Nepal & India Adventure with Gapforce

I got to know a lot about culture. Also, getting to know the mindsets and world views of other people was very rewarding. The money budget for the food was bothersome almost everyday, because it pressured people into saving money and affected the choice of restaurants. As we were free to go on our own, it undermined further our team spirit. The leaders both were competent and experienced in their knowledge on traveling and getting along. But I would have preferred more encouragement regarding personal growth and confidence. Since we didn’t have to worry about trains, flights and buses, we weren’t really challenged to grow personally, and the waiting times before food and in between trains was boring. I expected to be more challenged, having to organize and engage more.

I had a great time on this trip. I really enjpyed getting to work with Tibet World and helping them to continue their ground breaking work teaching English to anyone who wants to learn.

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Had an awesome time with some amazing people. White water rafting, Jeep Safari, Everest base camp and so much more. Loved it so much I had to stay for a few exra weeks afterwards! Colin and Fergus were fantastic leaders, always ready to answer questions, offer advice, and have a laugh. Highlight of the program was definitely summiting Kalla Pather to watch the sun rise over mount Everest.

From busy Kathmandu bars
to arctic trekking, this was a very varied trip that I'd recommend to everyone outdoorsy!

I throughly enjoyed my time in Nepal and India with Gapforce.
Within the group I made some friends for life that otherwise I would have never crossed paths with. However if you savour solitude this trip may not be for you. Spending intense time with people was hard but ultimately we grew to understand each other and came away from the experience as a family.
I loved my time in Nepal and definitely want to go back there at some point. Volunteering at the orphanage in Pokhara was a humbling experience and really opened my eyes to how privileged I am.
The Everest trek was my favourite part of the whole trip, having no contact with the outside world and spending days in picturesque surroundings was fun but definitely take a few books up there as you arrive to each place at 3/4pm and end up sat around with nothing to do at times.
India for me seemed to go by too fast as we only stayed in places for a few days. My favourite places in India were Udaipur, Dharamsala and Jaisalmer. Camping under the stars was by far the best night in India, however watching other members of the group exploit the camels by riding them was difficult for me to watch as someone who cares about animal welfare.
Our leader Colin was incredible and looked out for all of us while giving us space to get what we wanted out of the trip.
Fergus who only got to stay for 2 weeks due to health problems was also lovely, I felt comfortable talking to them both about anything that was bothering.
Overall I highly recommend gapforce as a company this was an experience I will never forget and has defiantly helped my develop as a person.

This trip was an experience like none other. I didn't know exactly what I was getting myself into when I signed up, I simply had an itch to travel to India! While I was expecting more volunteering throughout the program, I still had a great time and met wonderful people. If you're looking for more of a volunteering based trip, then this one probably isn't for you. But if you want to go an ultimate bucket list trip and help a few people along the way, then you've found the right program! The trip was challenging at times because our group was together 24/7 for two months and it's hard to please everyone at all times. Some parts were more enjoyable than others as well. Of course Base Camp was great, but it got to be mentally exhausting, as to be expected. While in India, we traveled to many many places, a little too quickly at times it felt. But because we did so many different things while in India, there was definitely something for everyone to enjoy at any given time. I personally preferred the second half of the India trip, but that also happened to be the time when we all fell a bit ill with food posioning or the famous Dehli Belly... Overall I had a great time, and while I didn't enjoy 100% of it 100% of the time, I definitely benefitted from the trip as a whole and made great friends along the way!

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Nepal and India adventure, never getting bored due to the fun packed busy schedule that was planned for us. From the Everest Base Camp trek to teaching English, we could emerge ourselves in the culture of these two fascinating countries. Having never been to Asia before I did not know what to expect and was a little nervous, however the fabulous guides Colin and Fergus were extremely organised an efficient, answering any stupid question we may have and always going out of their way to make sure we had an amazing time.
As with any trip there were lowlights, such as getting stuck in Lukla after the bad weather meant flights back were cancelled and then having to walk for a further 2 days. But in the long run it just made the trip that little bit more memorable!
All together a trip I will never forget, meeting the most amazing group of people that will now be friends for life, and experiencing once in a lifetime opportunities such as meeting the Dalai Lama! Due to all of this I would 100% recomend gapforce to any young traveller wanting an adventure.

Having done the full 8week, India and Nepal programme, i overall really enjoyed it and think it was a great experience. I was the only one in the group not going to university (everyone was my age however - 18-19).

The Nepal part of my trip I throughly enjoyed, Chitwan and Pokhara were beautiful, I loved the trek and Katmandu was good fun.
A few changes/ recommendations I would make are:
- An extra day in Chitwan would have been great (and one less in Katmandu at the end)
-For the volunteering in Pokhara- the farm project was really great and I felt like I was making a big impact but the time in the orphanage coincided with a holiday so it didn’t feel as tho we were being much help! All the less was eye opening to see how excellently the children were looked after etc
- for the trek Yaks where used, I found it very hard to exploit an innocent animal for my own selfish ease and would highly recommend to anyone who is conscious of animal rights to request in advance not to use yaks and carry your own bags, this is a big regret of mine I have carried with me, I would also suggest to gapforce to consider to stop using yaks for future expeditions.
-On the trek , we ended up doing an extra 2 days walk to the road to get back- that walk was so cool and so much less touristy I would even recommend including it anyway- it may even save some money?
- I would also recommend buying lots of snacks before the Everest trek and planning them out day by day (I didn’t do this and ended up spending lots of money on snacks and as a vegan was left with a very slim snack option up at the top - understandably)

India overall was also good. It went so fast, it felt like we were flying from place to place, however very culturally and spiritually amazing. My highlights where Dharamsala (McleodGangi) I got to meet the Dalai Lama not once but twice and gave him a personal letter which he has responded to by sending me to some books. (For someone who practices Buddhism this was life changing). Another highlight was sleeping under the stars in Jaisalmer.

Some changes/ recommendations I would make would be:
- I am training to be a yoga teacher and came to India to explore more deeply the heartland for yoga- I think as we visited Rajasthan the home of yoga a yoga class or talk maybe should have been included (I’m not saying this as a yogi I’m saying it as I think it is a fundamental part of Indian culture overlooked on the trip)
-luckily due to our trek overrunning our time in Delhi was cut short- i think the 2 days in Delhi is plenty and would rather if it was me the extra days from that somewhere else like Udaipur
-In Jaisalmer, I think it was extremely irresponsible of gapforce to include camel riding, camel riding is nothing like horse riding now and in 10years time will hopefully have the coverage that elephant riding has - I saw a camel jumping trying to move with its legs tied up, and they have scars from beating all over there bodies, it was very disturbing. I rode in the jeep and still sleeping in the desert is incredible- no need for animal cruelty to do so. (Photos of camel abuse attached This first picture depicts the camels legs tied up. The second the piercing through which they tie its reigns. The third scars on its neck from sores from the reigns. The fourth a camels whose nose has been split open where the piercing was. The last branding marked on the camels. )
-spending money in the cities like mumbai , and Amritsar for food didn’t go very far- so expect to spend more money

Besides the trip itself I would advise anyone from the north of England, with more left wing views to be warned that on this trip me and my friend I came with from home were the only northerners and there was no other left wing people. This caused tension in the group and made me imparticular feel abit of an outsider. There were also no ethnic minorties or people not going to university. (It was a very white middle class type of person gapforce attracts, and despite everyone being lovely and I made some very good friends I would just be warned of this before booking.)
I would also say £50 a week is not enough spending money to bring. I would say £75. In Nepal I didn’t need to spend very much money until the trek but in India there was lots more free time which meant if you wanted to do additional activities abit more than £50 a week is a good idea.

If your deciding on wether to travel with a group or on your own I would say, with everything included I think it worked well for me to come with gap-force to India and Nepal- we got to stay in lovely pre booked hostels, and travelled on air conditioned buses and trains, once we got to places iternarys where sorted which took lots of the stress out of everything and I felt safe at all times in such a big group. Due to feeling quite disliked by the group for being more left wing and socialist I did think at many times I would rather have travelled alone however I can’t fault the amazing experience I had. I think if I was to go any older or if you want a more authentic and affordable experience i would recommend going on your own and having a more down to earth traveller experience. I

Our main leader Colin Lovel was lovely and very reasonable and went above and beyond to help me in many situations. He had a good understanding of the culture of India and Nepal and knew what was appropriate etc at all times. Fergus who we had in Nepal who unfortunately had to leave was also amazing and we were all gutted when he left us. Jade the guide who joined us for the trek was very knowledgable and helpful.

An experience of a lifetime and I would recommend:)

Overall, this trip was amazing! I didn’t expect to love Nepal as much as I did, it was absolutely beautiful, Chitwan and Pokhara were my favorite because it was more tranquil than Kathmandu. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do the Mount Everest Base Camp Trek as I sprained my ankle a few days before in Pokhara (watch out for the potholes!) but the support I got from my leaders was amazing, Colin came with me to the hospital and was very comforting and helpful when trying to sort out what I was going to do. I met back up with everyone for the India portion of the trip which is so different to Nepal. I enjoyed the second half of India more because we went to calmer places (Dharamsala, Udaipur, Jaisalmer and Goa were my favorites). At first, it’s overwhelming with the list of all the places to go in India, but every place is worth going to because there is something to see and do in each place. Overall, Gapforce is a great program and they always seem to find (most of the time) really cool hostels and restaurants that I would never think of going to! I’ve learnt so much on this trip about different cultures, dealing with difficult situations, being around a large group of people all the time and also about myself. Would highly recommend!