n the late 13th Century the Newar craftsmen of the Kathmandu valley were highly regarded for their skill in wood and metal. One of them, a master craftsman and architect from Kathmandu named Arniko was invited to Tibet. There he built important stupas and numerous temples. So great was his fame, that he joined the court of the Ming emperor of China as "..controller of imperial manufactures." It was Arniko's genius which gave origin to the multi-tiered pagoda roofs which became the stylistic model for much of Asia.
When Dawa Norbu Sherpa founded this company to pioneer tourist travel to Tibet he chose to name it after this great Nepalese architect. In the early 1980s, political change in China allowed tourists to more readily enter Tibet. And, like our famous namesake, Arniko Travel Ltd prospered.
Arniko were the first to arrange regular land tours between Kathmandu and Lhasa. Groups travelled the spectacular Arniko Highway through the Himalaya and on to Lhasa.

This road, built with Chinese aid, was named after the architect who had contributed so much to the two countries. When air links between the two countries developed, Arniko pioneered fly-drive tours and as well as treks to the holy mountain Kailas, and other regions.
Because of our long association with tourism in Tibet, we at Arniko Travel have excellent relations with the Chinese authorities and Tibetan tour operators. We understand what is required in the way of permits and the subtleties of land and air travel.
All parts of Tibet are remote, at high altitude and have, at times, extreme weather conditions. Because of this, we can't guarantee that you will have no problems travelling in Tibet but our long experience allows us to minimise the likelihood of adverse events.

rniko Travel, the premier travel company from Nepal to Tibet was founded by Dawa Norbu Sherpa and Peter Ko in 1984.
Dawa, as President of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, and driving force behind the new Mountaineering Museum being established at Pokhara, was deeply involved in assisting mountaineering expeditions and negotiating on behalf of high altitude Sherpas.
Always a man of initiative and enterprise, he came from a poor Khumjung family in the shadow of Everest. Educated in Darjeeling, he spent some years as an administrative clerk with the British Gurkhas. At that time he met Colonel Jimmy Roberts.
When Roberts left the army and established Mountain Travel he took Dawa as office manager. With others they created the concepts and practicalities which became the modern trekking industry.
Over the years Dawa established the first wholly Sherpa-owned trek company; pioneered tourism into Tibet with Arniko Travel ; and as member of the Nepal Tourism Board was instrumental in helping tourism to become Nepal’s greatest foreign exchange earner. He was the driving energy behind the little known high altitude clean-up of Everest by Sherpa climbers.
A more recent major entertainment was his development of Asian Airlines. With their importation of the first large Russian helicopters to Nepal ‘Dawa’s baby’ transformed the carriage of freight and passengers into high mountain regions. Conscious of his own humble beginnings, he was active in promoting the welfare of Sherpas both on the mountains and in the wider community. Until his unfortunate death in 1997 he was very well known in foreign mountaineering circles.

hen Tibet opened for tourism from Nepal in 1984, Dawa forsaw the potential. He suggested we form a company in equal partnership together. My background and linguistic skills, (Chinese, English, Nepali and Hindi) together with Dawa's experience and guidance created a dynamic company.
Today we operate more Tibet trips than any other Kathmandu company. Years of experience and a dedicated staff ensure that each trip is the best possible.
We were the first company from Nepal to operate weekly fixed-departure tours to Lhasa and we remain one of the longest established company in the Tibet tourism business from Nepal.

joined this company in 1993 after returning from study in New Zealand.  At that time my father, Dawa Norbu, was becoming busy establishing the first private helicopter service in Nepal, Asian Airlines; and latterly becoming President of the Nepal Mountaineering Association.
Today I look after the accounts and the trekking section of Arniko.

e have several staff who have worked for us for many years. Some of our office staff are college graduates. Our field staff have the typical dedication of Sherpas, experienced in helping and working with clients. Several have been high-altitude mountaineers, with a few summiting Mount Everest. All who work for us are honest and reliable.
We can all be found at the Arniko Travel office which is located immediately in front of the Kathmandu Chinese Embassy.

Contacting Arniko Travel

We are interested to have comment about our tours or web page.
If you have queries or would like to explore the possibility of travelling with us; email, fax or phone.
If our timing does not suit, for a particular trip, please outline your wishes and we shall look to provide a similar tour at a later time.
If you want our help to organise your own tour please get in touch.

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