About Us

WHO WE ARE

Places Nepal is a Kathmandu-based trekking and tour operator. We run guided treks across Nepal's main Himalayan regions — Everest, Annapurna, Manaslu, Langtang, Kanchenjunga, and Upper Mustang among them — through three formats: fixed group departures you can join, fully private treks, and custom itineraries built around your dates, fitness, and interests.  

We're a registered Nepali company, a TAAN member, and NMA certified. Our office is in Nayabazar, Kathmandu, and our guiding team is based in the districts they guide in.

THE PEOPLE BEHIND PLACES NEPAL

Places Nepal was founded by two working trekking professionals, not by an investor group looking at Nepal from the outside. What started as a single blog post about the Manaslu Circuit grew, over time, into a full trekking operation — the kind of organic growth that happens when the people running a company are also the people who know the trails.

Namaraj Timalsina — Founder Namaraj has spent more than a decade as a trekking guide in the Himalayas, starting as a young trail enthusiast before turning it into a career. That background — years of actual route-finding, weather-reading, and client care on trail — shapes how Places Nepal plans treks: itineraries are built around what a route actually demands, not just what looks good on a booking page. He's also the one pushing the responsible-trekking practices baked into the company's route planning. 

Mangale Tamang — Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer Mangale is co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Places Nepal — and a guide by heart. Before building out the systems behind how the company runs today, he spent more than ten years as a travel planner and a guide working in the Himalayas, with the kind of logistics knowledge — transport, permits, accommodation, on-the-ground problem-solving — that keeps a trek running smoothly before a client ever reaches the trailhead. He's also the company's main advocate for sustainability and conservation practices in how Places Nepal operates.

Our Guides and Field Team Every guide on the Places Nepal team works the regions listed on their profile — Manaslu, Annapurna, Everest, Langtang, Kanchenjunga, and Upper Mustang, several with routes into Tibet. A few examples:

• Kapil Adhikari, from a village in Dhading district, is a former army serviceman turned high-altitude guide with over a decade guiding routes from Everest Base Camp to Kanchenjunga.
• Fura Tashi Sherpa, from Solukhumbu in the Everest region, has guided and climbed since 2009 and brings technical climbing expertise alongside trekking leadership.
• Manoj Maharjan, Shishir Tamang, Gakul Khatri, and Ramhari Sharma have each guided since between 2014 and 2018, fluent in English, Hindi, and Nepali (Ramhari also speaks Chinese), across Nepal's major trekking regions.

These aren't hired-for-the-season contractors. They're the people whose local knowledge — which teahouse is reliable, how a pass behaves in shifting weather, how to read a client who's struggling with altitude — is what you're actually paying for on a guided trek.

WHY BOOK DIRECTLY WITH A NEPAL TREKKING COMPANY?

This isn't a claim that local is "better." It's what actually changes when the company planning your trek and the company operating it are the same people, in the same country, in the same time zone as your guide.

• Local decision-making. When a pass is closed or a teahouse is full, the person who can approve a route change is in Kathmandu, not in a call center overseas.
• Direct communication. You're talking to the people who will actually run your trek — not a sales agent relaying your questions to a ground operator they've never met.
• Trail and permit knowledge that's current. Regulations change — restricted-area permit rules, guide requirements, route conditions. A company operating in Nepal daily catches these changes before they hit international resellers' outdated itinerary templates.
• Faster support in-country. If something goes wrong during your trek — a missed flight, a weather delay, an early return — the operator handling it is a phone call away, not several time zones removed.
• Direct relationships with teahouses, transport, and communities. Because Places Nepal works these regions repeatedly, not as a one-off contractor booking, the relationships with local accommodation and transport providers are established, not brokered.

Booking directly can remove a layer between you and the company actually running your trek. It doesn't automatically mean cheaper — it means fewer intermediaries relaying your questions and your money.

WHAT WE DO

Group-Joining Treks Fixed departure dates you can join as a solo traveler or with your own group. You trek with other travelers on the same route and schedule — more social, often more cost-efficient, with a structured day-by-day itinerary already set. 

Private Treks Your own dates, your own pace, your own guide. Private treks suit couples, friends, and families who want flexibility — a later start, an extra acclimatization day, a slower pace — without syncing to a fixed group schedule.

Customized Treks Available time, fitness level, prior high-altitude experience, budget, and comfort preferences — tell us what you're working with and we build the itinerary around it, rather than fitting you into a fixed template.

Tours and Other Adventures Beyond trekking, Places Nepal runs Kathmandu Valley cultural tours, peak climbing (Island Peak, Mera Peak, Lobuche, Yala), helicopter tours, photography expeditions, and jungle safaris in Chitwan — see the full range on our Trips page.

WHERE WE TREK

Everest Region — Everest Base Camp, Everest View Panorama, Gokyo Lakes, Three Passes, and helicopter-return variants. Annapurna Region — Annapurna Circuit, Annapurna Base Camp, Ghorepani Poon Hill, Mardi Himal. Manaslu Region — Manaslu Circuit and Tsum Valley routes. Langtang Region — Langtang Valley and Langtang Gosaikunda. Kanchenjunga Region — Kanchenjunga Circuit and South Base Camp. Upper Mustang — Upper Mustang Trek and Upper Mustang Jeep Tour. Other regions — Dolpo, Makalu Barun, Api Nampa, Gaurishankar, Dhorpatan, Shivapuri, Khaptad, and Kathmandu Valley cultural routes.

See all treks by region →

YOUR SAFETY MATTERS

We're not going to tell you your safety is guaranteed. Himalayan trekking carries real risk — altitude, weather, and remote terrain don't negotiate with a good itinerary. What we can tell you is how we plan around that risk:

• Route and pacing built for acclimatization, not just the shortest itinerary that looks good on a price comparison.
• Guides who know the specific route — not generalists rotated across regions they haven't worked before.
• Weather and trail-condition awareness built into day-to-day decisions on trek, including the willingness to adjust plans when conditions call for it.
• Comprehensive travel insurance covering high-altitude trekking is required of every traveler 
• In-country coordination for emergency response and evacuation support when conditions require it.

For the full detail on permits, insurance expectations, and trip-specific safety planning, see our Trekking Guide and Policies.

TRAVEL RESPONSIBLY. LEAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT.

Places Nepal is a small, youth-operated company, and responsible tourism isn't a marketing section for us — it's built into three specific things we actually do:

For the Mountain Communities. We've partnered with the Global Initiative for Future Thinkers (GIFT) to sponsor a social worker/teacher position in Nepali schools, funded by donating 5% of direct bookings. That partnership has directly supported 113 students currently learning English, mathematics, and science.

Fair treatment of our own team. Guides and porters are paid in compliance with Nepal's Labour Act, with access to insurance and healthcare — not a footnote, a baseline for how we employ the people who run your trek.

Practical environmental steps. EV transport for clients where available, discouraging single-use materials on trek, and a waste-reduction program covering composting and recycling on our routes.

On the ground when it mattered. During the 2015 earthquake, our founders were directly involved in helping rebuild homes in Dhading and Namche Bazaar — the regions our guides come from and still work in.

Read the full impact report →

TREK AGAIN

Life happens. If illness, weather, or altitude forces you to stop a trek partway through — or if you finish and simply want to do the same route again — Places Nepal will run it again with you at no additional charge.

For us, a trek is more than reaching a destination—it’s about creating an experience worth returning to. Learn more about our “Trek Again” philosophy at Places Nepal Treks and the values that shape how we operate in the Himalayas.

IS PLACES NEPAL RIGHT FOR YOU?

Places Nepal fits travelers who want:

• A Nepal-based operator they can talk to directly, not a reseller
• Small-group or private trekking rather than mass-market bus-tour trekking
• The choice between joining a fixed group departure or building a custom itinerary
• Experienced local guides who know the specific route they're leading
• Honest, practical trek planning rather than a purely aspirational sales pitch

We're probably not the right fit if you're looking for large-format mass-market coach tourism, five-star resort-style trekking on every route, or fully independent, unsupported trekking with no guide involvement at all — that's simply not what we operate.

TRUSTED BY TRAVELERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

TRUSTED BY TRAVELERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

You don't have to take our word for it. You can read unfiltered, independent reviews of Places Nepal on:

• Google Reviews → (Places Nepal Trek and Expedition, Kathmandu)
• TripAdvisor → Places Nepal Trek & Tours
• Trustindex → Places Nepal Treks

We don't select, edit, or paraphrase reviews into "testimonials" here — you're reading them straight from the platform.

OUR PROMISE

Clear Information. We tell you what a trek actually involves — difficulty, altitude, and pace — before you book, not after.

Local Expertise. Your trip is planned and operated by people based in Nepal, guiding the regions they know.

Safety-Conscious Planning. We plan routes and pacing around altitude, weather, and trail conditions rather than the shortest itinerary.

Flexible Trekking. Join a fixed group departure or go private — your call.

Respect for Communities. We work with local guides, porters, teahouses, and transport providers, not outside contractors parachuted in.

Responsible Travel. We take practical steps — waste reduction, EV transport where available, fair employment — rather than claiming outcomes we can't substantiate.

Human Support. You can talk to a real person in Kathmandu before and during your trip — not a chatbot, not a ticket queue.

A FEW QUESTIONS, ANSWERED

Where is Places Nepal based? Kathmandu, Nepal — our head office is in Nayabazar, Medical Chowk.

Is Places Nepal a local Nepal trekking company? Yes. We're a registered Nepali company, a TAAN member, and NMA certified, operating directly rather than reselling another company's trips.

Who founded Places Nepal? Namaraj Timalsina (Founder) and Mangale Tamang (Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer), both working trekking and travel professionals in Nepal before founding the company.

Does Places Nepal offer private treks? Yes — alongside group-joining departures and fully customized itineraries.

Can Places Nepal customize a trekking itinerary? Yes. Tell us your dates, fitness level, experience, and interests and we'll build around them.

How can I contact Places Nepal? By phone/WhatsApp at +977 9851239965, by email at info@placesnepal.com, or through our Contact page. Office hours are 10:00 AM–6:00 PM (Nepal time).

Is Places Nepal registered in Nepal? Yes — Registration Number 319351080081, with full legal documents viewable on our Legal Documents page.