Itinerary
END OF EXPEDITION
For reasons that cannot be foreseen at this stage, such as unpredictable weather, the physical fitness or lack of fitness of participants or other circumstancess (customs formalities, road conditions, traffic, landslides, force majeure, etc.), your expedition leader may have to adapt the program, if necessary, to ensure the smooth running of your trip. He remains the sole judge and the one who guarantees your safety. Activity times are given as an indication and may vary from one participant to another.
The itinerary for all our expedition programs, or the ascent program for our high-mountain expeditions, are given here as a guide only. They are flexible enough to adapt to weather conditions with a few contingency days. In any case, you should follow the recommendations of your guide, who may suggest that you cancel your expedition due to weather, safety or physical conditions.
It is important to remember that this is a truly unsupported expedition, and that anything can happen. Expeditions Unlimited, your expedition leader, your guide or our local teams can in no way be held responsible.
Any costs incurred as a result of a change in the expedition schedule (extra nights' accommodation, extra flights) will be borne by the participants and not by the organizers. "Contingency days" refer to the expedition in the strict sense of the term (base camp/base camp in the mountains, departure point/exit point on a traverse, etc.).
Any early return of the expedition or of certain members only (early success, abandonment, etc.), generating costs for accommodation, meals, changes to air tickets or other activities not provided for in this program, will be charged in full to the participants.
Trip notes
Guiding
Your guide
French-speaking Nepalese tour guide for 4 participants or more (English-speaking if less than 4) and a local team of assistant guides and porters (1 porter for every 2 participants).
For unpredictable reasons at this stage, like adverse weather conditions, insufficient physical condition of participants, insufficient competencies of participants related to the intended activities, your guide may decide to adjust the intended program and/or activities. At all times, his decision will be final on all matters likely to affect the safety and well-being of the trip.
Difficulty level
Level rated: extreme
This program is intended for experienced participants, who have a high level athlete's physical and mental condition.
Technical difficulty
Mountaineering level: AD like... Fairly difficult (Assez Difficile in French)
In this program, the use of mountaineering equipment (crampons, harness, ice ax, ropes, etc.) is necessary and the route tackled may already involve significant difficulties, whether it is 40°/50°slope passages during glacier mountaineering, climbing a longer wall, length and continuity of the efforts. It is therefore aimed at participants who are already experienced in mountaineering, and who have already completed a few ascents of this level or slightly below. The mountaineering courses at our Adventure School from three days can help you revise your basics. And this technical rating applies of course to normal weather conditions: the difficulty can increase in the event of bad weather conditions, fresh snow on rocks, insufficient or lack of quality of the ice, etc. Likewise, the situation changes radically, for the same technical level, with the altitude, the weight of the bag, the lack of equipment on the route, the fatigue associated with the approach if it is long, the environment, if particularly hostile, etc.
Compagnies aériennes internationales
Economy class flights with priority on Air France/Etihad, Qatar and Emirates airlines.
Accommodations
In standard hotels (based on double occupancy) in Kathmandu and Pokhara, for the rest of the journey in tents (3-person tents for 2 people) or lodges, depending on the journey. Lodges in Nepal are of very random comfort. In general, conditions are quite good on the Annapurna tour and in the Everest region. On the other hand, in Mustang, the Tsum Valley and the Kangch and Makalu regions, they can be very basic, to the point of being dormitories or even kitchens. Lodges can resemble a refuge or sometimes our local B&B. Most are family homes with double, triple or dormitory rooms. Toilets and showers are always separate. It is important to check that the water is not heated with wood, as this contributes to deforestation. Most of the time, water is heated using solar energy.
Kathmandu: Moonlight Hotel (or similar)
Meals
In the towns, there are numerous restaurants offering typical local cuisine. Meat is rare; Nepalese are generally vegetarians. The basic ingredients are rice, pasta, lentils, potatoes and vegetables. Snacks are included during the trek (cereal bars, dried fruit, etc.).
For accommodation in tent: during the trek, breakfasts and evening meals are prepared by the kitchen staff. They are taken in the mess tent. Depending on the profile of the stages (length of the day's walk and/or presence of water), midday snacks will be served hot or cold in the form of picnics.
For accommodation in lodge: meals are prepared by the lodge cooks and served in the lodge dining room. Here is a typical day's menu:
- breakfast: eggs, toast or chapati, or Tibetan bread or pancakes, butter/jam, tea or coffee
- lunch: main course, tea or coffee
- dinner: soup, main course, fruit (fresh or canned), tea or coffee
During the trek, tea or coffee is served with meals. Two cups per person are included.
Outside these menus, you are responsible for all other drinks and foodstuffs.
Water: bring tablets (such as Hydroclovazone or Micropur) to disinfect the water you put in your water bottle, depending on the source and on the advice of your guide. It is sometimes possible to buy purified water and fill your bottle without having to buy bottled water. You can also buy mineral water in the towns (not included in the price), but as you know, it has a poor environmental record. So we do not recommend it.
Transfers / Transport
Transfers to and from the airport are by minibus or private car.
DISCLAIMER ON FLIGHTS WITHIN NEPAL: We offer participants in our journeys to Nepal the option of local air transfers. However, it is our duty to inform you that this transfer is only possible with a local Nepalese airline. And it is a fact that all local Nepalese airlines are blacklisted by the European Union as “insufficiently safe”. Other civil airlines around the world have not issued this review. We fly exclusively with the following three airlines: Tara Air, Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines, as they have recently been audited by an independent body and found to have acceptable safety conditions.
We ask you to sign the “information attestation form” which you will find at the end of this form with the registration form.
Group size
The group is composed of 1 to 10 participants maximum. The number of participants is deliberately limited to allow for greater immersion, to avoid embarrassing our hosts, and to develop freedom and flexibility. However, the maximum number may be exceeded if the last person to register wishes to travel with one or more other people. The services will not be modified, and the conditions of the trip will remain the same.
Equipment
Personal equipment is not provided. However, a complete list is provided to allow you to check that you are taking what is necessary.
All logistical equipment is provided.
For treks over passes at altitudes of over 5000 meters, a hyperbaric chamber is provided and operated by the guide, who has been trained in its use.
Luggage carried on the trek must not exceed:
- 13 kg for treks with nights in lodge
- 16 kg for treks with nights in tent
- 20 kg for treks with ascents
A bag will be provided in Kathmandu for the duration of your stay in Nepal. The bags are calibrated in terms of volume and weight for the porters. You can leave your personal bag or suitcase at the hotel in Kathmandu, along with a change of clothes.
Our commitments to sustainable development
Our commitment to a better planet has been a reality since the beginning of our story but we always need to do more and better. Please find out more about our charter and our commitments in terms of sustainable development. We have drafted our charter and take action through six themes on which we act as concretely as possible, most often with you: social equity and cultural respect, preservation of water, waste management in expedition, protection of biodiversity, raise public awareness on these subjects and finally, the optimization and recovery of CO2 emissions.
Regarding carbon emissions, most of which are due to air travel, we calculated and communicated in 2018 on the carbon footprint of each of our programs, expressed in tonnes of CO2.
These calculations made us aware of the importance of the total carbon emissions generated by our activity. Also, we have committed in 2022 to a carbon reduction that we believe is unprecedented in the tourism industry, aiming to reduce the total emissions of our activity by 5% per year, taking 2019 as the reference year (3,430 tonnes of CO2). This commitment is in line with the trajectory of the Paris climate agreements of 2015, the current benchmark. Thus, in 2030, we will not entitle ourselves to exceed 2,160 tonnes of C02 and until then, each year, as soon as the carbon footprint budget is reached, we will stop taking any reservations for the current year. Thus, our maximum “carbon” budget for 2024 is 2,950 tonnes and for 2025, this budget will be reduced to 2,800 tonnes. And so on until 2030. To find out more about all of our calculations and our commitments in terms of reducing our carbon emissions.
In addition, since 2019, we have been encouraging you when you book for your journey to contribute with a donation to an independent NGO, among the two we have selected that share the commitments made in our charter. We matched the amount of this donation to this program's carbon footprint. Thus, the journey you are considering generates 3,58 tons of CO2, which corresponds to a 100% donation of €107 for an estimated value today of €30 per tonne of CO2. This donation remains of course optional and you can decide to give between nothing and 100% of this amount. Since 2019, including covid years of 2020 and 2021, we have been able to collect thanks to you nearly €7,000 for these associations.
Please do not hesitate to come back to us with any questions you might have regarding this carbon footprint mechanism, our other sustainable développement commitments or even to share with us your experience through a chat or a mail at contact@secret-planet.com.
Yorick Vion, mountaineering guide
Yorick Vion, mountain guide
Yorick is a mountain guide. Freeride ski competitor on the IFSA world tour from 2005 to 2010, he is a specialist in steep skiing, with several openings in the Vanoise and extreme descents in the Alps. He supervises our mountaineering courses in the Alps and our high-altitude ascents. Yorick has first-hand experience of mountaineering at very high altitude.
He has climbed Everest (8849 m), Lhotse (8516 m) and Manaslu (8163 m), that he has skied down . He stopped at 7600 meters on Annapurna (8091 m) in an unassisted solo attempt. He took part in the opening of an Icefall bypass on Everest.
In France, he has climbed the north face of the Grandes Jorasses - Combinaison Polonaise and Colton Mac Intyre, the north face of the Eiger via the Heckmair route, the north face of the Matterhorn via the Schmidt route, the north face of the Tournier, Ginat and Colton-Brooks spurs, the central pillar of Mont Blanc at Le Freney and the integral of Peuterey. He has also made several rock climbing openings in the Vanoise region.
In Central Asia, he climbed Khan Tengri (7010 m), Chapayev (6150 m), and made an attempt on Pobeda peak (7439 m), all solo in Kyrgyzstan.
In Nepal, he has climbed Baruntse (7129m) and Sundari Peak (5880m).
Dates and prices
Please find below all dates and prices for this expedition. Prices are quoted "from" and may be adjusted notably according to the number of participants (see trip notes for details). Please note that dates and prices for years beyond 2024, when given, are for guidance only and are subject to change and readjustment to take account of current economic realities.
No date works for me!
I initiate a new dateYour custom expedition
We put our expertise, our knowledge of the terrain, our creativity, our experience, the quality of our guides and the reliability of our partners at your service to build your custom expedition. We can also personalize an expedition to your wishes as soon as you form a "closed" group, whatever the number of participants.
This means that, unless you authorize us to do otherwise, no outside participants join you, and we can personalize your expedition by adapting it to your own pace, with the program extensions you desire, a higher level of comfort, certain activities, other encounters, etc.
Every expedition of this type is subject to a specific quotation. To get in touch with us now, please fill in the short questionnaire below. One of our experts will get back to you to refine your request and make you a proposal.
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