Trekking Team Nepal: 34 Years in the Himalayas — Founded Before the Internet Existed
Published by Hari Dev Pathak — Founder, Trekking Team Nepal · Est. 1991 · TAAN & NTB Member since 1991
In 1991, Nepal's trekking industry looked nothing like it does today. There were no smartphones. There was no TripAdvisor. The Annapurna Circuit was a serious, weeks-long undertaking that required genuine preparation and real navigational skill. Most of the teahouses that now line the route had not yet been built. And in Kathmandu, a small trekking company called Trekking Team opened its doors convinced that Nepal's mountains deserved to be shared with the world, and committed to doing it properly.
That company is still here. Thirty-four years later, with more than 10,000 clients guided through the Himalayas, a 99% trek success rate, and a team of guides whose expertise has been accumulated across decades of work in these mountains , Trekking Team remains one of Nepal's most experienced and trusted adventure operators.
This is the story of how we got here.
Nepal in 1991: A Different World
To understand what it meant to start a trekking company in Nepal in 1991, you have to understand what Nepal was in 1991. The country had just transitioned to a multiparty democracy. Infrastructure across the trekking regions was minimal. The Annapurna Conservation Area Project, established in 1986, was still in its early stages of building the community-based tourism model that would eventually become a global benchmark. Foreign trekkers were arriving in growing numbers, but the industry that served them was still young, still finding its shape.
Into this environment, Hari Dev Pathak founded Trekking Team with a straightforward mission: to guide trekkers through the Himalayas with expertise, accountability, and a standard of safety and service that reflected the seriousness of the mountains themselves. We registered with the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN) and the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) from the very beginning in 1991 because accountability to an industry standard was not optional. It was the foundation.
In the years that followed, we guided clients through the golden decade of Himalayan trekking. The 1990s brought a generation of adventurers from Europe, North America, and Australia to Nepal's trails many of them drawn by guidebooks, word of mouth, and a growing awareness that the Himalayas offered something that no other landscape on Earth could replicate. Trekking Team was there to meet them, with local knowledge that no guidebook could contain and routes that we knew from years of walking, not from reading.
Online Since 1993: One of Nepal's First Websites
Nepal received its first internet connection in 1993. The country joined the global network in the same year that the World Wide Web itself was becoming publicly accessible — the same year that the first web browser was released to the public. Most businesses in the world had not yet heard of the internet. Most businesses in Nepal would not have a website for another decade.
Trekking Team built one of Nepal's first ever business websites in 1993.
The decision reflected a conviction that has guided this company since its founding: that reaching trekkers wherever they are — and giving them accurate, trustworthy information before they ever set foot in Nepal — is part of our responsibility. In 1993, that meant being online when almost no one else in Nepal was. Today, it means a daily presence on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, and a website built to give trekkers everything they need to plan their journey with confidence.
The 2001 Wayback Machine archive of our website is the oldest surviving digital record we have. Our actual website dates to 1993 — the year Nepal first connected to the internet. By 2001, the site had grown to include multiple pages covering our trek offerings, our team, and our approach to guiding. What it shows, above all, is continuity: the same company, the same commitment, eight years into a journey that is now 34 years long.
A Decade-by-Decade Timeline
1991:
Trekking Team founded in Kathmandu by Hari Dev Pathak. TAAN and NTB membership secured from year one. Operations begin across the Annapurna and Everest regions.
1993:
Nepal receives its first internet connection. Trekking Team launches one of the country's first business websites — reaching trekkers globally at a time when almost no Nepali business was online.
1990s:
The golden decade of Himalayan trekking. Client numbers grow steadily as the Annapurna Circuit and Everest Base Camp become internationally known. Trekking Team builds a reputation for guiding that prioritises safety and local expertise over volume.
2000s:
Road construction begins changing sections of the classic circuits. Trekking Team expands offerings to include expedition support, peak climbing, and specialised cultural and wildlife tours across Nepal and beyond.
2015:
The April 2015 Gorkha earthquake devastates Nepal. Trekking Team suspends operations to support affected communities. The company rebuilds alongside Nepal's tourism sector, emerging with upgraded infrastructure and a strengthened team.
2020–2022:
COVID-19 closes Nepal's borders. Trekking Team supports its guides and staff through the shutdown and uses the period to invest in the new website, digital content, and training. Nepal reopens; we are ready.
2024:
Major website relaunch. New YouTube and TikTok channels launch with daily content. Over 10,000 clients served. 44% repeat client rate. 99% trek success rate. Thirty-three years in, the mission remains unchanged.
2025:
34 years of continuous operation. TAAN and NTB membership unbroken since 1991. Still guiding. Still the same standard.
What 34 Years Has Taught Us
The Annapurna Circuit looks different today than it did in 1991. There are jeep roads where there were once walking trails. There is WiFi in teahouses where there was once silence. The trekker demographic has changed, the equipment has changed, and the expectations have changed. What has not changed is the mountain itself and what it demands of anyone who leads people through it.
Thirty-four years of guiding has taught us that the most important moment on any trek is not the summit, the pass crossing, or the mountain view at dawn. It is the moment when something goes wrong when a trekker shows early signs of altitude sickness at 4,200 metres, or when weather closes in over Thorong La with a group still on the ascent and the guide standing with them has the experience to make exactly the right decision, without hesitation.
That experience cannot be simulated. It cannot be learned from a course. It accumulates, year by year, trek by trek, across a career spent in these mountains. Our senior guides have been building that experience since before most of Nepal's trekking companies existed. It is the most valuable thing we offer and it is what 34 years actually means.
The Companies That Came After
Nepal's trekking industry has grown enormously since 1991. There are now hundreds of registered trekking agencies in Kathmandu, many of them founded in the years and decades after Trekking Team began operations. Some have adopted similar names. Some have built strong reputations of their own. The growth of the industry is, in many ways, a reflection of what the early operators including Trekking Team built in those first years: a standard that made Nepal's trekking sector trusted and sought-after globally.
We do not begrudge the competition. We welcome it. A thriving trekking industry is good for Nepal, good for the communities along the routes, and good for the hundreds of thousands of people who come to these mountains each year seeking something that the rest of the world cannot give them. What we ask, simply, is that trekkers choosing their operator look at the record. Look at the years. Look at the memberships. Look at the success rates. And then make an informed decision.
Trekking Team has been registered with TAAN and the Nepal Tourism Board since 1991. We have been online since 1993. We have guided more than 10,000 clients through the Himalayas with a 99% success rate. That record is public, verifiable, and 34 years long.
"Founded 1991. Online 1993. Still here. Still the best."
"Plan Your Trek With Nepal's Most Experienced Operator
If you are planning a trek in Nepal whether your first visit to the Annapurna Circuit or a return to Everest Base Camp we would be honoured to guide you. Our team is available to answer questions, build a custom itinerary, and draw on 34 years of experience to make your trek exactly what it should be."
