Traveller Reviews
Read holiday reviews and feedback by Mountain Kingdoms travellers.
Traveller reviews of Mountain Kingdoms
Overall holiday rating: 4.9
Total number of reviews submitted: 1257
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Silk Road to Samarkand - superb!
This tour successfully gives an excellent overview of a large area of Uzbekistan, taking in Tashkent, Khiva, Bokhara and Samarkand. You'll go round the remains of fortresses in the desert from 5th century BC, visit the jaw dropping monuments in all of the the towns, hear tales of Genghis Khan, Tamerlane and many others, stroll through bazaars and haggle with the friendly stall holders for spices, dried fruits, silks, embroidered textiles, ceramics, and so much more! This is a country of extremes, well geared up for tourism with its comfortable hotels yet retaining its ancient charm and mystique in abundance. There are plenty of opportunities in the free time to explore further behind the scenes. And the food............so good! Just do the holiday and experience it all!!
The Quieter Way
A beautiful route through rural northern Spain, the Northern Way has everything: wonderful scenery, fantastic food, great places to stay, friendly locals and an interesting history. This route offers an insight into the rural existence here, that insight being enhanced by our knowledgeable guide. It is worth taking an extra day or two in Santiago either at the outset, as we did, or at the end, taking time to explore the old town area.
Wild Mustang Trek
Attending the Tiji Festival in Lomanthang was a wonderful experience. The landscape north of Lomanthang and also the eastern part of Mustang are truly spectacular and definitely wild. Great mountain views of the snowcapped Dhaulagiri, Nilgiri and Tilicho. The walking is challenging in parts but a very rewarding experience.
A fantastic trip
My time is Japan was amazing; it is an incredible country for so many different reasons. The first thing that struck me was how exotic and different it was in comparison to anywhere I have ever travelled to before. I felt very at home during my time in Japan, the people were extremely welcoming, the culture and history both interesting and fascinating and the scenery was beautiful, unlike any I have ever experienced. All in all, Japan is such a wonderfully diverse country – perfect for an unforgettable holiday.
Mount Kailash Trek
I have given the trip an "excellent" tick since it is hard to criticise an organisation that succeeded in delivering what was, for me, a hugely valuable experience - where the location genuinely transcended my expectation.
Tough but doable
The itinerary is well thought out to ensure acclimatisation to altitude is likely to be successful whilst providing interesting walking on the acclimatisation days. The staff are always friendly and helpful to ensure the smooth running of the trip but clients need to be aware some days are long and hard although the views do provide a welcome respite.
Perfect
Wonderful experience.
Gentle Walking Bhutan
Group size just right. A good mix of ages. The trip ran smoothly as far as meals were concerned everywhere, prompt and efficient.
Annapurna & Everest in Style
Huge range of adventures all in one trip, with generally the best accommodation available.
Bistarai, bistarai
Bistarai, bistarai - our guide's words as we set off to climb the steep and rugged paths towards Tyengboche at altitude. It worked - the slowly, slowly pace helped us acclimatise and ensured that we enjoyed all the sensory experiences that a trek like this can offer. We gained a precious and tiny insight into life in a wholly different country from our own and were changed by that experience. Unforgettable!
Through the Annapurna foothills to Poon Hill
This private itinerary took us through the Annapurna foothills and on to Poon Hill to see the sun rise. Much of the walking was on good paths through forested areas with abundant and very colourful bird life. The walking also included small, quiet paths through hamlets and terraces, where local farmers could be seen working with simple ox drawn ploughs. The Ker and Downey lodges in the Modi Khola valley were all very comfortable with great views of the Himalayan peaks. The comfortable daytime temperature and moderate altitude make this a very enjoyable area to walk in.
Langtang & the Laurebina La Trek
Good route - lots of variety - scenic, ethnic and walking
Langtang & the Laurebina La
We felt we always had excellent care throughout the trip.
This was an excellent trekking experience
The combination of high mountain experience in Langtang and Laurebina La, with the slower paced but just as strenuous trek in Helambu, was ideal.
It was a wonderful trek
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this trek to anybody. I'm already planning my return to Nepal with HK (now MK).
Langtang Trek
I've trekked many times in Nepal and elsewhere - this was by far the most well organised.
I really enjoyed this holiday
Excellent route through spectacular scenery and interesting villages. The leader was excellent, informative and helpful. Because it was such a small group we got to know the porters too. Really great experience. Also liked trekking where there weren't too many other people, especially during second half of trek.
Druk Path trek and more
The Druk Path trek was very well organised throughout and we were very grateful for the sleeping bags and down jackets as it was very cold. In Katmandu Khim looked after us very well during our extra day there and the organised tour to the ghats and the Bodnath Stupa and environs was interesting. In Bhutan Bhim, our trek guide, was very good and amenable and the trek support team worked together extremely well. The cook provided amazing meals with many dishes, although I personally did not care for much of the food. However in Paro it was not possible to fit in the Festival on the same day as the hike up to the Tiger’s Nest and I would suggest it would be better to either forget the festival altogether or allow another day for it - what little we saw looked interesting. Sadly there were few rhododendrons out in the forest, just the bushes and pine trees. The visit to Punakha after the trek was particularly enjoyable and the whole group would have loved to spend another day there. Ten years ago my husband and I went on a trek to the Mgoun Massif, ascending Jebel Mgoun 4,068m, in the Atlas Mountains, Morocco. It was graded strenuous. Afterwards I decided I would not trek at that grade again, not because I could not do it; I could but I had to push myself to such an extent that I did not enjoy it. Unwittingly I have just done another trip of comparable toughness, the Druk Path Trek. Even discounting the altitude on this five day trek I feel it was moderate plus, taking the altitude into account I would rate it moderate/strenuous. Admittedly the days were relatively short but the gradients, both up and down, usually steep. Because of the icy conditions on the loop round the lake and the exposure on day three we cut this out. Had we done it it would have been a long day and Bhim told us that one at least one occasion he and the group had only arrived at the camp after dark. On returning from the trek I have looked up the grading given to the Druk Path by the company I went with previously to Morocco and they grade it moderate/challenging (4) which is what I found it.. The group could not think why we had been routed to Paro from Delhi via Kathmandu when there is a direct flight between Delhi and Paro. Doing so meant we spent a great deal of time waiting about at Kathmandu airport, which is no fun at all, and a total waste of our time. Kathmandu, once a delightful town, is now a polluted tip which I had no wish to visit.
Mountain Kingdoms' comment: Thank you for your comments. We are very pleased you thoroughly enjoyed most aspects of your trip to Bhutan. We would like to address your comments and offer some reassurance. Regarding the Paro Festival, there are three chances to attend this event
An unforgettable journey on the Druk Path Trek
This holiday has been unique and special in so many ways... from visiting beautiful monasteries and dzongs, sharing the Druk Path Trek with the friendly nomadic dogs, to experiencing four seasons in one day and camping in snow at night! The hot water bottles and hearty food were much appreciated! I am only sorry I could not have stayed longer and will definitely find a way back one day....
I had a seriously good time on this trip!
Personally the trip exceeded expectations in terms of accommodation, comfort, food etc and every day was just excellent. Bhutan has been a dream for a long time, and I was just in awe of the scenery, the wonderful people and all the special experiences.