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Total time: Six Weeks
“It is amazing that our time in India has been so full and so varied and we were able to see and learn so much. …. More than anything it made me realise how little is really needed to live. Our lives get cluttered with so much stuff and when you have to pack it on your back for hours at a time, you definitely prioritize to the bare necessities!” Bea Rigby. Himalaya Venture 2006 The Expedition: For six dramatic weeks you’ll experience life in bustling cities and remote villages, as well as exploring the natural world in wildlife reserves and on the mountain trails of the Himalayas. You can expect to encounter terrain that varies from absolute desert, to fertile valleys, and from deep jungle to snow-capped Himalayan peaks. Just getting around is a challenge in itself: On the road, traffic is an amazing mix of overloaded ox-carts, exuberantly painted lorries and even elephants! You’ll have to get to grips with that quintessential ingredient of life in India – the railway system, which is truly a world of its own! You’ll also experience travel on camel-back in the desert sands and various forms of watercraft to travel down the Ganges. The final challenge is the greatest of all: lace up your boots, load up your pack and head for the hills – Everest beckons!
Tigers, the Ganges and Calcutta (Week 7) 100 km south from Rewa is Bandhavgarh National Park, famous because it has the highest concentration of tigers of any park in India. Ironically, Bandhavgargh exists because it was the hunting ground for the Maharajas of Rewa and such was the zeal with which it was preserved, that the habitat has survived in perfect order and is now one of the best in India. When hunting was banned the tigers were able to thrive, despite the threat from poaching, and in recent years their numbers have remained stable. This is where Rudyard Kipling wrote his tale of Mowgli in “The Jungle Book”. We are based at Bandhavgargh for four days and will make 3 excursions into the park to view the wildlife. Exploring by jeep and on elephant back, the chances of spotting a tiger are very good. Among the other wild attractions are Nilgai, Chital, Chinkara, Gaur, Sloth Bears and Wild Boar along with some 250 species of birds. Travelling on, we first encounter the Ganges at the sacred Hindu city of Allahabad and board boats for a mellow two-day sail downstream to Varanasi. Here you can visit the riverside ghats where every day thousands of pilgrims submerge themselves in this most sacred water. Continuing east by train, we move on to Bengal and the city of Calcutta with its teeming masses. This lively city is a favourite destination for groups because life happens on the streets: colourful festivals, spontaneous street celebrations and lively street acrobats live side-by-side with abject poverty! A kaleidoscope of humankind. Darjeeling, into Nepal and Chitwan National Park (Week 8) The final part of the journey north to the hill station of Darjeeling follows the track of “The Toy Train” and is accompanied by steaming cups of the home-grown tea. Darjeeling is an abrupt change from the plains, the people are of mountain stock and the countryside is swathed in green tea plantations. We pause in this former hill station of the British Raj to savour our first views of the Himalayas - on a clear day you can see Everest. From Darjeeling we enter the Kingdom of Nepal which is still largely a rural society with small settlements dotted on every possible flat space. There are up to 60 ethnic groups within Nepal and each has its own culture and traditions. Our first destination in Nepal is Chitwan National Park where we hope to spot rhinos as well as Bengal tigers. The elephant is a favoured form of safari transport and after their day’s work you can take them to the river and scrub them down! Pokhara, whitewater rafting and Kathmandu (Week 9)
Kathmandu is a city of immense diversity and you’ll marvel at how ancient traditions co-exist with manifestations of modern life. For example, to get around there’s a choice of bicycle rickshaw or Japanese saloon; ancient Buddhist temples vie with satellite dishes to dominate the skyline and you can eat anything from traditional lentils and rice to pizzas and apple strudel. Please note however that this is one of the few places in the world that remains a McDonalds Free Zone! Everest Base Camp Trek and Journey’s End (Weeks 10,11 and 12) This eighteen-day trek is the ultimate and most challenging phase of Himalaya Venture. Our aim is to reach the Everest Base Camp and trek to the summit of nearby Kala Pattar ridge. At a height of 5,545m or 17,300ft above seal level, Kala Pattar affords the most mind-blowing panoramic view of the highest mountains in the world. Our Everest trek is through the Khumbu region of the Himalayas, homeland to the famous Sherpas. Ever since Sherpa Tenzing conquered Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary, these hardy mountain folk have provided the guides and porters that enable climbers to reach the summit. “Tea House” trekking is the norm in the Himalayas: The Everest trek passes through many Sherpa settlements in the Solu Khumbu where, for generations, families have opened their doors to passing travellers. Practically every house in the region doubles up as a “Tea House” and, following tradition, we too shall be staying as guests of the Sherpas. This arrangement provides a valuable boost to the local economy, as well as allowing us the experience of living with Sherpas. Trekking to high altitude gives your lungs their first real workout and it is vital that we regulate our ascent: “walk high, sleep low” is the mountain-walker's mantra, which means we cross a high pass during the day, and then descend to the valley floor to sleep. Going up too fast can lead to the unwanted and potentially dangerous affects of altitude sickness. The scenery changes dramatically as the huge peaks of Lhotse, Ama Dablam and Everest loom into view. Keep your camera handy because these are the views of a lifetime! We call at the Himalaya Rescue Association clinic in the village of Pangboche where the trained doctors brief us on health and sickness in the mountains before we climb further to the final Tea House at Gorak Shep. We spend the night at 5,200m and next morning trek the final kilometres to Everest Base camp itself. The peak-ridge of Kala Pattar beckons: a two-hour walk to the top and we are there! Standing at this point you will know that you and your team have achieved something special – in front of you lies the entire Everest south face. The final week is the return to Kathmandu. The walk down to Namche Bazaar will seem effortless and from there we trek to Lukla where an airstrip has been constructed on one of the few “flat” areas of the Himalayas. A breathtaking flight returns the group to Kathmandu where the trappings of modern life will seem strangely foreign. You can’t leave Kathmandu however, without celebrating the successes of the expedition in the traditional way! Coming home. Life can seem very tame when you return home from a place like South America. It’s important to retain contact with your fellow Venturers to help put your travel experiences into context. VentureCo host an annual reunion party every September to help you achieve this. The event is open to all Venturers, past and present and is an important date in the social calendar! Where else do VentureCo operate in Asia? (links)
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Himalaya Venture Expedition 
We are now preparing for Everest and a preparatory trek from Pokhara will test your equipment, your legs and your lungs. A raft-run down one of the Himalayan rivers will help boost your adrenalin before arriving in Kathmandu for the final Base Camp Trek preparations.