Bire - Bir Bahadur Tamang

Guide and cook

After working in the gulf states, Bire returned to Nepal and quickly moved up from trek sherpa to cook and then guide and is now one of the core guiding staff for Project Himalaya. He has worked at 6400m on Everest expeditions multiple times and trekked the Kanchenjunga region many times among numerous treks, and has joined me on the occasional trek since 2010, especially for custom or challenging treks.

Bire is caring and considerate, easily going along with the plan yet will step in if he sees anything amiss and has perhaps the best English of all our local guides. He was also an exceptional cook, so perfect for helping out in the kitchen while lodge trekking.

Bire Tamang in Upper Mustang

Here is what trekkers say:

Bire was guide on these treks (and more):

We had an excellent trip from airport pick up to airport drop. Extremely well organised throughout and Bire, with his knowledge of the area and his contacts, made it a seamless experience on trek - whether it was booking hotels or arranging jeeps, he worked tirelessly to make sure we had the best possible trip. Taze was also excellent- a mind reader! - especially at mealtimes, he always anticipated what we might need to ensure we enjoyed our food. Bire and Taze make a wonderful team.

We were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the lodges (and porcelain toilets - a change from our last trip 20 years ago!). The food was good quality, fresh and no one on trek was ill - 20 years ago that was unheard of!

The trek itself was amazing and we are so glad we chose to do this particular one. By the number of new lodges being built, it is clear that locals are obviously expecting it to become more popular. We were very lucky with our timing in avoiding large groups at lodges and were blessed with superb weather when it really mattered at the higher altitudes- having extra days for flexibility made all the difference in terms of enjoyment.

Bire and I discovered a superb viewpoint above Selele, which I can unreservedly recommend, especially if people have missed views of Jannu earlier in the trek due to bad weather - see photo. Cathryn suffered with altitude sickness above Kambachen and had to go back down with Bire, who handled the situation brilliantly. The lodge owners at Khambachen and Ghunsa were really kind and helpful. She fortunately recovered in Ghunsa and was able to enjoy the rest of the trek without any issues. The younger porter, Pulba, was helpful in accompanying Cathryn on a morning’s walk near Ghunsa (the steepish climb towards Selele) as suggested by the lodge owner, to aid acclimatisation.

We were also surprised how beautiful it was walking through the forest, which made for a lovely contrast with the higher elevations.

The only little niggle we had was at the end with tips. We followed your guidance but unfortunately the guys were expecting more and Bire approached me the following morning to explain they were expecting a fixed amount. I then had to explain to him using your email so that he could explain to the staff. It was not that we were not happy with their service (they were brilliant throughout) but we had exchanged enough money as per your guidelines and set it aside for their tips so the extra they were expecting we just did not have. We worked through it and I hope it was just a misunderstanding on their part, but it was a rather awkward end to a fantastic trip.

Thank you for all your excellent pre trip info, setting up such a great itinerary and for allocating Bire as our guide. He was professional throughout, inspired confidence and was such good company.

So many things have changed from my last visit over 20 years ago (mobile phones and scooters!) but the special people and friendliness is still there.

- Andy Binns, 2024 Kanchenjunga North-South 6k

... Overall the trek was excellent and pretty much exactly what I expected. I really appreciated the lack of crowds / helicopters, the more basic trails, even the more basic lodges. The scenery was exactly what I was after and I found that in some ways the views were even more impressive than in the Everest area. The Jannu viewpoint was an unexpected highlight. Some specific comments:

Leadership (Bire)
- I found Bire to be an excellent leader, easy to communicate with, and always good company to be around

- when decisions had to be made (particularly with modifying the itinerary) he listened carefully to everyone before a decision was made, but I never had any doubt that he would not have permitted us to make a poor decision

- he was very supportive of each trekker (we all had a few individual issues) and I knew he was quietly monitoring our wellbeing at all times

Leadership (Sona)
- Sona has to be one of the kindest, most gentle people I have ever met

- he most often led the group and was an excellent pacesetter

- he worked tirelessly at meal breaks

- his English will need to improve if he is to eventually step up to be a full guide, although I think he understood a lot more than we realised

... Overall I found the trek to have been excellent and it will certainly always be a memorable experience for me.

Andre Giguere, 2023 Kanchenjunga North-South 6k

... Our trip was amazing with a very mixed group in the 59-69 age category and we all got on extremely well. This was an ideal age group for me, since I wasn’t much slower than most of the “youngsters”, and was ahead of C on most days although we had some enjoyable time together bringing up the rear of the pack. ...

Bire was a great guide and I have renamed him Mr “No Problem” since he coped amazingly well with all the unexpected twists and turns on a trip of this nature. Sona was a true gentleman and was one of the most polite, courteous, attentive, thoughtful and generous people I have ever had the good fortune to meet. They were both very considerate of my age and knee circumstances and helped provide a great trip for the enjoyment of all of us trekkers, complimented by your perfect acclimatisation plan for the high elevations we got to.

So all in all, the trip was a triumph for me, with Kumbhakarna (phew, no wonder they also call it Jannu) being my new favourite mountain. I could have looked at it for hours.

Thanks for letting me experience the enjoyment of this amazing trip. It was a privilege to get to this place which is so inaccessible and rarely visited to add to the incredible beauty of the surrounding mountains and glaciers.

- Phil Willington, 2023 Kanchenjunga North-South 6k

STAFF: Bire was the best guide we ever had. He planned the days according to circumstances and our capacities and wishes. He never rushed and, if the path was clear and safe, let us walk in front to choose the speed and enjoy the privacy. He accompanied us on extra walks and did not let us feel, it was extra work for him. We always followed his friendly advice (wear a hat, if it starts to get cold to avoid headache, no more showers further up with cold water after sunset… ). There was not a single thing he could have done better. We could understand his English well and he ours. We always felt absolutely safe. And on top he is a very friendly, warmhearted humorful person.

And we also liked the friendly porter, Tess. As it was our first trip to Nepal, we had too much stuff, but he never complained. He was very attentive. When we were looking around for something (my husband, gloves, chili sauce on the table, whatever) he almost always guessed, what it was and helped.

Office in Katmandu: well organized and reliable.

... ALL IN ALL: We will be back soon...

- Barbara (and Harald), 2022 Kanchenjunga North-South

2020-2021 - the covid years - and I must thank our previous trekkers for generous support while Bire, Bali, Aiteram, Dawa and others were out of work. Bire said the support made a large difference to his family's life.

The trek was GREAT! Bire and the team of porters were outstanding. I would/will trek with Bire again! ...

- Mike Timpson, 2019 Kanchenjunga North-South

Our trek was truly fantastic.

- Mark Saunders, 2018 Kanchenjunga private trek

Many thanks to you and your team for a great trek and Himalayan experience. The pre-trip organization and planning was very good and the help and advice provided by Jamie in New Zealand, both from his web site and personal contact, was excellent.

The prompt help provided by you and your Kathmandu Staff when Liz got sick and needed hospital treatment before the start of the trek was really appreciated by us. The situation would have been far more difficult for us to deal with without your assistance.

On the trek, the two guides Bire and Sonam were always looking after our interests, keeping us safe and providing information about the locations as we passed through them. Bire was particularly careful to select good quality Tea Houses with clean kitchens and often took over the cooking himself if the standards were not high enough. Sonam proved to be a man of great tolerance. I was usually the slowest walker and Sonam would follow behind me singing quietly with his amazing voice. He never pushed me to go faster and my slow pace must have been frustrating for him.

Liz and I developed a great respect for the three porters Kepa, Lukpa and Pur Lakpa. Their strength and ability to carry heavy loads over rough ground was amazing. They were friendly and attentive to us, often taking over guide responsibilities if Bire and Sonam were not available. Kepa was a very good cook and often assisted Bire or took over alone. With their pleasant personalities these three, along with the guides, soon became friends.

The Kanchenjunga Trek itself was hard work but definitely worth the effort. The variety of scenery, ecological zones and ethnic diversity was quite different to previous treks we have done. Unfortunately, the unseasonal weather, which rained or snowed on us most afternoons, limited the opportunity to spend longer hours between tea houses. The only way to overcome this would be to schedule in more rest days to stay at selected villages.

Thanks to all involved for a most memorable trek.

Dave and Liz Murray, 2018 Kanchenjunga private trek

Dear Jamie
This is just to say a very belated thank you - we had a great trip, so thank you for arranging and all your input. Our team were brilliant, cheerful, fun and so hard working. The food was excellent - far better than my expectations. The scenery was spectacular and every bit as good as we were expecting. ... [I am] Sure I will do another one at some point.

Nick B, Simon Q and James H, Kanchenjunga private trek 2016

Trek and expedition memories

Here is a taster of some of the trips Bire has helped with, both as guide and as cook.

Recent previous treks | 2022 | 2019-21| 2018
2017 | 2016 |2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012
2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006
2005 | 2004 | 2002-03 | 2000-01 | pre-2000

2011-2015 expeditions | 2000-2010 expeditions | 2004-2010 expedition dispatches

2018 Ganesh Himal GHT, Bire was the best cook!

The team and crew for our epic 2018 Upper Mustang to Dolpo trek

2010 heading over the Saribung La - Jamie

2010 Bire in Upper Mustang - Jamie

2010 Saribung team with Bire as sherpa - Jamie

Recent previous treks | 2022 | 2019-21| 2018
2017 | 2016 |2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012
2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006
2005 | 2004 | 2002-03 | 2000-01 | pre-2000

2011-2015 expeditions | 2000-2010 expeditions | 2004-2010 expedition dispatches