Terms of service

Safaro is a digital marketplace run by Safaro Technologies Pvt. Ltd., registered in Nepal with its office in Lakeside-6, Pokhara. It connects travellers with independent, verified hosts, licensed guides and tour operators across Nepal, starting in Pokhara.

We inspect credentials and enforce strict verification before anyone can list, but each service itself (a room, a flight, a trek, a scooter) is provided by the partner you book with. Your booking is a contract between you and that partner; Safaro arranges it, takes payment on their behalf and helps if something goes wrong.

You can browse, save places and plan a trip without an account. To book, you must be at least 18 and give accurate contact details; for treks, your name and passport details must match your passport exactly, because permits are issued against them.

If you create an account, keep your sign-in details to yourself. You are responsible for bookings made from your account. Tell us straight away at support@safaro.travel if you think someone else has used it.

Every listing shows one of three booking types before you pay:

• Instant booking. Confirmed as soon as you complete checkout, because the partner's calendar is live on Safaro.
• Request to book. The partner confirms or declines within two hours. You are not charged if they decline or don't reply in time.
• Inquiry. For monthly long stays and custom expeditions. You agree the details and a quote with the partner first; a booking exists only once you accept the quote and pay.

Your confirmation shows the booking reference, dates, what is included, the price and the cancellation terms that apply. Keep it handy; hosts and guides may ask for the reference on arrival.

Prices are set by partners in Nepali rupees (NPR) and include 13% VAT and any 10% service charge the partner is required to add. Safaro does not charge travellers a booking fee. Partners pay Safaro a commission only when a booking completes.

You can pay with eSewa, Khalti, Nepali bank cards or international Visa and Mastercard. If you pay in another currency, your bank sets the exchange rate and any foreign transaction fee. Refundable security deposits for vehicles are recorded by the owner at handover and are not part of the booking price.

The cancellation terms shown on the listing, and repeated on your confirmation, apply to your booking. Where a listing doesn't state its own terms, our standard terms apply. Weather-dependent activities always carry the weather guarantee.

Full details, including refund timelines and what happens with trekking permits, are in our cancellation policy.

Safaro strictly prohibits false advertising, fabricated reviews and phantom availability. Photos must show the real place, prices must be the prices charged, and availability must be real.

• Reviews can only be written by travellers who booked and completed the service through Safaro.
• We never buy, import or generate reviews, and partners cannot pay to remove them.
• Partners who break pricing transparency, or who refuse confirmed instant bookings without a lawful reason, are removed from the platform.

High-altitude trekking, paragliding, rafting, bungee and riding on mountain roads carry real risks from weather, terrain and altitude. By booking, you accept those risks and agree to follow the safety instructions of your guide, pilot or crew, including weight, age and health limits.

Travel insurance is required for treks. Your policy must cover emergency helicopter evacuation above 3,000 metres. For paragliding, rafting and bungee, check that adventure sports are covered. A guide or pilot may stop an activity, turn a group around or change a route for safety; when they do, it is treated as a weather or operator cancellation, not a no-show.

Treks inside the Annapurna Conservation Area need an ACAP permit and a TIMS card. Since April 2023, foreign trekkers in Nepal's national parks and conservation areas must also trek with a licensed guide. When you book a trek on Safaro, the guide or agency arranges permits using the details you provide.

To ride a scooter or motorbike you need a valid licence for that vehicle class and an International Driving Permit, and helmets are required for rider and passenger. Please respect local customs, dress modestly at temples and monasteries, and ask before photographing people.

Hosts, guides and operators who list on Safaro agree to:

• Hold, and keep current, the registrations, licences and insurance their service requires in Nepal.
• Honour every confirmed booking at the price and terms shown when it was made.
• Reply to requests within two hours and to traveller messages within one day.
• Offer the weather guarantee on paragliding, ultralight flights, rafting and bungee.

The partner terms you accept when you join the partner portal set out commission, payouts and verification in more detail.

We are responsible for running the marketplace with reasonable care: verifying partners, showing accurate booking information, handling your payment and refunding you when these terms say we will. We are not responsible for the acts or omissions of partners, or for events outside anyone's reasonable control, such as landslides, road closures, strikes or government restrictions.

Nothing in these terms limits rights you have under Nepal's Consumer Protection Act, 2075 (2018) or any liability that cannot be limited by law.

These terms are governed by the laws of Nepal. If something goes wrong, contact us first; most problems are resolved within a few days by our Lakeside team. If we cannot resolve a dispute together, it will be heard by the courts of Kaski District, Pokhara.

We may update these terms as Safaro grows. The date at the top shows when they last changed. Bookings are governed by the terms in force when you made them; if a change materially affects you, we will tell you by email before it applies.