Inglite

This page explains what happens to your money at each stage of booking a trek — when a deposit is due, what it pays for, and what you get back if plans change. Written plainly, because the version you find out about after you've paid is the version that matters.

Who you pay

• Every trek is run by an independent, licensed local operator. They are the service provider, the party you contract with, and the party who takes payment.
• Inglite never holds your money. We introduce you, help you choose, and stay with you in English throughout — but the booking contract and the payment are between you and the operator.
• The terms below are the ones we ask every operator we work with to apply. Your operator confirms them in writing before you pay anything.

Deposit

Once you confirm a route and dates, the operator starts spending real money on your behalf — reserving guides for those days, booking village guesthouses that hold only a handful of rooms, committing pack animals, and beginning any permit paperwork. Those reservations are what a deposit pays for.

• Around 25% of the trip price is payable to confirm your place. The exact figure varies a little by route — longer routes and those needing permits sit at the higher end — and it is confirmed in writing before you pay anything.
• The balance is paid in China, at the start of your trip. Nothing further is due before you travel.
• Your place is held once the deposit clears — not before. On popular dates, guides and guesthouses go to whoever confirms first.

If you cancel

Cancellation takes effect on the day we receive it in writing (email or WhatsApp both count). Timing is measured from your departure date.

• More than 30 days before departure — your deposit is refunded in full. Nothing is withheld.
• 30 days or fewer before departure — the deposit is not refunded. By this point your guides are booked for those dates, village rooms are held in your name and pack animals are committed; those costs have already been incurred whether you come or not.

That is the whole of it. Since the balance is not paid until you arrive, there is nothing else to settle and nothing else to claim back.

The one exception in both directions: permits already issued in your name — Tibet permits in particular — cost real money and are not returnable at any notice period. If your route needs one, the operator will tell you the exact amount and the deadline before applying, never after.

If the trip is cancelled by us

• Not enough travellers. Small-group departures need a minimum number to run. If a date does not reach it, you are offered another date or a full refund — deposit included. You are never left holding a booking that quietly evaporates.
• Safety or force majeure. If a road closes, a permit is withdrawn, weather turns dangerous, or the authorities restrict access, the operator will first try to reroute or reschedule. Where that is not possible, you are refunded for services not yet delivered. Costs already spent and non-recoverable — permits, prepaid nights — may not be refundable, and neither Inglite nor the operator covers your flights. This is what travel insurance is for.

If you leave the trek early

Altitude affects people unpredictably, and turning back is sometimes the right call — your guide may make it for you. Either way, the decision is about safety, never money.

• Services you do not use are not refunded.
• Getting yourself back down and onward is at your own cost. On remote routes this can be significant, which is the second reason insurance is not optional.

Changes to the itinerary

These are mountains. Passes close, rivers rise, snow arrives early. Your guide may alter the route or the order of days to keep the group safe, and that is not grounds for a refund. What we will not do is quietly downgrade the trip: if a change means you miss something the itinerary promised, the operator tells you and offers a fair remedy.

Insurance — required, not suggested

• You must carry travel insurance that explicitly covers high-altitude trekking to the height your route actually reaches. Many standard policies stop at 3,000–4,000 m; several of our routes sleep above that.
• It must include emergency evacuation. In remote western China, evacuation is slow and expensive.
• Some operators include a Chinese domestic accident policy as a courtesy. Treat it as a bonus, not as your cover — it is not equivalent, and it may not apply to you.

Transfers and changes to your booking

• Changing dates more than 30 days out: your deposit moves to another departure of the same trek at no charge, subject to availability.
• Passing your place to someone else is usually possible up to 14 days before departure, provided they meet the fitness and permit requirements. Ask — it is often easier than cancelling.

Rooms and single travellers

• Prices assume twin-share rooms and shared tents, allocated same-sex by the operator.
• A single room or tent is available on request for a supplement, subject to availability — and it is genuinely unavailable on some mountain routes.
• If you are simply the odd one out in the group, there is no supplement to pay.

How to cancel or change a booking

Write to us at TrekChina@inglite.ai or message us on WhatsApp (+1 307 998 5811) with your booking reference. We will confirm in writing, tell you exactly what is refundable under the timings above, and pass it to the operator the same day. Refunds are returned by the same method you paid.

Questions before you book

If any part of this is unclear, ask before you pay — not after. We would rather spend ten minutes explaining a cancellation term than have you discover it at the worst moment. Contact TrekChina@inglite.ai, or see Terms of Service for the wider agreement.