Terms and Conditions and Cancellation Policy

Terms and Conditions

1. Introduction

Welcome to ITREK EVEREST. By booking a trip with us, you agree to comply with the following terms and conditions. Please read them carefully before confirming your booking.

2. Booking and Payments

• A deposit of 20% of the total trip cost is required to secure your booking.
• The remaining balance must be paid at least 30 days before the trip’s departure date.
• For bookings made less than 30 days before departure, full payment is required at the time of booking.

3. Cancellation Policy

• Cancellations made 30 days or more before departure: Full refund.
• Cancellations made between 1-29 days before departure: Full refund minus the 20% deposit.
• Cancellations made once the trip has started: No refund.
• No refunds are provided for unused services during the trip.

4. Insurance

• All clients must have comprehensive travel insurance that covers medical expenses, evacuation, trip cancellation, and personal belongings.
• ITREK EVEREST will not be held responsible for any costs arising from inadequate insurance coverage.

5. Health and Fitness

• Participants must ensure they are physically fit and prepared for the trekking adventure.
• Any pre-existing medical conditions must be disclosed during booking.

6. Risk Acknowledgment

• Trekking involves inherent risks, including but not limited to altitude sickness, extreme weather conditions, and natural disasters.
• By joining our trips, you acknowledge these risks and agree that ITREK EVEREST will not be liable for any resulting injuries, illnesses, or incidents.

7. Itinerary Changes

• ITREK EVEREST reserves the right to modify itineraries due to unforeseen circumstances such as weather, road conditions, or natural disasters.
• In such cases, we will make every effort to provide alternative arrangements without additional costs.

8. Guide Authority

• Our guides and trek leaders have full authority during the trip to ensure your safety and the smooth running of the trek.
• Failure to comply with the guide’s instructions may result in exclusion from the trek without a refund.

9. Visa and Entry Requirements

• Clients are responsible for obtaining and carrying a valid passport and obtaining a visa to enter Nepal. Nepal has a visa on arrival process and the fees are $30 for 15 days, $50 for 30 days and $125 for 90 days. They will also accept an equivalent amount of EUR,CHF, GBP, AUD, CAD, HKG, SGD or JPY. Please ensure that you have funds to pay this fee upon arrival.

10. Personal Belongings

• ITREK EVEREST is not responsible for the loss or theft of personal belongings during the trip.

11. Liability

• We have no liability for loss, damage, delay, inconvenience, or direct or consequential loss, however caused, unless due to our employees’ negligence, in which case our liability is limited to a maximum of the refund of the tour cost.
• We do not own or manage the vehicles, accommodation, and restaurants used and we have no liability for loss or damage caused by the proprietors or operators of these suppliers.
• The client acknowledges that the nature of the tour is adventurous and that such holidays may involve a significant amount of personal risk.
• Extra cost due to unforeseen expenses that may arise due to factors beyond our control like landslides, political unrest, or personal illness are not our responsibility.
• Any additional expenses incurred by the client and paid for by ITREK EVEREST need to be reimbursed before departure from Nepal.

12. Emergency Rescue

• A helicopter will be chartered from Kathmandu to rescue an ITREK EVEREST guest if she/he is very sick due to altitude or an accident.
• The guest must pay the cost of the rescue operation which includes: helicopter charter, medical treatment expenses, extra porter, etc.
• For this reason, we require that our guests have travel insurance that covers emergency medical transport for high-altitude treks.

13. Trip Termination and Unused Services

• Any tour or trek can be terminated at the request of our guest(s), or in the case of sickness, accident, landslides, and other factors beyond our control.
• We will provide accommodations at a standard category hotel (including breakfast) during the remaining days of the scheduled trek.
• No refund will be made, and the client should bear any additional expenses for the remaining days.

14. Flexibility and Itinerary Adjustments

• The client appreciates and acknowledges that the nature of this type of travel requires considerable flexibility and should allow for alternatives.
• It is understood that the routes, schedules, itineraries, amenities, and modes of transport may be subject to alteration without prior notice due to local circumstances or events, which may include sickness or mechanical breakdown, flight cancellations, strikes, events emanating from political disputes, entry or border difficulties, climate, and other unpredictable or unforeseeable circumstances.
• Bad weather in the mountains can cause flight delays. This mainly applies to remote airstrips like Lukla and Jomsom.
• If you are delayed prior to the scheduled start of your trek or you choose to return earlier than the confirmed itinerary, ITREK EVEREST will provide your accommodation on a standard hotel basis (including breakfast) for the remaining days on your itinerary.
• There will be no refunds for unused services after the start of a tour or trek.
• ITREK EVEREST accepts no responsibility for charges incurred as a result of you missing your international flight connection. However, we will help organize your arrangements, and airlines are normally supportive of forced changes to your international flight.

15. Flight Cancellations and Helicopter Costs

• Flights to and from Lukla are subject to weather conditions and may be delayed or canceled.
• If a flight cancellation occurs and a helicopter is required to continue the trip as scheduled, guests must cover the additional cost of the helicopter transport.
• ITREK EVEREST will assist in arranging helicopter services but is not responsible for covering the cost. Our operations manager in Nepal will assist with these decisions should they become necessary and a collective decision will be made by the group on how to proceed.
• We strongly recommend that guests have travel insurance that includes coverage for trip interruptions, including helicopter transport due to flight cancellations.

16. Insurance Requirement

• It is a condition of booking that you and everyone in your party are adequately insured for the full duration of the holiday for any expenses related to illness, injury, death, loss of baggage and personal items, cancellation, and curtailment.
• If for any reason your insurance company declines to reimburse incurred costs, you will be directly responsible for making the payment before departing from Nepal.

17. Acceptance of Terms

By booking a trip with ITREK EVEREST, you confirm that you have read, understood, and accepted these terms and conditions.