NEPAL TREKKING
Home to eight of the world’s ten highest mountains, the Kingdom of Nepal draws an estimated 400,000 visitors annually. Landlocked between India and Tibet, Nepal contains some of the world’s most diverse and breathtakingly beautiful landscapes ranging from the impressive peaks of the Himalayan chain in the north, high-altitude plains and remote mountain passes, subtropical forests and national parks, terraced farmland hills and rice paddies, to the fertile plains of the Terai in the country’s south.

For many of our treks, you can choose between staying in tea-houses or camping. A tea-house is a locally run guest house, but standards vary enormously. In popular areas such as Annapurna, tea houses are more like small hotels, with hot water, Western food and private rooms, whereas in more remote areas, they are far simpler and more authentically Nepali. Tea-house trekking is less expensive than camping, and is suitable for small groups. With large groups, irrespective of the area, it is more practical to camp. A team of guides, porters and cooks mean you trek in comfort and provides international-style food of a high standard.

INDIA TREKKING
Trekking has come a long way since the days of tedious journeys on foot or grueling hours of travel by ox-cart. Today, trekking conjures up visions of the spectacular northern and eastern Himalayas, the mist-strewn western Ghats or the blue tranquillity of the Nilgiri Hills. India is the ultimate destination for a trekking holiday, offering everything from short and easy excursions to the long challenges of the snowy peaks. Trekking is comparatively undemanding, requiring only stamina to walk long hours and the mental agility to adapt to an ever-changing landscape. And the landscape is indeed spectacular. The trekker will encounter rugged hills and mountains, green slopes carpeted with wild flowers and ice cold streams gurgling over boulders and ground pebbles. Far above in the clear blue sky, eagles wheel and bank while golden orioles, scarlet minivets and white-cheeked bulbuls pierce the pure air with their sweet cries. To take a trek in India is to rediscover the awesome majesty and beauty of nature. The highest mountain range on earth – the Himalayas - forms 3500 kms of India’s northern and eastern frontiers. The spectacle of the snow capped peaks, glaciers, pine forested slopes, rivers and lush meadows of wild flowers cannot be equaled. Peninsular India offers natural beauty of another kind, clothed in green woodland and fragrant orchards. Below is a description of the important trekking areas in India, also a section devoted to general trekking information.

VIETNAM TREKKING
At 3,143 metres Mt. Fansipan is Vietnam’s highest mountain. It is only 9 km from Sapa town but it takes at least three days to get to the peak and back. The top is accessible year-round to anybody who is in good shape. As there are no mountain huts on the way, we will be camping. Our porters carry the equipment and food. No ropes or technical climbing skills are needed, just endurance and plenty of energy. The terrain is rugged, wet and often cold.

THAILAND TREKKING
Trekking in North Thailand to visit the hilltribe villages of the ethnic minorities that live in this region has been popular with visitors for many years. So much so that many routes have become over-used and the villages very commercialised. This Mae Taeng route combines great scenic beauty with villages that have managed to maintain much of their traditional way of life.

MALAYSIA TREKKING
One hundred and thirty eight kilometres from Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the Malaysian state of Sabah, rises the majestic Mount Kinabalu. With its peak at 4,101 meters (and growing), Mount Kinabalu is the highest mountain in South-East Asia. This distinction has earned it considerable attention in myth and legend as well as in geography, and the mountain has for most of history been revered as a sacred spot. The hundreds of square kilometres encompassed by its slopes, from sea level to the jagged stone edge marking its summit, form the Kinabalu National Park. Within this area is found some of the richest flora in the world, ranging from lowland dipterocarp forest to the montane oak, rhododendron, and conifer forests of the middle altitudes and eventually to the alpine meadows and stunted, windswept bushes of the summit. The climb up Kinabalu is one reason why many visitors come. Despite its intimidating size, Kinabalu is one of the easiest mountains in the world to climb. No special skills or equipment are needed, and each year thousands of visitors undertake the expedition, which takes two to three days. Accommodation is available all along the climb, the highest lodging being the Sayat Hut at 12,500 feet.

INDONESIA TREKKING
PAPUA or IRIAN is the highlight of adventure travel to Indonesia. Irian is one of the Last Frontier on Earth, the paradise for the adventure seekers. The undulating jungles from the mountainous to low land, swampy and coastal rain forest, river valleys and glacial peaks were hiding the ancient cultures of Neolithic tribes for thousand years until discovered in the early of the 20th centuries. The terrain kept apart from each other for centuries by hostile terrain and long traditions of inter-tribal warfare, headhunting and cannibalism, there has evolved an astonishing degree of cultural and linguistic diversity in language, customs and even physical appearance, despite a great similarity in physical appearance. Our carefully designed packages will bring you to the remote places to explore the most primitive regions on earth.

TANZANIA TREKKING
Most fit individuals with some mountain walking experience can make it to the top of Africa. You do not need to be super fit - just take it slowly (pole-pole the guide will say) and be determined. We use one of the top Kilimanjaro operators with an excellent reputation and a very high success rate. But success depends mainly on you - it is up to you to make some important choices; in particular which route you ascend and for how many days. If you have little previous mountain walking and camping experience and are not sure of your fitness go for the Marangu Route (entirely hut based) and make sure you have at least one acclimatisation day at Horombo Hut or that you have acclimatised on Mt Meru, Mt Kenya or elsewhere previously. Please read the route descriptions carefully and if necessary discuss your choice with us. If you are on your own, or with just one other person, we will try, as far as possible, to fit you in with another group following the same program as yours. It is however possible, to have your own private trip.

KENYA TREKKING
Mount Kenya is the country's highest mountain. Straddling the equator, it's icy summit reaches to 5,199 m. The National Park consists of all areas above 3,200 m. The mountain actually consists of three distinct zones: the volcanic peak zone, with its endless glaciers and snowlfields; the alpine zone, with its distinctive giant vegetation such as groundsels; and the lower slopes, with their thick forest and bamboo vegetation. Mount Kenya has always attracted curious hikers and adventurers, including the turn of the century British geographer/explorer Halford Mackinder. To most modern day adventurers, climbing to the peak of Mount Kenya is still a challenge requiring extensive mountain climbing skills. Nevertheless, most visitors are able to reach the more accessible Point Lenana at 4,985 m and many visitors enjoy simple high altitude walks.

Wildlife below the Park boundary include elephant, buffalo, antelope, lion and the rare bongo, also found in the nearby Aberdares. Most wildlife can be viewed from Mountain Lodge on the south side of the mountain. The best times for visiting Mount Kenya and the National Park are January and February and late August through September.

UGANDA TREKKING
Most of the Mountain Range is today within the borders of two National Parks. In Uganda, the “Rwenzori Mountain National Park” and in the DRC, the “Virunga National Park”. The larger part of the mountains (4/5) is on the Ugandan side of the border. The smaller DRC side of the mountains have been protected as a National Park since 1929. On the Ugandan side the Rwenzori Mountains have been protected since 1941 above 2200 m. as a Forest Reserve. In 1991 the Rwenzori Mountains were gazetted as a National Park named Rwenzori Mountains National Park (RMNP). The extension is 996kms and it runs for almost 120km along the Congo border west of Kasese and Fort Portal. The Rwenzori National park has a special importance because of its existence in 2 countries. These kinds of cross-boundary parks are also called peace parks. One aim is in future to give tourists the opportunity to climb the mountains from one country and finish in the other.

The Rwenzori Mountains National Park is preserved and protected by the Uganda Wildlife Authority, the Ugandan government agency for the conservation and development of the national parks. The headquarter of the park is located at the foothills of the mountains, close to Ibanda.

Landscape The Rwenzori Mountains lie just north of the Equator along the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda. The north- south extension amounts to about 120km and the east-west extension runs to about 50km. The range has 6 major peaks, Mt Stanley (5,109m), Mt Speke (4,890m) Mt Baker (4,843m), Mt Emin (4,798m), Mt Gessi (4,715m) and Mt Luigi di Savoia (4,627m).

The highest peak in the Mt Stanley complex (Margherita - 5,109) makes the Rwenzori Mountains the 3rd highest range in Africa. But unlike the two highest mountains in Africa (Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya), the Rwenzori Mountains are not volcanic but predominantly old quartzite and gneiss, pushed up by tremendous forces originating deep within the earth’s crust in the region of 3 – 4 billion years ago.

CHILE TREKKING
Trekking in Chile offers a range of treks from the Atacama desert and Altiplano in the North, walking past wildlife such as guanaco and flamingo; hike through central Andes and lake district with volcanoes and primeval forests of araucaria, alerce and other trees, to the glacier valleys and mountains of the Torres del Paine in Patagonia and the National parks in the south. Nature tours, short walks or trekking can be arranged in the Santiago and Pucon areas. This hiking gives experience of the mountains at close range without the exertion of a long trail. Flowers, birds and wildlife abound in nearly all areas, varying considerably according to the distance from the equator and the local climate.

ARGENTINA TREKKING
Our Intense Trekking and Camping programs use most of the nights our Full Camps inside the National Parks to lodge, allowing the group to hike extensively the trails of both Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina and Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. Our passengers travel as part of an international group, with fellow travellers from different countries and a tour leader leading the group and coordinating its activities. Most of the Full Camps are previously pitched, others are pitched upon our arrival to campsite. We carry all the necessary equipment for the trek and your personal luggage up to a maximum of 8 kg per pax. This is due to National Park regulations. In some very specific sections of the trek we ask passengers to carry their own sleeping bag and personal items that you will use during 2 days and 1 night. This cartage service, together with the services we offer in this trip, gives you the chance to fully dedicate yourself to enjoy the trekking and camping activities, without worrying about logistics. Camps are pitched up by our staff, our staff cooks and clean, our staff will carry the food and equipment and part of your luggage from one camp to another. To get the most out of these Intense Trekking and Camping programs, you need to be in an adequate fit condition. No previous technical skills are required. We walk an average of 6 or 7 hours a day, 9 hours in specific days, at a moderate pace and with all the necessary stops for rest, snacks or photos. The trek includes some steady up hills and down hills that can be steeper by sections. Previous experience walking outdoors and camping is advisable as we use a lot our Full Camps In no case we go over the 1600 mts above sea level. This is an important feature of these treks, you go in wonderful trails without the problems that are usually associated with altitude. In few words, these Intense Treks are the best way to give a real good look to this 2 world class trekking areas: Fitz Roy and Paine.

PERU TREKKING
Peru, one of the eight mega diverse countries in the world, offers you a unique experience and the possibility to enjoy an unforgettable vacation. Inheritor of an ancestral historical and archaeological wealth, Peru was the home of pre-Hispanic cultures, some vestiges of which continue alive through many manifestations of current peoples of the coast, mountains and rainforest. On its lands, crowned from north to south by the impressive Andes Mountains with its eastern drainage into the Amazon basin, and its coasts, bathed by the Pacific Ocean, you can enjoy a unique mix of adventure, nature, history, as well as a unimaginable variety of foods - and the hospitality and warmth of its people. The main Andean ranges and interconnecting valleys make up the Sierra or highlands, whose loftiest peak, the Huascaran , rises to an altitude of 6721 metres. Cuzco , the ancient capital, is situated in the south-central highlands. Lying further south on a high plateau (the Altiplano) are Puno and Lake Titicaca . Interposed between Peru and Bolivia at a 3830 m-elevation, the Titicaca is the world's highest navigable lake.

ECUADOR TREKKING

The country's unique combination of small size, exceptional geographic and biological diversity, and good transportation infrastructure places an outstanding variety of splendid natural experiences within easy reach of the adventurous visitor. Ecuador boasts more than forty-five protected natural areas, including national parks and private reserves, almost all of which offer trekking and day-hiking possibilities. Many longer treks span several natural regions, from the highlands down toward the Amazon jungle or coastal plain. Trekking options in Ecuador are as diverse as the country's natural areas. With altitudes ranging from sea level to more than 6000 meters (20,000 feet), there are tropical rainforests, cloud forests, high moorlands known as páramos, and rocky ridges right up to the snowline. The highlands offer the greatest number of trekking opportunities, and the Andes provide the perfect backdrop—with magnificent scenery and an incomparable top-of-the-world feeling. Trekkers often find themselves literally above the clouds!

We operate a 'fair price' policy so you will always get excellent value for money. At the same time you can be assured that our suppliers receive realistic and fair prices for the services they provide.

1 - Wildlife Safaris, for average traveller, no special preparation required.

2 - Trekking, Rafting and Overland Safaris for the average active person, no special preparation required but roughing it from time to time.

3 - Trekking, Jungle and Walking Safari activities for active person, pre departure hikes and regular exercises are highly recommended. Daily walking 5 to 7 hrs.

4 - Treks involving mountain passes and clients must not only be physically fit but also be able to cope with the unexpected. Daily walking 6 - 8 hrs occasionally 9 - 10 hrs

5 - Treks involving High Mountain passes above 5000m and peak climbing, clients must be physically very fit and very well prepared and be able to cope with difficult conditions. Daily walking 6 - 9 hrs occasionally 9 - 12 hrs.

Please remember the fitter and more prepared you are the more enjoyment you will get out of your trip. These grades are not based on length alone, but also take into account altitude and nature of terrain. * - Grade as shown but trails can be in poor conditions or that due to the jungle environment and high humidity this trip can be very strenuous.