Sunrise view from Poon Hill, Annapurna range
HSJ Field Guides

Meet the People Behind Your Journey

Our journeys are built on time spent in the mountains. The guides on these pages walk Nepal's routes season after season, and what they see there shapes how we plan, pace and refine every itinerary we offer.

Our Core Conviction

Beyond the Itinerary: Why Mountain Guides Matter

Local Teahouse Guesthouse — Sinuwa.webp
A teahouse on the Annapurna Sanctuary trail at Sinuwa, where the next day's walking is usually settled over morning tea

An itinerary can tell you how far you walk and where you sleep. It cannot tell you which side of the valley holds the morning light, which teahouse fills first in October, or how a pass feels after three days of rain. That knowledge is carried by people, not documents.

A high-altitude Himalayan trek is not a static holiday. Between 3,000m and 5,500m, an itinerary is only ink on paper. It is a guide's reading of your breathing and your pace, their sense of the weather, their knowledge of which crossings are safe this week, and years of rapport with the families who run the teahouses, that turns a foreign trail into a journey you can actually walk.

HSJ Field Guides contribute exactly that depth. They are licensed Nepali mountain professionals who lead our journeys and report back on what they find in the field. Their observations sit alongside our Singapore planning desk, so the detail you read has been confirmed by someone who was recently standing on that trail.

We describe our journeys as field-informed and guide-reviewed: shaped by first-hand experience, then reviewed carefully rather than rewritten on impulse.

Meet Our Field Guides

Two of the guides who lead HSJ journeys in Nepal. Details below are published only once confirmed with the guide themselves.

Santosh Dhakal, HSJ Senior Trekking Guide
Santosh Dhakal, HSJ Field Guide

Santosh Dhakal

HSJ Field Guide - Senior Trekking Guide

Experience
12 years guiding in Nepal, now one of our senior trekking guides
Regions & routes
Annapurna Sanctuary, Annapurna Circuit, Ghorepani Poon Hill and Langtang Valley
Languages
English, Nepali, Hindi
Certifications
Government-licensed trekking guide, first aid and altitude sickness training

Santosh Dhakal embodies enthusiasm and skill in guiding adventurers. Renowned for his fun-loving personality and exceptional humour, he keeps guests engaged throughout the trek with jokes and storytelling. He turns serious and careful when it comes to the guiding itself, prioritising safety and security.

“I will keep you laughing most of the way up. But the moment the weather turns, or somebody starts feeling the altitude, you meet the other side of me. A good trek needs both.”
— Santosh Dhakal, HSJ Field Guide
Mingmar Sherpa, HSJ Trekking Guide
Mingmar Sherpa, HSJ Field Guide

Mingmar Sherpa

HSJ Field Guide - Trekking Guide

Experience
10 years on the trails, having started out as a trekking porter
Regions & routes
Everest Base Camp, Gokyo Lakes, Cho La Pass and the wider Khumbu
Languages
English, Nepali, Sherpa
Certifications
Government-licensed trekking guide, first aid and altitude sickness training

Mingmar is a vibrant trekking guide with an energetic personality and a wealth of knowledge about cultural and historical monuments. His journey from trekking porter to seasoned guide reflects a long commitment to the work. He is known for his sensitivity to how a group is doing and for thinking quickly when a day does not go to plan.

“I carried loads on these trails long before I ever led on them. That is why I watch the group, not the clock. And when we stop, I would rather tell you what the stones and the monasteries mean than hurry you past them.”
— Mingmar Sherpa, HSJ Field Guide

From the Trail to Your Itinerary

How field observation becomes practical detail in the journey you travel.

01

Guides observe conditions in the field

Our Field Guides walk these routes with travellers. They note what they see on the ground: trail condition, water availability, lodge capacity, weather patterns, and the small practical details that shape a day's walking.

02

HSJ reviews what comes back

Observations are shared with our planning team and reviewed against what we already hold for that route. We look for what is consistent, what has changed, and what needs verification before it informs a journey.

03

Route and logistics detail is refined

Where a change is confirmed, we refine the relevant route notes, day structure, logistics and practical guidance. Journeys are regularly reviewed rather than continuously rewritten, so what you read is field-informed and guide-reviewed.

Signature Itineraries

Routes Our Guides Know

Journeys planned and led by our guides in Nepal, connected directly to the HSJ operations desk.

Prices shown in your selected currency

Everest Base Camp Trek

Everest Base Camp Trek

14 Days / 13 Nights · moderate · Max 15

Led by HSJ Everest and Khumbu team

A 14-day trek through the Khumbu from Lukla to Everest Base Camp (5,364 m), with an optional dawn climb to Kala Patthar for the clearest view of Everest on the route.

From SGD 1,350

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Langtang Valley Trek

Langtang Valley Trek

11 Days / 10 Nights · moderate · Max 15

Led by HSJ Langtang team

Discover the Langtang Valley Trek from Singapore with luxury Kathmandu stays, scenic Himalayan trails, traditional villages and breathtaking mountain views on an unforgettable 11-day Nepal adventure.

From SGD 1,100

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Annapurna Base Camp Trek

Annapurna Base Camp Trek

15 Days / 14 Nights · moderate · Max 14

Led by HSJ Annapurna team

Experience Nepal’s iconic Annapurna Base Camp Trek. Journey through traditional Gurung villages and forests into the heart of the Himalayas.

From SGD 880

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Manaslu Circuit Trek — 15 Days

Manaslu Circuit Trek — 15 Days

15 Days / 14 Nights · moderate · Max 14

Led by HSJ Manaslu and high-pass team

Trekking in the Manaslu region is one of Nepal’s most rewarding Himalayan experiences. The Manaslu Circuit Trek takes you around Mount Manaslu (8,163 m), the…

From SGD 1,400

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The Difference In The Mountains

What Guides Bring to the Journey

More than pathfinders: our guides are trained in mountain safety, and they are the reason a foreign trail becomes a place you understand.

01 / Safety and Altitude

Practical Judgement and Altitude Safety

Guides watch for the early signs of altitude sickness before they become a problem, set a pace the group can actually hold, and know the evacuation options on every route we run. Above 4,000m that judgement matters more than any fixed plan.

02 / Cultural Depth

Cultural Depth and Living Respect

Beyond the views, guides open doors: what a mani stone says, how to enter a gompa without causing offence, why a village keeps the festival it does. This is the part of a trek most travellers remember longest.

03 / Relationships

Teahouse Hospitality and Relationships

In peak season, when lodges fill, a guide's long relationship with the families who run them is often the difference between a warm room by the stove and whatever is left at the end of the corridor.

04 / Trail Mastery

Dynamic Decision-Making and Weather Sense

Reading how the weather is moving in a valley, knowing when to set off before the afternoon wind, and knowing when a rest day protects the pass crossing. These decisions get made with you, and explained.

HSJ journeys in Nepal are led by licensed Nepali mountain guides, working with our Singapore desk on every departure.

Singapore Desk

Guide Questions, Answered

They are licensed Nepali mountain guides who lead HSJ journeys on the ground. Individual names, experience and qualifications are listed above.

Guides report what they observe in the field. Our planning team reviews those observations and updates route notes, logistics and practical detail where a change is confirmed. Every published journey is guide-reviewed.

Routes are regularly reviewed rather than continuously rewritten. Review timing follows the trekking seasons and any significant reported change on a route.

Your guide assesses conditions on the day and proposes a sensible alternative, in discussion with you and with our team. Safety and the integrity of the journey come before completing a fixed line on a map.

Yes. On our private and small group journeys, your lead guide accompanies the group from start to finish.

Our guides hold the government licences required to guide in Nepal, along with first aid and altitude sickness training. Individual qualifications are listed on each guide's profile above.