Booking terms & cancellation

Quotations and prices

Prices shown on this website are starting prices, per person on twin sharing, for the standard hotel band in the low season, and they cover land arrangements only. They are not a quotation. Your price depends on your dates, hotel category, group size and vehicle count, and you will be given one all-in figure in writing before you are asked for any money.

A quotation is held against the dates it was issued for. If you change dates it is re-quoted at the rates applying to the new dates. Government levies, permit fees, entry charges and taxes are charged at the rate in force on the day of travel; if a rate changes between quotation and travel, the difference is passed on at cost.

How booking works

• A written itinerary with named hotels and one all-in price is issued before any payment is taken.
• Booking is confirmed against the advance; hotel and transport vouchers are issued once it is received.
• The balance is payable before the trip begins, unless a different schedule is agreed in writing.
• Peak-season travel (mid-October to early January, and mid-April to early June) is held on shorter cut-offs and may need full payment earlier.
• Rates are held against the dates quoted. A change of dates is re-quoted at the rates for the new dates.
• Government levies, permit fees and entry charges are charged at the rate in force on the day of travel.

Cancellation

• Cancellations must reach us in writing. The date we receive that message is the date we use.
• What we can return depends on what the hotels, transport and permit offices have already charged us. Those deductions are passed on at cost, without a markup from us.
• Permits, entry tickets and train or air tickets already issued are governed by the issuing authority and are usually non-refundable.
• Peak-season bookings carry tighter terms because hotels hold us to tighter terms. These are stated on your confirmation.
• No refund is due for unused nights, unused services or an early departure once a trip has begun.
• A road or pass closed by weather is not a cancellation. We rework the day; costs already committed to third parties cannot be returned.

Roads, weather and things nobody controls

High-altitude roads and passes in this region close for snow, landslide, weather or administrative order, sometimes at a few hours notice. Nathu La, Bumla, Zero Point, Gurudongmar and the Sela crossing are all subject to this, and no operator can guarantee access to any of them.

When that happens we rework the day on the ground at no charge to you. Where a closure saves us a cost we do not keep it. What we cannot return is money already committed to a third party — a permit issued, a ticket bought, a hotel night held. We will tell you exactly which is which.

We are not liable for delay, loss or additional cost arising from flight or train cancellation, strikes, political disturbance, natural events, or any other circumstance outside our reasonable control. We strongly recommend travel insurance, which is not included in any of our prices.

Wildlife and weather-dependent sightings

Safari charges buy you the drive, the permit and the guide. They do not buy a sighting. Similarly, a sunrise excursion buys you the transport to the viewpoint, not a clear sky.

Your responsibilities

You must carry valid original identification for every traveller, supply documents for permits by the deadline we give you, and tell us in advance about any medical condition relevant to altitude or to remote travel. Permits refused because documents arrived late or were incorrect are not refundable to us and cannot be refunded to you.

Complaints

Tell us while the trip is running, not afterwards. Almost everything that goes wrong on a trip can be fixed the same day if we know about it, and cannot be fixed at all a week later. Call +91 74780 02985.

See also before you travel for permits, seasons and packing, and our privacy policy.

Himalayan Getaway Tours, Nivedita Sarani, Siliguri, West Bengal 734010, India.