Clients Testimonials

Wedding at the top of the world – Outdoor Himalayan Treks made it happen!

We (my girlfriend Šárka and I) are not new to travelling. During the last 5 years, we visited numerous countries in the world, on different continents. The list includes USA, Kyrgyzstan, Chile, Argentina, Nepal and some of the European countries. It’s usually only two of us, travelling on our own. In autumn 2009, we came to Nepal for a month to trek the famous Annapurna circuit. Upon our arrival in the capital city Kathmandu, a nice guy, who introduced himself as Raj, gave us a lift from the airport to the centre. He turned out to be an owner of travel agency Outdoor Himalayan Treks. We accepted an invitation to his office in Thamel, where he gave us an overview of the services his company provides. We were already decided to manage and organize everything ourselves and therefore weren’t looking to hire a guide or porter. However, it was a very friendly and pleasant chat, with nobody trying to push us to make a deal. In the end, the visit turned to be helpful anyway, as Raj found a hotel for us – exactly in a price range we were looking for and also organized bus tickets along with all the necessary permits and cards we needed for the trekking. That saved us a significant amount of time we would be running around the city. The trekking was fantastic! In almost 4 weeks long, epic journey, we walked around the whole Annapurna massive, making it over the highest point of the trek, the 5416m high Thorung La pass. We also visited the Annapurna sanctuary – base camp hidden in the heart of the mountain range, with mighty Annapurna 1, 8091m high, towering right in front of us. Overall impressions from Nepal were purely positive: beautiful landscape, nice people and tea-house trekking style, where tourists don’t have to carry the cooking stove and food, as one can always find a bed and something to eat in lodges that can be found in almost every village, up to 4500m. When leaving Nepal, we knew we will do our best to come back again.

Earlier than we thought – in less than 2 years – we were on the way to Nepal again. This time to explore the most popular destination: the Everest region. However, trekking wasn’t the only objective this time. Being with Šárka for 13 years, we were thinking of getting married for some time already. And we came up with a crazy idea: how about the wedding in Nepal? First off, we started to investigate what are the requirements in this matter in the Czech Republic, our home country. Secondly, we wanted to find out if it is at all possible on the Nepalese side. Immediately, we thought about asking Raj from Outdoor Himalayan Treks, we had a pleasant experience with from our last visit, so it didn’t take more than few moments to initiate e-mail conversation. Raj started to investigate on his side and again, he was very helpful in answering our questions and clarifying the details. Through e-mails, we sorted out the timing, location, clothes, itinerary, required documentation and of course – price. As our wish was to get married in the Everest Base Camp, we agreed with Raj on taking a guide with us who will lead the marriage.

It felt so great being back. Now we understand, what it means being possessed by Nepal. Foreigners visiting the country 5-times or more are no exception here. At the airport, there were already people from Outdoor Himalayan Treks waiting for us to take us to the hotel. Soon after arriving, we went to meet Raj. There were plenty of things to sort out and plan in detail. The following day, one of his guys took us to the offices of the local authority where we went through paper signing exercise with the assistance of Raj’s lawyer. In the afternoon we went to a tailor to order typical Nepalese wedding clothes for me and Šárka. The next day, we left Kathmandu, heading to Jiri, the starting point of our trek. At this point without a guide. The plan was to meet him in Lukla (starting place for most of the tourists) in a week time. That was what we needed to get there on foot. Being the end of October, the weather was supposed to be good after the monsoon season, with plenty of sunshine and great visibility. However, clouds soon rolled into valleys and stayed for more than a week. That meant no flights could go in and out from Lukla. We stayed in Namche Bazaar for 3 days, waiting for the weather to improve, hoping to catch up with our guide, stuck on the airport in Kathmandu at that time. Then, being pressed by time already, we decided to move on, even without him. What a surprise it was, the first day the sky was clear again, Krish – our guide – showed up in our lodge late in the evening. We knew he couldn’t make it that fast, as we were 4 days away from Lukla (not counting essential acclimatization days). An even greater surprise was when we found out Raj sent him by helicopter, to ensure there is no impact on our wedding. Remarkable! Krish is exactly the type of the guide we were hoping to have: professional, responsible, in a good physical shape, reliable and with the sense of humour. In overall, a very nice guy. Since then, we were travelling together. Even though I consider us experienced trekkers, having Krish with us made a difference. His knowledge of the region, local traditions and religion gave the trip a different flavour. Not to mention we didn’t have to worry about pathfinding with him. We crossed the Kongma La pass (5535m) to connect with the trail going to Everest Base Camp in Khumbu valley. There, at altitude 5364m, Šárka and I, got married. Krish brought the wedding clothes and all the necessities for the ceremony and guided us through the Hindu style marriage. What a fantastic day! Something, we will never forget…

In following days, leaving Khumbu valley, we crossed Cho La pass (5420m), hanged around in Gokyo village, surrounded by beautiful sacred lakes and crossed the last saddle on the Three passes trek: Renjo La (5340m), closing the circuit and returning to Namche Bazaar. During the 10 days we stayed at a very high altitude, the weather was fantastic, but then again, clouds filled-in the valleys. As we knew there will be no air traffic between Lukla and Kathmandu, we took the opportunity and stayed a couple of days in Namche, also to cure the infamous “Khumbu a cough”. Krish returned to Kathmandu earlier, to lead another group of trekkers. Due to no planes flying, he went to Jiri to take the bus. All that just in 3 days – very impressive!

Upon our return to Kathmandu, we enjoyed a couple of days in Thamel – the tourist centre of the capital and also sorted out remaining administration related to our marriage, where Raj played a major role in getting us all the papers and stamps we needed. What a lovely Nepalese certificate of marriage we got! The great thing about it was there were no issues with the Czech administration accepting the documents and therefore we’re officially (and happily :-)) married in our country.

What to say at the end? Better holidays and wedding we probably couldn’t have. Thanks to Raj (Rajendra Sapkota) and Krish (Krishna Basnet) from Outdoor Himalayan Treks for this wonderful experience, their endless support and professionalism. The quality of service they provide is way above all other travel agencies I know. Well done!

For everyone who likes mountains, Nepal is the top destination to go to. This was our second visit, but we still don’t have enough. There is so much more to see and explore. I encourage and recommend to all the people who enjoy travelling, nature and mountains in particular, to give it a try. But don’t tell me I haven’t warned you: Nepal is extremely addictive.

March, 2012