For those who want to go deeper than the tourist trail — CAT was built for you.
Thirty-five years of Himalayan experience, distilled into a trekking model that puts the community first, the guides at the centre, and the experience above everything else. Here’s how we put it all together.
Every trek is fully supported. Your pack is carried. Your meals are arranged. Your permits are sorted. Your only job is to show up, walk, and pay attention to the world around you.
Extraordinary routes in the world’s greatest mountain range.
We have spent 35 years learning the Himalaya. Not from a desk in London, but from the Sherpa guides who have walked these trails their entire lives — who know every ridge, every tea house, every shortcut, and every season. That knowledge is what shapes every CAT route.
Every trek is carefully paced for acclimatisation. Every stage is chosen for what it offers — not just as a means of getting from one valley to the next, but as an experience in itself. The Budhi Gandaki. The Larkya La. The approach to Everest Base Camp. These are not just waypoints. They are reasons to come.
- Set departures on Nepal’s finest trekking circuits
- Fully supported — porterage, permits and transfers included
- Itineraries built around acclimatisation, not pace
- Maximum 12 guests per departure
- Tailor-made and private group treks available
Like-minded people.
Friendships that outlast the mountains.
CAT was built for people who want to go to extraordinary places and share that experience with others who feel the same way. Over 90% of our guests travel solo — some first-timers, some experienced Himalayan trekkers, all united by a genuine appetite for the world beyond the ordinary.
Twelve days in the shadow of an 8,000-metre peak creates a particular kind of bond. We have seen it happen on every single departure we have ever run. Strangers become trekking partners. Trekking partners become friends. Friends come back the following year on a different route. That is the CAT community.
Despite being a UK company, we welcome trekkers from all over the world. Every group is different. Every group is extraordinary.
Led by people who know every step.
Every CAT trek is led by an expert Sherpa guide who has lived and worked in the Himalaya their entire life. Not a freelancer hired for the season. Not someone who read about the route in a guidebook. A guide with deep personal roots in the communities we pass through, who knows every ridge, every weather pattern, and every story.
All CAT lead guides are Wilderness First Responder trained, fluent in English, and have completed their respective circuits more times than they can count. They are wildlife spotters, cultural interpreters, altitude monitors and, by day five, friends.
In addition to the lead guide, every departure is supported by assistant guides at a 1:4 ratio. You are never far from experienced support on the mountain.
- Sherpa-led on every departure, always
- Wilderness First Responder trained
- 1:4 guide-to-guest ratio on the trail
- Daily altitude monitoring with pulse oximeters
- Emergency oxygen carried throughout
Trekking that gives something back.
This is the part of the CAT experience that no competitor can replicate. Community Action Nepal (CAN) is the registered UK charity founded by Doug Scott CBE in 1994 — five years after he founded this company. Its purpose: schools, health posts, clean water, and porter welfare for the remote Himalayan communities that the trekking industry depends upon.
On the Manaslu Circuit alone, you will walk directly past five CAN-funded health posts — in Bihi, Lihi, Lho, Samagaon and Samdo. Your Sherpa guide will tell you about each one. The communities they serve are the same communities you trek through. Your booking helps sustain them.
Fair wages, local sourcing, surplus to charity. These principles were written into this company by Doug Scott in 1989. They have not changed.
40+ active projects across Nepal. Schools, health posts, clean water, porter welfare. Since 1994. Visit canepal.org.uk to learn more.
Your only job is to show up and walk.
From the moment you land at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, CAT takes care of everything. Airport transfer. Hotel. Permits. Kit check. The 4WD drive to the trailhead. Every meal on the mountain. Your main pack, carried daily by our porter team. The drive back. The celebration dinner. Everything.
We handle the logistics that would take months to arrange independently, using relationships built over 35 years with the best local operators, tea house owners and Sherpa guides in Nepal. Our guests arrive relaxed. They leave knowing exactly how it feels to be in the mountains with every detail handled.
- Airport transfer and hotel on arrival in Kathmandu
- All permits and conservation area fees
- Private 4WD transfers throughout
- Full board on the trail — all meals included
- Porterage — your main pack carried daily
- Welcome dinner and farewell celebration dinner
- Pre-departure information pack and kit list
Your adventure starts with a conversation
Not sure which trek is right for you? Browse the full departure schedule or book a free call and we’ll help you find it.