Kailash Mansarovar Yatra Booking, Payments, Cancellation & Refund Policy

Booking Conditions

Booking a trip for Kailash Mansarovar yatra has made easy with us. One just need to follow few simple steps to get enrolled. Find out below some easy steps to book your travel to Kailash Mansarovar with Max Holidays.

Enquiry

A traveller willing to get information and assistance for Kailash Mansarovar yatra travel may reach our office through email, phone call, whatsapp, website, social websites etc. Our dedicated team of professionals ensures to give you best available information and they offer all necessary assistance to and guidance for travel to Kailash Mansarovar

Collecting travel information

We at Max Holidays have travel advisors dedicatedly working to help you with the latest and best available travel information for Kailash Mansarovar. A traveller may feel free to take all necessary travel information from our trip advisors. If the traveler is not satisfied with any information supplied by your travel advisor, he/she please write an email to our office so that a senior level travel advisor may look into the same and guide the traveler further. Our travel advisors also provide some good reading material (trip brochures, maps, guidebook etc.) for the trip and website links where you can find more information to understand the available routes, nature of these trips, technicalities and risks involved, trip preparation etc. When you collect information from our travel advisors and/or visit our website to get travel information or make enquiry/bookings, you accept the Booking & Cancellation Policy and ‘Terms of Services’ of Max Holidays. When you book a tour with our office you will be charged a certain amount of non-refundable fee for the consultation, information and staff services which will be an integral part of the tour cost and will stand non-refundable in the event of trip cancellation for any reason from either side. Such fee and charges are collected when you are satisfied with the information and reading material provided and decide to proceed with booking a Kailash Yatra trip with us.

Tour Booking

Once the traveller has obtained all necessary information to his/her satisfaction and he/ she wish to make a tour booking with our office he/she must send a written booking request along with the tour booking documents and registration fee as may be required for the trip. No booking is considered 'accepted' by the Company unless the booking amount and documents are received by us and a 'booking reference number' is issued by our office. We recommend using email as a reliable source of correspondence and keeping the information safe. Your travel bookings and travel dates are further subject to necessary permissions and entry visa from the concerned authorities and embassy.

Booking Documents

To reserve a seat in our Kailash Mansarovar Yatra fixed departure tours, one must ensure that he/she has a passport which is valid for a minimum period of six months from the date of commencement of the trip. For making a booking with us the traveller must read (if require, a translated version in their own language) and accept our ‘Booking & Cancellation Policy’ and ‘Terms of Services’ by the way of completing and signing the booking documents. The following documents are required for Initial booking / registration process with Max Holidays:

1. Clear, colour scanned, self-attested photocopies of traveller's valid passport,
2. Original copies of Registration Form duly filled and signed,
3. Annexure1, Traveller's Declaration & Booking Agreement, duly signed,
4. Photocopy of document confirming successful payments,
5. Photocopy of traveller's Aadhaar Card (Indian passport holders only),
6. Photocopy of traveller's Voter ID card (Indian passport holders only),
7. Photocopy of PAN card of the person making the payments (Indian passport holders only),
8. Three copies of latest, coloured, passport size photograph of the traveller,

Booking confirmation

As stated above, on receiving the complete booking documents and advance booking amount, our office shall send written confirmation to the traveler or to the person making bookings on behalf of the traveler, along with a booking confirmation/reference number. This confirms that your name has been listed in one of our trips scheduled to depart for Kailash Mansarovar in the following months, however, these trips require further approvals and permissions from the local govt and embassies of the countries of travel and unless the same are issued traveler’s bookings remain tentative only

Payment Policy

Trip price & Inclusions

Prices are per head, inclusive of accommodation, food, transport, guides, fuel charges, permit, visa etc. (please check trip brochure for a detailed list of inclusions and exclusions) and we take utmost care for not increasing the price of service or the tour package during the year. But, in the event of hike in fuel price, change in Govt taxes, increase in visa fee or permit charges, major fluctuation in the currency exchange rate, air fare increase, increase in fee or charges by Nepal or Tibet ground operator and other changes in the prices which are beyond our control, the Company retains absolute right to increase the price of the trip package or a part of the trip, without any further notice at any time ‘before or during’ the yatra. Additional payments caused due to such price changes and hike must be paid by the traveler, in addition to the agreed trip price, with no delay. Upon refusal by the travellers to pay such additional amounts the Company shall retains the right to reject his/her trip participation in the trip and all advance payments made by the traveler will be forfeited.

Important price exclusions

Few of the important additional expense incurred on traveller for Kailash Mansarovar yatra are as below :

1. Charges for flights/transport from home to the trip starting point and back,
2. Any insurance,
3. Mule & porter charges for Mt. Kailash parikarama/kora,
4. Medical expense in the event of hospitalisation,
5. Emergency evacuation expense, if any,
6. Accommodation & meals for extended length of stay due to delay in the trip,
7. Any extra expense incurred due to change in the trip itinerary or services on demand of the traveler or in ‘Force Majeure’ events,

Acceptable Currency

Indian travellers : The Company accepts payments in Indian Rupees from all Indian citizens, making transactions through an Indian Bank or through other sources as may be permitted by the Law.

NRIs and Foreigners : All non-Indian passport holders (NRIs & Foreigners) must pay for their bookings only in authorised and acceptable foreign currency. American Dollars ($), British Pounds (£), Euro (€), Canadian Dollars (CA$), Singaporean Dollars (SG$), Australian Dollars (AU$) and many other internationak currencies are widely acceptable. If a Foreign traveller or NRI wishes to pay for any service in Indian Rupees (₹), he/she must provide us a copy of Currency Exchange Certificate of equivalent or a higher value. All invoices in INR will attract 5% GST on total transaction. .

Discounted offers

The Company keep floating discounted offers and special booking schemes for promotion of various trips. These offers are completely at the discretion of the Company and the terms of those offers/schemes can be changed anytime thereafter without assigning any prior notice. The Company also retain the right to withdraw or modify the offers/scheme anytime without assigning any notice. It is totally at Company’s discretion to confirm or reject any booking under such schemes. To bring more travellers we keep floating attractive schemes and offers, which may be seen on our website, social pages or in our promotional advertisements. None of the two (or more) schemes/ offers / deals (including Early-Bird offer, Last Minute booking discount, Super-Flexi payment plans, Festival Offers etc) can be clubbed with each other or any other offer or discounts. While making the query with us, the traveler clearly need to mention the details of special offer under which he/she wish to book a trip. Services and bookings for all schemes and offers are subject to availability only. Trips once booked under such offers/scheme cannot be shifted to any other offer/scheme introduced by us at a later stage, even if the new offer is with more discounts or higher customer benefits. Such deals and offers are a part of Company’s marketing strategy and the Company retain the right to decide upon the price of the yatra. No claim whatsoever will be entertained in this regard. All bookings, Cancellations and Refunds will be only as per the booking agreement signed between the Company and traveler/s.

Company’s service charge

While choosing to book a trip with us, this is to be taken into consideration by the traveler, that, Max Holidays is a private tour operating Company (duly recognised by Govt of India, Ministry of Tourism) and it does not own any hotel, flight, helicopter, tour guides, vehicles etc. The area of services of Max Holidays include providing travel consultation, best available travel information, trip brochures, communicating with the vendors and other local service providers to organise necessary travel bookings on behalf of the travellers. All quotations, charges and trips costs mentioned on our website and in the booking documents are for each person and includes amount for Company’s pre booking consultancy fee, brochure and information charges and staff service charges, which are non-refundable and non-transferable in the event of cancellation of a trip (completely or partially) from either side, due to any reason whatsoever it may be, including Lockdown situation, non-grant of necessary travel permissions or visa or any other 'Force Majeure' situation. Please read the brochures and trip booking documents carefully before placing a travel booking request. We strongly recommend that you should not book your trip with us, if you do not agree with our business policy and charges.

Advance Payments

It is mandatory for the traveler to pay advance deposit at the time of tour booking (registration). All payments must be issued in favour of Max Holidays India Pvt Ltd. New Delhi, India and the same must be deposited or transferred in the Company's bank account through Online Banking (NEFT/RTGS/IMPS) or a Bank Cheque only. International transactions must be made using SWIFT bank payment system only (Check our bank account details here). Payable advance amount for such transaction may differ for various tour packages, routes and various offers floated by the Company time to time. It is to be noted carefully, that the initial booking amount paid by the traveller includes a non-refundable, non-adjustableand non-transferable amount (fully or partially) as mentioned in the trip booking documents submitted by the travellers. Such non-refundable amount is charged as Company’s service charges as mentioned above and will deducted from the payments at the time of making refunds. The Company’s service charges are deducted in the event of cancellation of the trip, irrespective to the reason or point of cancellation of the trip, including the situations/circumstances as listed in the ‘Force Majeure’ causes above. All such cancellation charges are pre-informed during the course of correspondence and the same are also mentioned in our tour booking documents.

Balance Payments

Full balance payments must be received by the Company atleast 45 days prior to the trip commencement date incase of individual booking or 60 days prior to date incase of a group of six or more travellers or at the time of Tibet entry permit application (whichever is earlier). No booking is considered 'confirmed' unless full and timely payments are received along with all necessary documents and information from the traveller. It is the responsibility of the traveller to provide us timely payments and to ensure that all booking documents provided by the traveller are true and complete. In the absence of timely payments or incomplete information / documents from traveler, we shall not be able to process his/her/their tour bookings further and shall not be responsible for cancellation of his/her/their trip or non-grant of necessary permissions by the concerned authorities. The Company, retain absolute right to refuse to take the traveller on-board in our group by cancelling his/her participation in case timely payments are not received by us or if the information or/and documents supplied by the traveller for trip are delayed, incomplete or false. In such case all payments made by the traveler will be forfeited and he/she will be liable to pay the cancellation fee to the Company as mentioned below in general cancelation policy and set forth in the ‘Booking Agreement’. The Company recommend that, the traveler must read our payment, booking, cancellation and refund policies completely & carefully, before proceeding with your travel bookings with us (in his/her own language if he/she does not understand English well). The company further insists that, if the traveler is not in acceptance with Company such terms and conditions, he/she should refrain from booking a travel service with Max Holidays.

How to pay

The Company facilitates its customers with various easy payment methods which are listed in our website. To check more information on this go to page How to Pay. The law of India does not allow Non Indian travellers to make payments in Indian Rupees and if does, the company shall require a Money Exchange Certificate from the traveler to legalise the payment.

Invoice & Receipts

The traveler may obtain receipt voucher immediately against all payments made by you to our office. A 'Tax Invoice' is issued by us for all bookings and sent to the customers against full payments, only after completion of the services. If you wish to obtain a copy of your payment receipt or invoice, please write an email to our 'Accounts Department' at [email protected] or call them at 009111 42654565.

Taxes on Services

Kindly note Goods and Services Tax (GST), which may differ, based on the nature of service purchased, is payable by the traveler, in addition to the cost of the services. It is not only the legal responsibility of the Company to charge such taxes to its customers against the services, but it is also the liability of the customers to pay the same without fail. All our quotes and offers are ‘excluding’ the applicable GST, unless specified, and shall be charged extra at the time of billing. Any changes in the current tax structure or if any new taxes levied by Central or State Govt. shall be payable applicable additionally by the travellers. The following is the list of GST applicable on various services.

• On Tour Package Purchase: 05% GST on total amount,
• On Consultation & Information Services: 18% GST on service fee,
• On Cancellation Charges: 18% GST on cancellation fee,
• Flight Ticket Bookings: 18% GST on service charges.

TCS (Tax Collection at Source) uder LRS Limit

From 01 Oct'2023, under new FEMA law by Govt of India, it is mandatory for the Indian residents to pay TCS @ 20% of the total internnational tour package cost. This amount is payable upfronnt by the Indian residents at the time of payments for their Internnational tour bookings. Read More ..

Bank fee and charges

Making payments : All bank fee and charges for making payment to Max Holidays are to be paid by the customers. The Company accepts the payments in Indian Rupee and many other international currencies (check list of permitted currencies above). The amount reflected in the bank account of the Company shall be considered the ‘Amount received’ and the same shall be credited to the booking account of the traveler.

Receiving refunds : The Company shall make refunds only in Indian rupees, as per the Law of India. For international refunds, the intermediary bank are authorised and shall convert the amount in the currency in which the traveler is authorised to receive a payment. At the time of making a refund the company shall transfer the applicable INR amount and the traveler shall receive amount in his/her bank account in a local currency after deduction of intermediary bank fee/charges (if any).

Cancellation Policy

Trip Cancellation

Unlike other tour and travel packages, the cancellation terms for a Kailash Mansarovar tour booking are very strict and it invites heavy penalties on travellers sometimes. Traveler must understand them well and agree to the same before booking a trip with Max Holidays. If a traveler do not agree to those policies, he/she must not book a trip to Kailash Mansarovar with Max Holidays.

• Cancellation after initial deposit: After making the initial deposit with Max Holidays for processing the travel bookings, at any given time, if the traveller wish to withdraw/cancel his/her participation, it is mandatory to send a written cancellation request by email to our Delhi office (please note that, telephonic cancellations are not valid). As informed and mentioned, the advance deposit amount paid at the time of tour bookings includes pre-booking travel consultancy and staff service charges which are non-refundable once paid. Such charges are clearly informed by the Company before the booking through brochures, booking documents and website links. Following cancellation charges apply to travel bookings with us:
  • After advance payments : As stated in the Booking Documents
  • 60-45 days prior to the trip start date : 25% of total trip cost
  • Less than 44-31 days before trip : 50% of total trip cost
  • Less than 30 days before trip 100% of total trip cost
• Cancellation before Tibet Permit Preperation: Max Holidays, its Officers, Owners, Directors, Staff, Associates, Partners etc do not take any liability or responsibility for cancellation of the trip due to any 'Force Majeure' situation arising at the part of the Company or the traveler. In the event of cancellation of the trip before we have sent permit application and payments to our partners or authorities, the amount paid by the traveller is refundable after deduction of Company's service charges and consultation fee as mentioned in the documents. The clause may differ on the Booking Form and the same will supersede the cancellation clause mentioned here in this section. However, in any and all circumstances, if the trip cancellation is made by the traveller with less than 60 days notice, the cancellation charges mentioned herein above, shall apply.
• After Tibet Permit Chart Preperation or Submission: After preparing the final chart which is usually 45 days before the travel date, and processing the group application for necessary Tibet entry permits through Company's authorised partners, no modification or cancellation request will be permitted to any traveller. Any cancellation or withdrawal of the booking by the traveller before submission of permit application with Chinese Authority in Lhasa will be completely subject to approval by the Company. if approved, cancellation fee mentioned above will apply. In any and all kind of approvals by the Company a minimum of INR 15,000 per person will be charged (including Company's non-refundale fee as stated in the booking forms). After applying the Tibet entry permits with Authorised body of China, in the event when the permit application is not accepted by the concerned authority (or if permit is not granted due to any reason, after submission) for any traveller or a group of travellers, the yatra of the traveller/s will be cancelled automatically due to non-grant of necessary permits or visa. In such ‘Force Majeure' case, the traveller will be eligible to receive their tour payments back in their accounts after deducting the Service charges and Consultation fee of Max Holidays (As stated in the Booking Documents) and US$390 Permit application processing charges for the authorities and all intermediary agencies/partners.
• After applying the Tibet entry permits, if there is no problem in getting the permit; or in the event when the travel permit has been issued; or in the event when the trip has launched; but the traveller is willing to withdraw his/her name from the trip due to any unforeseen reason/s (such unforeseen circumstances include delay in grant of permit or visa, change in travel dates or routes etc); or if any traveller is rejected from the trip by the tour guide or any authorised officer of the Company or authorities; no refund will be applicable and the traveller will be liable to pay the full trip cost to the Company.
• Force Majeure cancellations : Keeping into consideration the unpredictable nature of trips to Kailash Mansarovar and world scenario after spread of COVID19, it is important for the travellers to understand the 'Force Majeure' cancellation clauses. All trips to Mt. Kailash and Lake Manasarovar are operated under extremely tough climatic conditions and with limited availability of tourism infrastructure including food, lodging, etc. The level of uncertainty in Kailash Yatra is ‘very high’ not only due to climatic conditions but also due to global situation, diplomatic reasons, political interference, frequently changing policies of concerned Chinese authorities etc.
• Non-Grant of necessary permissions : In the event when a traveller has completed the Registration formalities, have paid the money and have also completed all necessary paperwork for the trip, but the trip is not going due to non-grant of entry permission (or delay in grant of such permissions) by the concerned Govt offices or Authorities due to any reason, the Company shall refund the payments to the travellers after deducting the non-refundable charges as mentioned on the booking documents. If the permit application was sent, but the permit for any traveller/s has not been granted due to any known or known reason, we shall debit additional US$390 to the travellers account being permit application charges for intermediary agencies/agents.
• After receiving the permits : No changes or cancellation is permitted to any participant after the Tibet authority has issued the permit. In such cases cancellation of a trip will attract full retention on traveller equivalent to the cost of the invoice.
• Cancellation due to medical reason : It is highly recommended that the traveler ensure for his/her good physical and mental health to undertake the challenging travel to Kailash Mansarovar. The traveller before booking the trip and placing the initial deposit, the traveler must consult with a qualified doctor. The traveller will require to submit a Medical Clearance Certificate from a qualified doctor 30 days prior to the trip departure date. In the event if the traveller is marked in 'risk' by the doctor or if the traveller is declared 'unfit' for travelling to such a high altitude region; the Company shall reject to take him/her onboard and his/her trip will be immediately cancelled. In such Force Majeure cancellation case, no refund will be applicable.
• Cancellation of bookings purchased under special deals and offers: All bookings made under special offers, including but not limited to, ‘Super-Flexi Easy Payment Plan’ (SFEP), ‘Early Bird Offers (EBO)’, ‘Last Minute Deals (LMD)’, ‘Customer Loyalty Discount (CLD)’, other Festival Offers' and other marketing campaigns introduced by the Company time to time, are lucrative but they are tied with strict cancellation and refund policies. In most cases, those benefits to customers come with strict nonrefundable, non-adjustable and non-transferable payment conditions. It is necessary that the traveler read the trip brochure, booking agreement carefully and understand such policies of the Company, before putting a deposit to confirm their participation in one of our trips. No refund claim whatsoever will be entertained once the payments is deposited to secure a booking with us under such special offers. Such offers cannot be used in conjunction with other promotional offers and discounts. The Company retain the right to refuse any booking and to alter or terminate any or all of the offers without prior notice. The Company retains the right of final approval of application by the customers.

Un-utilised Services

Once the trip is launched, there shall be no refund applicable for any ‘un-utilised’ service of the tour. The customers accept not to have any right to claim such refunds against unutilised services.

International flight tickets

As guided and repeatedly informed Kailash Mansarovar travel is full of uncertainties. Change in travel dates and duration is a very common and a well known part of this trip, even when the permit/visa application has been submitted. This is due to several reasons forced by international and local political reasons of China, delay in getting permits/visa, weather issues etc. We strongly recommend that the travellers should not book their flight tickets before receiving the permits to visit Tibet. If the travellers are concerned for increase in flight ticket cost at later stage and he/she/they want to buy their flight tickets by accepting the risk of trip delay or cancellation, we recommend that they should buy only a refundale flight fare with date flexibility option. Such flight tickets does not fall under our tour service / cost list and Max Holidays does not take any responsibility for any loss to the traveller due to such changes/cancellatios. As guided and repeatedly informed Kailash Mansarovar travel is full of uncertainties. Change in travel dates and duration is a very common and a well-known part of this trip, even when the permit/visa application has been submitted. This is due to several reasons forced by international and local political reasons of China, delay in getting permits/visa, weather issues etc. We strongly recommend that the travellers should not book their flight tickets before receiving the permits to visit Tibet. If the travellers are concerned for increase in flight ticket cost at later stage and he/she/they want to buy their flight tickets by accepting the risk of trip delay or cancellation, we recommend that they should buy only a refundable flight fare with date flexibility option. Such flight tickets does not fall under our tour service / cost list and Max Holidays does not take any responsibility for any loss to the traveller due to such changes/cancellations.

Refund Policy

Every customer must take a written confirmation from our office for refund against any cancelled trip or services. Such refunds shall be initiated by our accounts department within 15-30 days after completion of the trip and/or after receiving the same from various parties, vendors and authorities in India/Nepal/Tibet etc. It is to be noted that all refunds shall be made in Indian Rupees only after deducting applicable local bank fee, intermediary bank fee, Company service charges, cancellation charges, Govt taxes and other charges as may occure in sending the payments to the account of the traveller. There is 18% GST (Goods & Service Tax of Indian Govt) applicable on all cancellation invoices or consultancy bills which is chargeable over and above the invoice value.

• Payment refund to residents of India : All applicable refunds to residents of India, will be done in their Indian bank account only or in the bank account from where the booking payment was received on behalf of the traveller. To initiate such refund we require an authority letter from the traveller in a prescribed format where the bank account details are to be provided to our accounts department for receiving the money. It is mandatory to complete all such refund forms and provide a NOC to the accounts department of Max Holidays, before receiving the final refunds.
• Payment refund to Indians living abroad and to other foreign passport holders : In the event when we have received payments from our customers from an international location or bank in any foreign currency (or even in Indian Rupees), we shall send a refund to the same bank account through SWIFT bank transfer system (or through the same channel from which the payment was received by us). It is to be noted that outward remittances are expensive in India and each outward remittance requires lengthy paper work by the Company, its accountants and bankers. We shall pay the refund in Indian rupees only and the intermediary bank shall credit the amount to the receiving party in his/her local currency (USD/AUD/GBP/Euro etc.) based on the currency exchange applicale on the date of the transfer. All such expenses occurring for outward remittance and the difference in the currency rate will be payable by the traveller / customer only. We do not accept INR payments from Non-Indian passport holders as sending refund against such payments requires NOC and eFIRC copies form the Indian Bank through which the payment was routed to us. Therefore while transferring the payments to our Indian Bank account the traveller / remitter requires to ensure that he/she is using currect channel to pay the money and the payment sould reach in our bank account in Foreign currency only.
• Refunds against cash payments : Against all cash payments made by the travellers, the refund amount will only be made through bank cheque or NEFT/RTGS transfer system. We do not have a provision ro pay the refunds amount in cash. Such refund amount will only be paid to the bank account of the traveller.

Force Majeure

Force Majeure : Know about ‘unforeseen circumstances’ and ‘situation beyond the control of the Company or its representatives’

At many places, we have mentioned about Force majeure cases, which include unforeseen circumstances and situation beyond the control of the Company and its management or representatives. These Force majeure cases mainly refer to the situations or circumstances including, but not limited to, weather conditions, natural disaster, pandemic situation, lockdown, technical failures, delay in operation of flight or train, bad road conditions, delay in issuing the permit or visa by the concerned authorities, rejection of the entry visa, strikes, riots, war situation, accident, terrorist activity, political closure, not opening of the borders due to lockdown situation or any other reason, industrial disputes, health of the traveler, sudden change in policies of the Govt or concerned authorities in the land of travel, sudden hike in fuel charges, fluctuation in currency exchange rate, any other situation categorically falling under Act of God, misbehaviour or misdeed by any trip participants etc. The traveler must know and understand, that, the Company do not take any responsibility for cancellation or delay (partially or completely) of the trip and also for any additional expense incurred due to such situations or reasons. All additional expense incurring due to any forced change, cancellation, postponement or delay of the trip (or any service) due to Force majeure reasons are to be paid by the traveler only over and above the trip cost, before or at the time of consumption of the service. The Company do not accept any liability to pay for the same. Also once the trip is launched, there will be no refund applicable for any unutilised services, if the trip is stopped or delayed or cancelled due to any such Force majeure conditions.