Privacy Policy

1Who We Are

1.1 Base Camp Hikes. Base Camp Hikes is an Indian company that provides booking assistance for treks and climbs in Nepal. Base Camp Hikes collects personal information through this website and determines how that information is used.

1.2 Nepal Operator. All treks and on-the-ground services are operated by Himalayan Wonders Adventure Pvt. Ltd. (Reg. No. 113079/69/070), a company registered in Nepal (the “Nepal operator”). The guides, porters, drivers and office staff who serve your trek are employed by the Nepal operator. We disclose to the Nepal operator the information it requires to deliver your trek, and it makes that information available to its staff only as needed for your trek.

1.3 Payment Processor. Online credit card payments are processed by Travel Payment Solutions LLC (“TPS”), a company based in the United States. Charges appear on your card statement as “TPS - Travel Pay”. Base Camp Hikes does not store card numbers. Deposits from Indian guests are paid by bank transfer or UPI through an Indian bank, directly from the guest's own bank account, and we do not accept credit card payments in India.

2Information We Collect

We collect personal information at the following stages of your engagement with us:

• Enquiries and contact details. When you complete a contact form, use our enquiry widget or request a quotation, we collect your name, email address, telephone number and any travel details you provide.
• Booking information. Upon booking, we collect your passport details, nationality, date of birth, trek dates and itinerary, and emergency contact details.
• Insurance and health information. We collect a copy of your travel insurance policy and any medical, fitness or altitude-related information you disclose, such as pre-existing conditions or medication. This is sensitive information, which we use solely to protect your safety and to arrange emergency support.
• Payment records. We record the amount and date of payments. Card details are handled by TPS and not by us.
• Photos and videos. If you send us photos or videos from your trek, or appear in ones taken by our team, we hold them and may publish them as described in section 13.
• Technical data. We collect your IP address and browser information to diagnose server faults, administer the website, suggest relevant destinations and understand our visitors in aggregate.

3Emails and Chats

3.1 Records Retained. We retain copies of emails and transcripts of live chats between you and our Adventure Specialists. We do not record or log telephone calls.

3.2 Purpose. These records provide continuity of service, so that any member of our team can understand your earlier questions and preferences without requiring you to repeat them.

3.3 Use. These records are used to deliver your booking, to verify the accuracy of your booking requirements, and for quality assurance and staff training. They are not published or sold.

4Passports and Travel Documents

Trekking in Nepal is subject to close government regulation. We therefore handle identity documents with particular care.

4.1 Purpose. We collect passport scans and details in order to obtain your trekking permits (TIMS and National Park permits) and to issue domestic flight tickets, such as those to Lukla or Pokhara.

4.2 Disclosure. These details are disclosed only to the logistics team of the Nepal operator, which submits permit applications and flight manifests, and to the airlines, permit authorities and hotels that require them for your booking.

4.3 Security and Deletion. Documents are transmitted over encrypted connections, and access is restricted to personnel who require it. Passport scans are retained only for as long as necessary to complete your trek and to satisfy legal and audit requirements in India and Nepal.

5How We Use Your Information

We use personal information for the following purposes:

• Responding to enquiries and preparing quotations and itineraries.
• Processing your booking, including permits, flights, hotels and payments.
• Protecting your safety, including arranging emergency support and satisfying insurance requirements.
• Communicating with you about your enquiry and booking by email, telephone or messaging, in your preferred manner.
• Sending updates on new destinations, special offers and our newsletter, from which you may opt out at any time.
• Diagnosing server faults, administering and improving the website, and measuring advertising performance.
• Complying with our legal and regulatory obligations.

6Who We Share Information With

We do not sell personal information. We disclose it only to the extent necessary, to the following recipients:

• Himalayan Wonders Adventure Pvt. Ltd., which operates your trek in Nepal.
• TPS, which processes online card payments, and the banks and UPI gateways that process bank transfers.
• Airlines, hotels and permit authorities involved in your trek.
• Insurers and medical providers, where an emergency or claim requires it.
• Advertising platforms, including Google, Microsoft, Meta and OpenAI, limited to the conversion and contact data described in clause 7.3.
• Service providers that support our website, email and communications, under obligations of confidentiality.
• Public authorities, where required by law.

International Transfers. Your information is processed in India and Nepal. Payment information is processed by TPS, and advertising data by the platforms listed above, in the United States and other countries. By booking with us, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to these countries for the purposes described in this policy.

7Cookies and Tracking

7.1 Cookies. Cookies are small text files stored on your device by your browser. We use them to remember preferences, analyse website traffic and enable the site to respond to you individually. Most browsers accept cookies by default, and you may change your settings to refuse cookies or to be notified when one is set. If you refuse all cookies, some parts of the website may not function fully.

7.2 Analytics and Advertising Platforms. This website uses Google Analytics, which records information such as the pages you view, your device and your approximate location, together with Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising (Bing UET) and Meta (Facebook) tags, which record visits and actions on our site, such as submitting an enquiry. We advertise on Google Ads, Microsoft Advertising (Bing), Meta (Facebook) and ChatGPT Ads (OpenAI), and may use similar platforms. These platforms may set cookies or use pixels, tags and click identifiers to measure advertising performance and to show relevant advertisements. Google conversion cookies, for example, expire within 30 days. Each platform handles information under its own privacy policy.

7.3 Enquiries and Advertising. When you click an advertisement, the platform's click identifier may be stored with your enquiry. We may then report your enquiry or booking to that platform as a conversion, which may include hashed contact details such as your email address or telephone number, so that the platform can measure results and improve ad delivery. We do not send passport, medical or payment information to advertising platforms.

7.4 Opting Out. You may block or delete cookies in your browser settings, including cookies from the googleadservices.com domain. You may also manage ad personalisation in your Google Ads Settings, Microsoft advertising privacy settings and Facebook ad preferences, and in the settings of any other platform on which our advertisements appear.

8Security

We take reasonable measures to protect personal information. Data sent through our website is encrypted using TLS (HTTPS), and we maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards and restrict access to personnel who need it. No method of transmission or storage is entirely secure, and we therefore cannot guarantee absolute security.

9Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes set out in this policy, including delivering your trek, handling claims or disputes, and meeting legal, tax and audit requirements. Passport scans are retained for the shortest period these purposes permit. When information is no longer required, we delete or anonymise it.

10Your Rights

Subject to applicable law, you may request that we:

• Confirm what personal information we hold about you and provide a copy.
• Correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
• Delete your information where we have no legal basis to retain it.
• Cease sending marketing communications, or withdraw any consent you have given.
• Remove a photo or video of you from our website (see section 13).

To make a request, please email privacy@basecamphikes.com. We may need to verify your identity before acting on it. We will respond within a reasonable time and within any period required by applicable law. We process personal information in accordance with applicable data protection laws, including India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

11Children

Our website and services are intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18 other than through a parent or guardian. Where a booking includes a minor, the parent or guardian provides the minor's details and consents on the minor's behalf.

12External Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. This policy applies only to basecamphikes.com. We have no control over third-party websites and accept no responsibility for the protection or privacy of information you provide on them, which are governed by their own privacy policies.

13Photos and Videos

13.1 Where They Come From. Our website shows photos and videos taken by our team and guides, sent to us by guests, and contributed by travellers and photographers. Where we know who made a photo, we credit them.

13.2 Guests. Photos and videos of guests are published under the media release in clause 7.4 of our Terms, or because the guest sent them to us for that purpose. You may opt out before your trek, or ask us afterwards to stop using your likeness.

13.3 Removal. If you appear in a photo or video on our website, or you sent us one, and you want it removed, write to privacy@basecamphikes.com and include the address of the page. We will remove it from our website within 7 days. Copies held by search engines or other websites are outside our control and may take longer to disappear, although we will ask search engines to update where we can.

13.4 Photos on the Wrong Page. Some photos illustrate a region rather than the exact place named on a page. If a photo looks misplaced or wrongly captioned, tell us the page address and we will review it. See clause 8.4 of our Terms.

14Contact and Updates

14.1 Questions and Complaints. For any question about this policy, or any concern about how your personal information is handled, please contact our main privacy contact, Nishes Thapa, at privacy@basecamphikes.com. We will review your message and respond promptly.

14.2 Reports About Website Content. If you tell us that something on the website is wrong, you may include your name and email so that we can reply. We use them only to respond to your report and to confirm the correction, and we handle them as described in this policy. You do not need to give a name to report an error.

14.3 Changes to This Policy. We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, tools or applicable law. The date shown at the top of this document indicates when it was last revised.