Mountains are calling…

Bhaktapur is a historical city located approximately 20 km east of Kathmandu and was the capital city of Nepal during the second half of the 15th century. The central part of the city (also known as Durbar Square) is pedestrian only and features some amazing Hindu temples, the royal palace and monthly festivals.
I had the pleasure of undertaking a day trip out to Bhaktapur from Kathmandu with Madam tours whereby I was accompanied by my guide Saralaand saw that this is a well-preserved and beautiful city (despite the fact that a number of the buildings are being reconstructed as a result of the devastating earthquake in 2015).
It also gave me a glimpse as to what life in Nepal would have been like back in the 15th centuary and that Nepal is a country dedicated to preserving its culture.
The city also features two statues of lions, the golden gate (which lies the golden bath with its faucet) and the big bell which is rung twice a day as a tribute to the goddess Teleju.
Bhaktapur is a city well worth visiting as it has the small village feel whilst still being close to Kathmandu. There is also plenty of shopping and restaurants located nearby. A big thank you to Madam tours and Sarala for showing me this amazing city.

Spent two days with the owner Sarala and her husband, kamal. First day was to Durbar square in Bhaktapur. Second day was to the Great Boudha Stupa and Pashupati, and Budda park as a bonus. Both Sarala and Kamal are college professors and extremely knowledgeable. I had many questions and they were able to answer them all. They are very easy to talk to are very reasonably priced. They can cater to whatever needs you have and will personalize days for whatever you would like to do. Highly recommended if you come to Kathmandu!!!!

Our love of the Eddie Murphy classic movie The Golden Child led on this amazing adventure. Our whole holiday experience in Nepal was organised by Sarala herself no detail was missed! Sarala even took us on a guided tour of the city herself. Such an awesome experience will definitely use her again next time! Thank you Sarala we will miss you 😘

We have been eager to visit Nepal and Buthan and did get a recommendation to arrange the trip via Madame Tours. From the very first step at the Kathmandu airport madam Sarala as a CEO of the company was waiting to decorate us with the traditional flowers. From the very beginning it was very convenient to communicate with our wonderful organizer madam Sarala. We felt very welcome and both madam Sarala and Prakash together generously assisted in our first days of acclimatization in Kathmandu. Thanks to the carefully and for-the-group-specific arrangement we could enjoyed the sightseeing and secrets of Kathmandu, Lumbini (Budha’s birthplace), Pokhara and beauty of Annapurna. Even Everest by plane was included. We are not trackers, but we have managed to climb and enjoy the cloud-free sky and the tops under the snow. The trip to Bhutan was a “MUST SEE” event, from landing in Paro to climbing the highest Buddha’s temple in the world (Tiger Nest). People in Nepal are extremely nice and friendly willing to help everywhere you go. All our excursions, transport, accommodations and guides were all well-chosen and well organized. We have seen and experienced so much over the itinerary planning due to kindness and enthusiastic engagement of madam Sarala and at the end of our trip we felt as a part of Saralas wonderful family!

we highly recommend Madame Tours for any visit ton Nepal and Bhutan.

Madamtours was taking care of my tourist activities in and around Kathamandu. I really appreciate their capability to listen what I wanted as tourist and try to find the best options. If you want to take your time, they can make a super nice tourist plan for you. But also they can make more packed programs for travelers that have less time. They also have the means to experience activities that are less common. I did a day hike around the village of Temal. It was a super nice, pure hike through the mountains of Nepal with a fabulous sight on the Himalaya mountain range. I want to say thanks Shanta, Sangita and of course Sarala for the amazing experiences.

Having booked flights to Kathmandu in advance, we looked for someone to help us with a travel program and came across Sarala and Madam Tours through a personal recommendation. Sarala was very helpful in setting up an itinerary, which she revised a couple of times to accommodate our requests so that we were happy with the final version for the program. It was set to a 10-day visit, entailing a tour of Kathmandu´s Unesco heritage sites, temples and palaces, a stay in Pokhara, 4-days trekking in Annapurna up to Poon Hill and the visit of the ancient village Bandipur. It so happened, that we had the opportunity to meet with Sarala in Stockholm before the tour, which was very helpful for the planning.

Arriving in Kathmandu, we received a warm welcome at the airport by Sarala and she arranged a jeep with driver for us. They drove us to the hotel where she went through the details once again for the up-coming days. During the rest of our visit in Nepal, she stayed in daily contact with us, always making sure that we were ok. After trekking, she also met up with us in Bandipur, on our way back to Kathmandu.

The first days in Kathmandu gave us an insight into this marvellous city, full of spiritual atmosphere and cultural heritage. A tour guide, who turned out to be very knowledgeable, took us through some of the many exiting places during a half-day sightseeing-tour. Despite poor road conditions and traffic yam during the following day´s travel to Pokhara (and back again), we always felt safe on route, thanks to our experienced driver. Along with our driver, our trekking guide Tek also accompanied us on the Kathmandu-Pokhara drive. Tek went through our packings and informed us about the expected conditions and made sure we had our questions answered.

From Pokhara we set off for the mountain and trekking. There, we experienced the breathtakingly beautiful views of the Annapurna mountains and the shifting landscape from hills to mountains. Together with our fantastic and caring trekking-guide Tek and the porters, we felt like a confident team – to climbing the uncountable steps, seeing the rising sun from Poon hill, staying in neat teahouses, and trailing down through rhododendron forest and fields of cultivation, as buffalos and other animals seemingly at peace with the nature passed our way. One of us also celebrated birthday at Poon hill along with the rising sun and songs. A marvellous moment really.

All in all, Sarala and Madam Tours provided us with a life-time experience, always taking very good care of us with her kindness and personal warmth. Also, the fact that Sarala and the people she engaged around the trip are Nepalis, gave us the possibility to learn from first-hand source about the Nepalese culture, which we highly appreciated. Most rememberable of all is, however, the true friendliness and warmth of the Nepali people!

The best tour of Kathmandu, Nepal in my opinion! Sarala and Shankar (our tour guide) were absolutely the best… You can’t go wrong with them. You will definitely feel the warmth and hospitality of Nepal! A must-do when in the country. Plus points: you get to sing nice folks with them!