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Holiday News and Offers
Here's where you'll find the most up-to-date information about what's happening at Mountain Kingdoms. Check below for details of any upcoming events we are holding, any special offers we are running, any news we've got to share and any holidays that have spaces and are due to run in the next few weeks. You can also sign up to receive our monthly e-newsletter.
SHIVA says Thank You
![SHIVA says Thank You](/u/news/ginette-harrison-school-shiva.jpg)
The children of the Ginette Harrison School would like to say thank you to Hill International for their generous donation.
Steve Thompson travelled to Everest Base Camp with Mountain Kingdoms in November 2013. When he told the company that he works for, Hill International, of his plans to trek to Everest Base Camp, not only were they supportive of Steve's adventure, they also felt that they would like to use this opportunity to support a charity in Nepal.
Read moreEnglish lessons for Nepalese Sherpas
![English lessons for Nepalese Sherpas](/u/news/english-lessons-for-nepalese-sherpas.jpg)
Mountain Kingdoms donates £1,250 in 2014
The Fifth Guide's Refresher Training Course took place in Nepal at the start of this year. From January 26 to 08 February, twenty-five Sherpa guides were given English lessons as well as classes in first aid, altitude scenarios, trek-camp-food-equipment management, map reading, local flora and fauna, national history and geography, Nepali customs and religions and responsible trekking.
Bhutan: the greenest country on the planet
![Bhutan: the greenest country on the planet](/u/news/bhutan-the-greenest-country-on-the-planet-sue-hob.jpg)
Boasting timeless traditions, unique architecture and stunning Himalayan scenery, it’s not as if you needed another good reason to visit Bhutan, but there is one…
Read moreThe Conquest of Everest
![The Conquest of Everest](/u/news/the-conquest-of-everest-documentary-martin.jpg)
Watch the 1953 documentary 'The Conquest of Everest' on You Tube. Documenting various Everest expeditions, the film stars Tenzing Norgay, Edmund Hillary, George Band, John Hunt, Meredith Edwards and Tom Bourdillon and is directed by George Lowe. It makes fascinating viewing for those interested in the history of Everest.
A new bridge for a new year - Zanskar twig bridge finished!
![A new bridge for a new year - Zanskar twig bridge finished!](/u/news/zanskar-twig-bridge-finished.jpg)
2014 has got off to a great start at Mountain Kingdoms - our twig bridge project in Zanskar is complete!
Over the past 5 years Mountain Kingdoms MD Steve Berry has raised £3000 to restore a traditional twig bridge in Padum and preserve an ancient culture. The project was overseen by the local King Punchok Dawa.
Zanskar is a small Tibetan Buddhist kingdom located in Ladakh, north west Indian Himalaya, and locked away from the outside world by snowed-up passes for all but a few months in the summer. Work has taken place on the bridge in winter when the river below is frozen and conditions can reach -30oC.
Now completed, it is an extraordinary structure which can be used by locals and trekkers alike. The twig bridge will form part of a new Mountain Kingdoms trek in Zanskar in September 2014. Kingdom of Zanskar Trek
Read moreWilderness Lectures, Bristol – Sir Ranulph Fiennes
![Wilderness Lectures, Bristol – Sir Ranulph Fiennes](/u/news/sir-ranulph-fiennes.jpg)
8th January: Sir Ranulph Fiennes Beyond the limits
This presentation was extremely well received by an audience of over 650 people.
Here are a couple of photos of Sir Ranulph Fiennes with our MD, Steve Berry (who is one of the organisers of Wilderness Lectures).
Come & meet guide book writer Kev Reynolds
Rough Guides' Top Ten Destinations for 2014
Everest expeditions on TV
![Everest expeditions on TV](/u/news/everest-expeditions-on-tv.jpg)
If you're bored of viewing cheesy Christmas movies, and would like to watch something more inspirational, then look out for three documentaries on BBC Four. These films, made in the late 70's by award-winning filmmaker Leo Dickinson, follow three exciting Everest mountaineering expeditions.
Read morePhoto of the Year - Mark's story
![Photo of the Year - Mark's story](/u/news/photo-of-the-year-2013-winners-story.jpg)
We asked Mark Green, the winner of the Photo of the Year competition, to share with us the story of how he captured the prize-winning shot of the Angel Falls in Venezuela.
"As far as I remember this is how the story unfolded: Our group had made a very early pre-dawn start for the 3-4 hour motorised canoe journey up the Carao river from Canaima. The river forked after we had been going for a few hours and we continued up the narrower and faster Churun river until navigating a series of rapids and tight bends and suddenly catching our first partially obscured view over the lush forest of the magnificent Angel Falls towering above us and in full thundering flow....