I did a volunteering project in Nepal and got to know Tej Bahadur Gurung during an event with TAAN. He is the managing director of Nepal Alternative Treks and already helped other volunteers in the program to book their trekking.
When my girlfriend arrived in Kathmandu, we met him to plan our trip to the Upper Mustang area. Before we started, we met our guide Nauser in Kathmandu and had a very good first impression of him. He was a young and very polite man. We figured, we would have a good trek with him.
We started from Pokhara, trekked four days up on our own to Kagbeni and met our guide there. Nauser’s flight got cancelled and he had to travel all the way up to Kagbeni in less than 24 hours to meet us on time. Poor guy came completely wet in the morning, having spent the night in a bus. However, he was fully motivated and ready to start our adventure.
The trek to Lo Manthang was demanding and at times not that easy, but we got rewarded by an astonishing scenery. For Nauser however, we had the feeling it was more like a promenade. He was in a very good shape and almost never looked exhausted. Nauser, our great guide, always took care of us. We had several good conversations and learned a lot about the culture, religion and the mountains. He always listened to our concerns and tried to find us the best lodge to stay for the night. One time, we got in a lodge, where we were supposed to sleep in a dinning room with no real door, so we told him that we were not really happy with the accommodation. Without hesitation he walked out with us and looked for a better place.
Before flying back to Switzerland, Nauser invited us in Kathmandu to eat at his place, where he lives with his wife and his child. They were so hospitable. I was impressed and left with a wonderful feeling about the people in Nepal.
We can highly recommend Nauser for a Trekking trip. He knows many things, talks proper English, takes good care of you and is a great companion for the time in Nepal.
