Bout India Tours Private Limited Arvostelua 

Following a terrific visit to Rajasthan a few years ago, we asked Bout India to arrange a trip for our family (two adults and two teenage kids) to Ladakh. It was a mind-blowing experience filled with joy and beauty — ranging from intimate encounters with the monks of Stakmo, to sunsets among the dunes and vast expanses of the Nubra Valley. The planning and logistics were intricate — inner line permits, oxygen tanks carefully arranged in case we needed them at altitude, a private van over some of the highest motorable roads in the world — but many of the most vivacious moments were unscripted, and accessible only because our guide, Wang Gyal, took such joy in revealing Ladakh to us.

Here are some of my favorite memories:

**An unplanned morning inside Stakmo Monastery, where we shared an early breakfast with monks who were preparing butter sculptures for a ceremony. We spent easily an hour inside as the monastery came to life around us, the quiet broken by trumpets blown from the rooftop as a wake-up call. Our kids eventually elicited smiles and laughs from the young monks-in-training — which somehow escalated into a full game of soccer in the monastery's back yard.

**Stopping along the highway to chase Himalayan mountain goats, and eventually meeting their shepherdess — a remarkable Ladakhi woman who shared smiles (and cuddles with baby goats) with us and our kids.
Wandering among the dunes of the Nubra Valley at sunset, at a nearly unpopulated site, watching the landscape shift from a golden sandstorm to an icy-cold, star-filled night.

**The annual Hemis Tsechu festival — an unforgettable spectacle of pageantry and masked Cham dances celebrating the birth of Guru Padmasambhava, drawing thousands of Ladakhis who make the journey to the monastery's courtyard. We stood shoulder to shoulder with locals as monks in elaborate costumes whirled to horns and drums.

**Khardung La, where we took advantage of an unusual high-altitude traffic jam to get to know our fellow travelers, spending easily over an hour at 18,000+ feet hiking among snowy peaks strewn with Tibetan prayer flags.

**Shopping for pashmina scarves at a remarkable store off the beaten path in Leh — founded by the daughter of a shepherding family and designed to showcase the entire process of hand-spinning, weaving, and dyeing, while returning the profits to actual shepherds instead of luxury brands.

The accommodations deserve mention too: The Grand Dragon in Leh, the serene Lchang Nang Retreat among Nubra's orchards, a cottage on the shores of an impossibly blue Pangong Lake, and finally the luxury tents of Chamba Camp Thiksey — each one a destination in itself.

Throughout the trip, Surya and even Himanshu himself checked in with us regularly to make sure everything was going smoothly — not perfunctory messages, but genuine attention from people who clearly cared how our family was doing. And when it was time to leave, Himanshu sent us home with gifts for our entire extended family, whom he had remembered from our visit to Rajasthan years earlier. That kind of memory and thoughtfulness tells you everything about how this company treats its clients.

And one final measure of their care: after we departed, I realized I had lost a precious mandala somewhere in the Leh airport. The Bout India team tracked it down and shipped it to me at home. That is service far beyond anything we expected — they treated our loss as their own.

A special word about Wang Gyal. He is, quite simply, the finest guide we have ever traveled with. Everywhere we went — in Leh and across Ladakh generally — people knew him by name, and doors opened because of it. He had an uncanny sense for our family: he knew when we needed a rest, when we were ready to try something off the beaten path, and how much we delighted in meeting people, tasting the local food, and learning the songs and the language. He never followed a script; he read us, and shaped each day around what would bring us the most joy. Much of what made this trip extraordinary is simply inseparable from him.

We had the idea to visit Ladakh only because Himanshu (Bout India's founder) mentioned it is his favorite place to travel within India. He was right — and his team turned it into the trip of a lifetime. We cannot recommend them highly enough.

We booked a 23 day private tour to include the Golden Triangle, Jaipur and Kerala through Bout India having read the excellent reviews from other clients. We are so pleased that we did so.

Bout India organised a fantastic private, flexible itinerary, matching our needs exactly. We chose to use 5 star hotels and these were carefully selected by the company.

We arrived in Delhi and were met by our brilliant driver, Mr Gourdhan Singh, having received a photograph of him in advance. He remained with us for our visit to Delhi, Agra, Rathambore and Jaipur. I have to say that his driving and customer care were superb at all times and the car and driver remained at our disposal each day.

The itinerary was excellently organised and expert guides provided for each location. To allow for excellent communication the company created a WhatsApp group, including senior managers to ensure that our holiday progressed smoothly. Many thanks to our guides - Joseph in Delhi and Manu in Agra. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with you and appreciate your knowledge of the history of each city.

In Jaipur we were treated to an extra safari to look for leopards which was thoroughly enjoyable and successful. Our thanks go to our wonderful guide, Mr Singh who was both entertaining and extremely knowledgeable. Many thanks for all the photos and videos.

Our final part of the tour took us down to Kotchi, where we were met by our driver, Shinu who remained with us for the rest of our visit to the south. Once again our thanks go to our guide, John who did an excellent job in showing us around the highlights of the city.

From Kotchi we drove to Munnar to explore the tea growing region and then on to Periyar and Thekkandy, thoroughly enjoying the scenery and wildlife reserve.

Our next port of call was off to Kottayam to explore the truly wonderful backwaters which included a very enjoyable stay on a private luxury housecoat with excellent food and great staff. Well done “The Boat Company”.

A special thank you to Mr Deepu and Mr Tajinder Singh for all your help with dealing with our issue with Indian Bureaucracy! We are so grateful to you all. A special mention for Kunal, Bout India’s Head of Sales, who gave up so much time to resolve our bureaucracy problems, involving so many of his colleagues and treated us to an evening meal. The customer care and professionalism of him and the rest of the Bout India ‘family’ made the trip for us.

Once again we cannot fault Bout India for the incredible itinerary planning, flexibility, organising top quality hotels and for coordinating all the elements that made our trip such a wonderful experience.

Bout India is a 5 star+ company and we cannot recommend them highly enough.