful mountains. Bil is extremely knowledgeable of the trails - we never doubted for a second his judgment. The first few days I was showing some pretty serious signs of AMS and Bil fixed me up with a proper nutritional diet to combat the ailment as well as a prescription of Diamox he had on him - I was good to go all the way up to Base Camp after that! We played Rummy and learned Nepalese card games with Bil every night in the tea houses he booked for us. We are so impressed with his ability to get us a great room at every stop, and he was an amazingly hospitable host at the eateries, making sure we were well-fed and taken care of. We miss Bil dearly already!
One thing we wish we knew before embarking on our journey: it is surely out of the control of our wonderful guide and the hands of Peace Nepal Treks, but trekkers must proceed with caution and preparation around the airport from Kathmandu to Lukla, and Lukla back to Kathmandu. This airport is absolutely unpredictable - you might end up waiting for 2 or 3 days just to get a flight into the mountains or out of it. Therefore, a few cushion days either before or after the trek should be planned in Kathmandu before an international flight. We were in a tricky situation at the airport, having our plane canceled a day and a half, and nearly missing our international flight. My advice is to plan at least 4 days extra in Kathmandu after the trek and be sure to spend a bit extra on travel insurance to ensure a possible $600 chopper flight out of the mountains could be covered if the weather permits.
That being said, everything worked out fine for us in the end - just a bit of added pressure and stress towards the end of our trip. Bil was proactive in doing everything he could to get us out of there, and we really appreciate that.
Thank you Nir and Bil - we will never forget you.