Terms & Conditions – Good Karma Trekking

Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully. By completing and submitting your Booking Form, you agree to be legally bound by these conditions. This document constitutes the entire agreement between Good Karma Trekking (GKT) and you. No variations to these conditions will be effective unless made in writing and explicitly signed by an authorized representative of GKT.

In these Terms and Conditions, “GKT representatives” refers to GKT’s tour leaders, staff, officers, employees, agents, licensees, guides, third-party operators, and the land management authorities in each country where the tour is conducted.

Understanding Your Agreement

By completing and submitting the Booking Form, you affirm that you:

• Are over the age of 18 years and possess the legal capacity to execute the waiver, release, and indemnity contained herein.
• Understand that this document is contractual in nature, carries legal effect, and is not merely a warning or for informational purposes.
• Acknowledge that GKT has relied upon your acceptance of this document in permitting your and/or your child’s participation in the tour.

For Participants Under 18 Years of Age: Where this document is signed for a participant under 18 years of age, the signing parent or legal guardian expressly covenants in terms of conditions 17 (Assumption of Risk) and 18 (Privacy), assuming all responsibilities and liabilities in respect of any claim or cause of action that arises out of or is incidental to the child’s participation in the tour.

1. How to Book

To secure your place on a tour, you must:

• Complete the Booking Form (either online or a paper form).
• Pay a non-refundable deposit of $250 USD.
• Special Cases: Some trips, particularly those requiring immediate permit payments (e.g., Bhutan), may require a non-refundable additional deposit or full instant payment. Please refer to the individual trip notes for specific details regarding these requirements.

2. Prices

Our quoted prices represent the most current rates, are per person, and are based on minimum participant numbers.

• Small Group Surcharge: If minimum numbers are not met by the balance payment due date, a small group surcharge may be offered to ensure the trip’s operation. This option will be communicated to you.
• Inclusions & Exclusions: Refer to the specific trip notes for a detailed list of all tour inclusions and exclusions.
• Price Adjustments: Once you have paid a deposit for your trip, any subsequently advertised discounts or price reductions may not be retrospectively applied to your booking. While GKT strives to maintain tour prices, increases may occur due to factors beyond our control, including but not limited to:
  • Increases in ground operator services.
  • Exchange rate fluctuations.
  • Increased fuel costs.
  • Airfare increases.
  • Airport charges.
  • The necessity to engage alternative air or ground operators.
• Payment of Increases: Any unavoidable increase in tour prices must be paid in full prior to the departure date.

3. Payment

• Balance Due Date: The balance of the tour price is payable to GKT 30 days prior to departure.
• Bhutan Packages: For Bhutan tours, the balance payment is due 120 days prior to departure.
• Currency: All prices are quoted in American Dollars (USD) unless otherwise specified, and all payments must be made in American Dollars (USD).
• Consequence of Non-Payment: If the balance of the tour price is not received by GKT by the due date, your booking will be considered cancelled, and the cancellation charges outlined in Section 4 will apply.

4. Cancellations

Should you need to cancel your tour, you must notify GKT in writing (email is acceptable). The cancellation will take effect subject to the following charges:

• Standard Tours:
  • More than 70 days prior to departure: Forfeiture of your full deposit, and any additional non-refundable deposits paid.
  • Between 70 and 35 days prior to departure: 50% of the total tour price will be forfeited.
  • Less than 35 days prior to departure: 100% of the total tour price will be forfeited.
• Bhutan Packages:
  • More than 120 days prior to departure: Forfeiture of the full deposit amount.
  • Less than 120 days prior to departure: You will be required to pay the full cost of the tour.

General Cancellation Terms: The tour price is quoted as a comprehensive package. No partial refunds or credits will be given for services not utilized once the tour has commenced. Any forfeited amount not yet paid to GKT by you may be recovered by GKT as a legally due and payable debt.

5. Amendments & Transfers

5.1. Amendments by You: To make amendments to your confirmed tour arrangements, you must notify GKT in writing.

• Each amendment will incur a $25 USD administration fee.
• You will also be liable for any increase in airfares, operational expenses, or additional permit/deposit penalties resulting from the amendment.

5.2. Transfers to Another Tour: If you wish to transfer from one tour to another, you must notify GKT in writing. The transfer will take effect subject to the following conditions:

• Transfers may only be made to another tour scheduled to commence within 12 months of your original departure date.
• The following transfer charges will apply:
  • Notice received more than 70 days prior to original departure date: A $100 USD transfer fee will apply. Additionally, any increase in airfares, operational services, or extra permit/deposit penalties will be charged.
  • Notice received between 70 and 35 days prior to original departure date: 50% of your original tour price will be forfeited.
  • Notice received less than 35 days prior to original departure date: 100% of your original tour price will be forfeited.

6. Health & Fitness Requirements

You must be in good health and physical condition appropriate for your chosen tour. We strongly advise you to follow our pre-departure fitness training recommendations.

• Medical Questionnaire: Depending on the trip grading and your medical circumstances, you may be required to submit a medical questionnaire.
  • Tours Graded 1-4: No medical form is required unless your booking form indicates a pre-existing medical condition.
  • Tours Graded 5-7: You will receive and may complete the medical form yourself. However, if you have a pre-existing medical condition or are 70 years of age or above, you must have your doctor complete your medical form, regardless of the trip grading, to certify you as fit to participate.
  • Tours Graded 8-10: You are required to have your doctor complete and sign your medical questionnaire.
• Specific Health Concerns: If you suffer from severe muscular, chest, heart, or bronchial disorders, or if you are a severe asthmatic, or have high blood pressure, you are strongly advised against participating in our tours.
• Remote Locations: Our tours often take place in remote areas with limited or no access to normal medical services or hospital facilities for serious problems. Evacuation, if necessary, can be prolonged, difficult, and expensive.
• Medical & Evacuation Expenses: Medical and evacuation expenses will be your sole responsibility. We emphasize that your mandatory travel insurance (see Section 13) should cover these costs.
• Age Limit for Mountaineering: While we do not discriminate by age for most treks, due to the extreme nature of our mountaineering trips, we strongly discourage participants over 60 years of age.
• Right to Refuse Participation: GKT reserves the right, in its absolute discretion, to refuse a participant the right to participate in a tour if their health or fitness is deemed inadequate or poses a risk to themselves or others. Our standard cancellation terms will apply in these circumstances.

7. Medical Disclosure

By booking, you declare and warrant that:

• You are in good health and mental and physical fitness at the time of booking this tour.
• You have disclosed to GKT every matter concerning your health and mental and physical fitness of which you are aware, or ought reasonably be expected to know, that is relevant to GKT’s decision to permit you to go on the adventure tour.
• Immediately upon any adverse change in your health or fitness that may be likely to affect GKT’s decision to permit you to go on the adventure tour, you will notify GKT in writing of any such adverse change.
• You acknowledge that the obligation to disclose under this condition continues from the time of booking the tour through to departure and for the duration of the tour.
• GKT is permitted to disclose relevant medical information to our consultant doctor for an opinion.
• GKT’s consultant doctor may exclude you from a tour if he/she deems it necessary for your safety or the safety of the group.
• You have taken the necessary precautions to immunize/vaccinate for the destination you are traveling to, as advised by health authorities.
• You have obtained a travel insurance policy that adequately covers you for medical eventualities, including specific coverage for any pre-existing medical conditions.

8. Tour Leaders

GKT tour leaders are highly experienced and take their responsibilities seriously.

• Exclusion Prior to Departure: If, for any reason, a tour leader believes in their absolute discretion that you should not participate in the tour before its departure, they may exclude you. In this event, you will be offered the option of taking another tour considered suitable for you or a full refund of payments made to GKT.
• Exclusion During Tour: If, at any point during a tour, the tour leader considers, in their sole discretion, that your behavior, fitness, or mental or physical health is likely to cause danger, distress, or annoyance to yourself or others, they may direct you not to continue the tour. You must follow the tour leader’s instructions. In such a case, you will not be entitled to any refund.
• Change of Tour Leader: GKT reserves the right to change the tour leader of any tour at any time. We will endeavor to ensure that any alternative tour leader has expertise commensurate with that of the original leader. Such a change by GKT will not grant you any right to cancel the tour or claim any expenses, loss, or damage suffered.

9. Complaints

If you encounter any problem or have a complaint during your trip, please bring this to the immediate attention of your GKT tour leader or the relevant local supplier (e.g., transport provider, hotelier) so they can attempt to resolve the issue on the spot.

• If your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction locally, please contact your GKT consultant by email or phone. They will endeavor to assist you.
• If your complaint cannot be resolved locally during the trip, please follow this up in writing within 30 days of your return home by writing to our Operations Department at operations@goodkarmatrekking.com

10. Cancellation Due to Tour Booking Numbers

GKT reserves the right to:

• Nominate a small group surcharge if a trip has not reached its minimum required participant numbers.
• Cancel a tour entirely if minimum numbers are not met, or for other operational reasons.

In the event of a tour cancellation by GKT for such reasons, you will receive a full refund of all payments made by you to GKT. However, you will not be entitled to claim any additional amounts or seek any compensation for any injury, loss, expenses, or damage, or for any loss of time or inconvenience which may result from such cancellation. This includes, but is limited to, visa, passport, and vaccination charges, personal gear purchases, or non-refundable international flights and associated taxes.

11. Route Changes, Postponement, Cancellation, or Delay by GKT

GKT reserves the right, both before or during a tour, to:

• Cancel or modify any routes within the tour or objectives set out in the itinerary.
• Substitute different or equivalent routes within the tour in place of cancelled or modified routes.
• Postpone, cancel, or delay (either in relation to departure or arrival times or the duration of the tour) any aspect of the tour if, in the absolute discretion of GKT, it is necessary due to:
  • Inclement weather, snow, or icy conditions.
  • Circumstances known to us that are otherwise likely to be hazardous or dangerous.
  • Any other adverse or threatening conditions, whether political, military, terrorist, or otherwise.
  • A likelihood of any such event occurring which may impact upon the safety of the participants.
  • An act or omission of a third party that prevents the tour or any aspect of the tour from being undertaken in accordance with your booking.
  • Any other reason considered necessary by GKT.

Consequences of Such Changes: In the event of any change, modification, cancellation, postponement, or delay under this condition, you acknowledge that you will have no right of refund of the tour price (whether in whole or in part) and no right to claim compensation for any injury, loss, damage, or other additional expenses incurred by virtue of the change, modification, cancellation, postponement, or delay. This reinforces the need for comprehensive travel insurance.

12. Itineraries and Information Accuracy

Itineraries and other tour details are published by GKT in good faith as statements of intention only. Reasonable changes in the itinerary and related items may be made where deemed necessary or advisable by GKT for operational or safety reasons. The information contained on GKT’s website, brochures, trip notes, and pre-departure information is, to the best of GKT’s belief, correct at the date of publishing.

13. Travel Insurance (Mandatory)

Personal travel insurance is not included in the tour price.

• It is a strict condition of booking a tour with GKT, and your sole responsibility, to ensure that you are adequately insured for the full duration of the tour.
• Your insurance policy must, at a minimum, cover:
  • Illness and pre-existing medical conditions.
  • Personal injury and death.
  • Loss of baggage and personal items.
  • Emergency evacuation and repatriation (including helicopter rescue at high altitudes).
  • Trip cancellation and curtailment (interruption).
• Proof of Insurance: You must provide evidence to GKT that you have obtained personal travel insurance covering all the activities in which you expect to participate, particularly those related to adventure travel and high altitude.
• Consequence of No Insurance: If you do not, for any reason, provide satisfactory evidence of suitable personal travel insurance, GKT may, at its discretion, cancel your tour. In such a case, the tour price you have paid will be refunded less applicable cancellation fees and any other non-recoverable costs GKT has incurred.

14. Proof of Citizenship & Travel Documentation

It is your exclusive responsibility to obtain and carry proper identification, valid passports, visas, and any other proof of citizenship or travel documentation as required by the authorities of Nepal and any transit countries you may pass through.

• Denied Boarding/Entry: You will not be entitled to a refund if you are denied boarding, entry to a country, or exit from a country on any basis, including, without limitation, improper or insufficient documentation (e.g., expired passport, incorrect visa) or failure to provide required information.
• Passport Validity: It is a requirement of many countries, including Nepal, that your passport is valid for at least six months beyond the date of your return home to your country of residence. It is your responsibility to verify and ensure such validity.

15. Airlines and Other Transport Providers

Any material published by GKT, the Booking Form, and these conditions of contract are not issued on behalf of, and do not commit, any airline or other transport provider whose services are used or proposed to be used in the course of the tour.

• Airline/Transport Amendments: If an airline’s or other transport provider’s proposed travel or fare schedule is amended or cancelled, such amendment or cancellation will not be considered a cancellation of the tour by GKT.
• Provider’s Conditions: Any flights or other transport forming part of the tour arrangements are subject to the specific conditions of the carrying airline or other transport entity. In most cases, this limits the airline’s or other transport entity’s liability to passengers in accordance with applicable international law and conventions (e.g., the Montreal Convention for international air travel).

16. Force Majeure

GKT shall not be liable for any loss, damage, delay, or failure to perform any of its obligations under this agreement if such non-performance is caused (directly or indirectly) by reason of a force majeure event. These events include, but are not limited to:

• Acts of God (e.g., extreme weather, earthquakes, landslides, floods).
• Strikes, trade disputes, or industrial actions.
• Fire, breakdowns, or equipment failures.
• Epidemics and pandemics, including widespread disease outbreaks.
• Interruption of transport or infrastructure.
• Government or political action, including travel bans, border closures, or emergency declarations.
• Acts of war or terrorism, civil commotion, or rebellion.
• Acts or omissions of a third party outside GKT’s reasonable control.
• Any other cause whatsoever outside GKT’s reasonable control.

In the event of a force majeure, GKT will be under no liability whatsoever to you and may, at its option, by written notice to you, cancel the tour. In such a scenario, the cancellation charges outlined in Section 4 will apply, or as specifically detailed in Section 4.3 (Cancellation by GKT due to Force Majeure).

17. Assumption of Risk

You acknowledge and agree that:

• Nature of Adventure Travel: By its very nature, adventure travel and trekking holidays are inherently more challenging and demanding, carrying a commensurately higher level of risk compared with conventional holidays. They involve potential exposure to injury, illness, and possibly death.
• Varying Standards: In the countries and regions where adventure travel is undertaken (e.g., Nepal), standards of accommodation, transport, health care, hygiene, safety, and service provision generally are often not as high as those standards in your country of residence. This may require flexibility, patience, and adaptability on your part.
• Additional Dangers: The inherent dangers and risks associated with adventure travel may include, but are not limited to:
  • Difficult and dangerous terrain.
  • High altitude and associated risks (e.g., Altitude Sickness).
  • Extremes of weather, including sudden and unexpected changes.
  • Political instability or civil unrest.
  • Remoteness from normal medical services and communication infrastructure.
  • Difficulties with emergency evacuation in the event of illness or injury.
  • The actions or inactions of third-party operators or participants.
• Acceptance of Risk: The enjoyment and excitement of adventure travel are derived, in part, from the inherent dangers and risks associated with such activities. You confirm that these inherent dangers and risks are a reason why you wish to undertake the adventure tour.
• Your Responsibility: You have submitted your booking for the tour after giving due consideration to relevant travel information, including, without limitation, any relevant travel advisories or warnings issued by your government (e.g., Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK Foreign Office, US Department of State). It is your ongoing responsibility to acquaint yourself with such information or advice.

For the reasons outlined above, you therefore explicitly accept the inherent and increased dangers and risks associated with the proposed adventure tour and the accompanying risk of injury, death, or property damage or loss.

18. Privacy Policy

You permit GKT to collect personal information from you, or from your medical practitioner, regarding your health and medical condition. You acknowledge that this personal information may be disclosed to GKT representatives solely in order to ensure your safety and well-being during the tour, and will not be used by them for any other purpose. For a comprehensive understanding of how we collect, use, and protect your personal data, please refer to our full Privacy Policy page.