Organized Tour Operators:
For many the benefits of joining a tour is without question the best alternative. This can be for reasons of: limited vacation time (which doesn’t allow you to just go scout the best trails), having all the logistics of a tour managed for you, little risk, local knowledge provided, English speaking guides that can introduce you to the culture of the country and provide insights to many questions, equipment availability, a variety of itineraries to suit your demands, flexibility, permits, health and client safety managed, to mention just a few. All of this should come with a professional tour operation.
There are a small number of companies offering guided trips on mountain bikes. Most provide high-quality bikes, local and western guides, pannier bags, helmets and all the necessary equipment. There is normally a minimum of four clients per trip required although for shorter tours two is also sufficient. For the shorter tours (2 to 3 days) vehicle support is not required whilst for longer tours vehicles can be provided at an extra cost. This provides the extra comfort of taking more gear plus the hair dryer, to warm the bed on cold nights!
Mountain Bike Tour Operators:
Himalayan Mountain Bikes or HMB
The longest serving operator in Nepal is Himalayan Mountain Bikes. Foreign operated and having been established since 1988 and introducing mountain bike tours to Nepal.
HMB has offices both in Kathmandu & Pokhara, and also operates throughout Asia.
Their Thamel office is just inside North Field Café which adjoins Pilgrims Book House, in the center of Thamel, whilst the Pokhara office is in Lakeside, between the entrance to the Royal Palace and the small Shiva Mandir that is perched over the lake at the south end of Lakeside.
HMB offers a full range of tours from one day (around $30) or 3 to 4 day tours (around $45/day, all inclusive) and up to 21day fully catered for trips (around $80/day) plus barebone & customized group tours. Most details can be found on their web page.
They have a complete workshop service center in Gongabu – Kathmandu (Ph: 355607) with a full time mechanic offering bike servicing in addition to quality bike clothing plus tour & rental bikes & bikes for sale.
Thamel Office: (Tel: 977- 01- 437437 Fax: 419237) Pokhara: Ph/fax: 977-61-21119
E-mail: bike@hmb.wlink.com.np
Dawn till Dusk
A recent additional to Kathmandu is Dawn till Dusk run by two Nepali brothers. They run many tours similar to that of HMB and at similar prices. They are located inside the compound of the Kathmandu Guest House –Thamel and have a good range of tour/ rental bikes to choose from.
They can be contacted via The Kathmandu Guest House phone number is 977-01- 418733 and by e-mail on DTD@frontier.wlink.com.np.
Bikeman
Bikeman is a local lad that has operated out of Kathmandu for several years and has a small but consistent operation offering tours ranging from one day or more. He also arranges customized tours over one or more weeks. He also undertakes bike servicing. He is located in the Thamel area and can be contacted on Ph 977-1- ???
