reviews
Read holiday reviews by Mountain Kingdoms travellers.
Well thought out itinerary - good variety. Excellent local guide, the quality of the guide is crucial to the success of these group holidays. Small group size. Good hotels (much needed after a day cycling!).
Very active trip, never a dull moment.
What an experience. In addition to countless other wildlife, I tracked seven lions on foot, watched three leopards with their kill in trees just above me, saw two giant porcupines taking an evening stroll and marvelled at hundreds of brilliant bee-eaters. And the best bit was that I didn't have to share them with anyone else; no noisy vehicles, no distractions. Just us, our superb guide and an armed scout out in the wild Zambian bush.
The whole experience was the type of trip we were looking for to gain an insight into rural Sri Lanka away from the tourist areas with a particular emphasis on pristine scenery, fauna and flora and the opportunity to meet local and varied villagers. The accommodation was interesting and exciting, we always selected the local food and were never disappointed by random service stations for lunch to top of the range hotels. Every Sri Lankan we encountered couldn't have been more welcoming. A particular mention should go to Hafeel our young trekking guide whose friendly nature has rewarded him with a wealth of contacts along the way. He was able to give us an insight into the homes of Tamil tea pickers, paddy field workers..... over many cups of tea. His experienced eyes spotted so many birds and other animals and countless interesting plants.
We thoroughly enjoyed our first holiday both with Mountain Kingdoms and to South East Asia. The programme was packed and varied and we observed life in rural areas and in the busy cities as well as visiting numerous beautiful temples and pagodas. Our guide Zaw Zaw was very informative and friendly and patient and helpful when we fancied some retail therapy. Burma is a lovely place to visit as there is so much to see and the people were really friendly.
Three older ladies had an adventure: We overheard our first guide inform the second one that we looked a lot younger than we were - I wonder if he knew we were listening? This holiday was full of experiences and movement across the country between sights and environments: We seemed constantly to be on the move (often in boats of varying size) without feeling any rush and without any boredom in the travelling. The walks we did were never as strenuous as those we do regularly in Lakeland and so we were comfortable if a little warm. The trip included so many aspects of this country and its past - the recent history of the killing fields and ancient history of the old Capital at Siem Reap, the old and new in cities, forests, along rivers and on the coast. So much to see and appreciate. We expected to be wowed by the sights but we didn't expect to love the food and the people so much. We were so well looked after and yet every day was an adventure: Sunrise at Angkor Wat, sunset and fireflies in Kampot, chips and chilli for breakfast rowing down the river from Chi Phat, coconuts on Rabbit Island beach and pancakes for breakfast at the wildlife release station. Did I mention the carvings in the river and on the temples? Wonderful Cambodia!
We arranged a private tour of Burma following the same itinerary as the one for groups being unable to travel on any of the group dates. We were extremely impressed with Mountain Kingdoms, from the service from the head office beforehand to the delivery of the journey in Burma- everything ran perfectly. Compared to other companies journeys round Burma we really enjoyed the opportunity to walk in rural areas and interact with the communities there. Being in a group of four greatly facilitated this.
Pre-trip information was good e.g. kit list, first aid kit supplies. Also the day-by-day itinerary was how it was, without giving you any false expectations. We did find the mountain Kingdoms kit bag excellent as it fitted nicely into the sled and was very strong. Our leader greatly admired it, wishing she had one!!
Having travelled with your company many times we know we can rely on you to give us the best possible experience on our holidays.
Antarctica is beyond words, a calming, incomparable continent which claimed my silence.