reviews
Read holiday reviews by Mountain Kingdoms travellers.
This was a real cultural experience, one of my best ever holidays. Contributing factors included a brilliant bunch of guests, our very hard-working tour guide and exposure to a wide variety of food styles at dinner times. Uzbek people are incredibly friendly and I felt very safe wandering about Tashkent and Samarkand As a result, I stayed an extra 2 nights on my own in Samarkand.
This trip gave a really good insight into the history of Uzbekistan and the key role it played when the Silk Road was at its height. I loved the city tours where we visited some amazing monuments which our tour guide introduced us to in an interesting and informative way. I also enjoyed the opportunity to visit the villages in the mountain areas as that allowed us to see completely different parts of the country, and see how people in those areas live.
A nice balance of sightseeing and hill walking.
The different culture, people, food and landscapes - natural and city - monuments, abundance of trees. Friendly encounters with Uzbek people. Interesting food.
The trek up to Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) - being there to enjoy the splendour of the mountains and watching the sun rise. Awe-inspiring!
A wonderful trip. Everything was so well organised: the pre-trip information, the flexibility of booking extra days before and after the walk, and our excellent guide who took care of everything whilst we were in Spain. This was much more than a walking holiday - it was a shared experience which we started walking with strangers and ended with friends.
First, a little context - we are late 50’s, used to mostly flat walking in the UK, but regular visitors to the gym and trekking abroad. This adventure was well paced with a well thought through itinerary, as we have come to expect from MK. We will not hesitate to use this company again. Dwarika’s hotel in Kathmandu is probably in our top 3 hotels that we have ever stayed in. Extend your stay here if you can. Everest Summit Lodges were very good. Tea houses of variable quality but always a decent nights sleep thanks to good quality sleeping bags and hot water bottles provided! On previous MK holidays, we have thought our guides to be very good, but on this occasion, our guide Kami was simply the best! Having been born in the area and previously summited Everest, he knew everyone and every stone, with an extensive knowledge of flora and fauna; he was clearly well loved and well respected. Without his helping handand that of our porter, I’m not sure we would have made it to Base Camp. The trip is classified Strenuous and rightly so, particularly during the last stretch to Base Camp when lower oxygen levels are more noticeable and the terrain more challenging. The itinerary gives good opportunity for acclimatisation, but the downside of this is that you are walking (typically 7.30am to 4pm with an hour for lunch) for 14 days in a row. For acclimatisation days, do not read “rest days”! That said, the scenery throughout was simply stunning, the people so friendly and the sense of achievement great. There is so much to see and enjoy at every stage of this trip, the memories of which will stay with us for a lifetime.
Took my breath away from start to finish, was even better than I had hoped for. Great guides and porters and the Nepalese are such a beautiful people you can’t help but fall in love with the place. I saw things and places on the trek that I will think of daily till I finally pop off.
Once in a lifetime trip. Excellent service received from booking and the 2 year delay due to lockdown. Kept regularly informed with options. The trek company in Nepal were outstanding. Very attentive and helpful. From Khim in Kathmandu to Mingma our guide who was excellent and provided a full cultural experience. Would highly recommend Mountain Kingdoms to anyone thinking of a trek.
Scenery was exceptional and greater opportunity to see how local people lived than other treks in Nepal. Absence of roads and cars was an absolute bonus!