Santaman - guide recommended by yakshaver

[yakshaver]

I have trekked with Santaman four times; twice in the Annapurnas and twice in Khumbu-Everest. I recommend him without reservation. Appart from being extremely professional, Santa has that combination of intuition, leadership and decision makin qualities, communication ability and presence - all of which make him an excellent guide and companion in Nepal.
He is communicative but not intrusive, and will always consult. When it comes to safety he will be quite forthright and willing to exercise leadership. I have seen him having had to make decisions under pressure, on a couple of occasions, once when my 10 year old son develop very accute and scarry AMS. Needless to say, Santaman handled the situation efficiently and sensitively.
He's a knowledgeable discussion companion not just regarding the Himalayas and peoples encountered on trek, but also the history, politics and social situation of Nepal and the wider region.
Santa can organise everything for you, including local transport and flights, sightseeing in the Kathmandu Valley, and most importantly the treks.

Santa works together with his good friend and relative Surja, also an accomplished guide who has received excellent recommendations.

Santaman's email is
santamn@hotmail.com

If anyone needs more details please email me.

Regards
yakshaver

[Linwood]

Having just completed a trek in the Khumbu with a friend (Dhamma on this message board) and Surja Tamang (Santaman's friend referred to in Yakshaver's message) as our guide, I would like to make an enthusiastic recommendation for Surja. He is warm, friendly, knowledgable, considerate and an excellent guide. He showed us around the sights in Kathmandu as well as shepherding us through the Lukla flight and attending to our needs on the trek. He very kindly taught me a little Nepali and a few words in Tamang because I enjoy learning languages. Along the way, at least two other trekkers were also impressed with him and asked about how to get in touch with him for their next trek!

Because I was dealing with an intestinal bug for the beginning of our trek, he was most considerate and tailored our activities perfectly so that I was able to continue and recover at the same time without feeling any pressure. Our pace was adjusted to my capabilities. He is knowledgable about health matters relative to trekking (eg, altitude and water safety), and was sure to see that we were taken care of properly. Although I have had very mild altitude sickness symptoms when visiting my sister in Santa Fe, NM (7000'), I had no trouble on this trek (9000' to 12,000')! And I knew that if I had, Surja would have known exactly how to deal with it.

The trek was wonderful, Surja was an excellent companion and guide, and I recommend him highly. Please feel free to email me for further information.

medgec@hotmail.com


Happy Trekking!!

Linwood
USA

PS. I plan to do a recommendation on the trekinfo link to "recommended porters and guides" as soon as I figure it out... look for it! :)