The Himalayas are an expansive mountain range, stretching about 1500 miles in length and crossing into five countries. Of these five, Wildland Trekking offers tours in three: Nepal, Bhutan, and Pakistan.
Nepal is a wonderland of cultural discovery and phenomenal high mountain trekking, truly a hiker’s paradise. With long hiking routes through the Himalayas (13-17+ days), Nepal offers adventurous visitors the opportunity to combine mountain trekking, sightseeing, cultural discovery, and natural interpretation in ways that are world-famous and truly unforgettable. We offer the most iconic trips, like Everest Basecamp and the Annapurna Base Camp, as well as a couple more obscure routes that takes you off the beaten path into the heart of the wild Himalayas. All of our Nepal hiking trips feature lodging in Tea Houses, U.S. and local guides, porters and support staff. Nepal is by far the most popular country to visit the Himalayas because of the famous peaks, like Everest and Annapurna, along with the relative ease of travel and established tourism industry surrounding the mountains.
Just to the east of Nepal, tucked in between the spiritual hubs of Tibet and India lies the small country of Bhutan known for being the world’s only carbon negative country, having a capital city with no street lights, and a government that measures the country’s success by GNH: Gross National Happiness. Only recently open to international travel, Bhutan remains relatively unknown but is one of Asia’s best kept secrets when it comes to hiking and trekking vacations. Sixty percent of the country’s land is protected forest and much of the rest is the foothills (if you can call 20,000 ft tall mountains foothills) of the Himalayas, rising out of the lowlands and valleys in the southern part of the country. In order to ensure that tourism is sustainable, the Kingdom of Bhutan has put very strict limits in place for outside travel, so visiting with a tour group is your only option for seeing this amazing country. On tours to Bhutan with Intrepid, everything is included from all the meals to your lodging and transportation as well as a local guide. The Trans Bhutan Trail is newly refurbished and takes travelers passed mountain villages filled with friendly locals, ancient monasteries perched precariously atop cliffs, and stunning scenery with deep gorges and the soaring Himalaya
Finally, to the west of both Nepal and Bhutan is Pakistan, home to the end of the Himalaya range and the Karakoram mountains, which are sometimes considered separate from the Himalayas. On our trip with Intrepid through Pakistan, the group gets to discover the beautiful capital city, explore smaller villages around the country, and camp in the stunning little Tibet or the Yosemite of Pakistan. This valley boasts sheer cliffs, flourishing flora and fauna, and some of the best views in the entire country. You’ll camp in style here and enjoy portered service just like you do in Nepal, but in a much less frequented area. Whatever country you choose to visit for you Himalayan hiking adventure, you won’t regret choosing to a Wildland Trekking trekking vacation.
