Policies
Refund & Cancellation Policy
What happens if plans change — yours, or the mountain's.
Plans change, and mountains change them more often than most places. This policy explains what happens when a trip is cancelled — by you, by us, or by the weather.
How to cancel
Send us the cancellation in writing — WhatsApp to +91 75820 33222 or email to banjarihimachaltours@gmail.com — with your booking reference and travel dates. A cancellation takes effect from the date and time we receive that written notice, not from a phone conversation. We will acknowledge it and confirm the amount refundable before processing anything.
Cancellation slabs
Calculated on the total package value, counting from the date your trip is scheduled to start:
| Notice before travel date | Refund of package value |
|---|---|
| 30 days or more | 90% refunded (10% retained as planning and processing charges) |
| 15–29 days | 75% refunded |
| 8–14 days | 50% refunded |
| 4–7 days | 25% refunded |
| Less than 4 days, or no-show | No refund |
Charges we cannot recover
Some costs leave our hands the moment a booking is confirmed. Where a hotel, homestay, transport operator, activity provider or permit authority applies its own non-refundable charge, that amount is deducted in addition to the slab above, and we will show you exactly what was charged and by whom.
This is most common in peak periods — Christmas and New Year week, Diwali, long weekends and the peak snow season — when properties take payment upfront on strictly non-refundable terms. If your booking falls in one of those windows we will tell you at the time of booking, before you pay.
Partial cancellations and changes
- Reducing the group size re-prices the trip: per-person rates depend on how many people share the cab and rooms, so the remaining travellers' price may go up. The slabs above apply to the cancelling travellers' share.
- Postponing rather than cancelling is usually the better outcome, and we will always try to move your booking instead. Whether a date change is possible without loss depends entirely on what our suppliers allow; any difference in rates for the new dates is payable by you.
- Cutting a trip short after it has started, or skipping hotel nights, sightseeing or meals that were booked for you, does not create a refund — those services were reserved and paid for on your behalf.
Weather, landslides and force majeure
Himachal's roads and passes close. Snow shuts Rohtang and Kunzum for months, monsoon landslides block the Kinnaur and Parvati valley roads, and heavy rain can strand a route for a day at a time. When that happens we re-route your trip and keep it as close to the original plan as we can.
An itinerary changed by weather or road conditions is not a cancellation. Swapping a sightseeing stop, staying an extra night somewhere safe, or reaching a destination by a longer road is us delivering your trip under the conditions that exist — it does not trigger a refund, and any extra cost involved is payable by you, as stated in the exclusions on every itinerary ("extra cost from landslides, roadblocks or weather changes").
If a trip genuinely cannot go ahead at all because of force majeure — natural disaster, an extended road or pass closure, government order, epidemic, strike or civil unrest — we will refund whatever we are able to recover from hotels, transport operators and other suppliers, after deducting non-recoverable costs already incurred. In many such cases we will instead offer to move your booking to a later date, which usually protects far more of your money than a cancellation would. We are not able to refund amounts that our own suppliers do not release to us.
If we cancel
If we have to cancel a confirmed trip for a reason within our control, you get the choice of a full refund of everything you have paid us, or an alternative trip of equivalent value on dates that suit you. This does not extend to costs you booked yourself, such as flights or trains — another reason we recommend travel insurance.
How refunds are processed
- Refunds are paid to the same account and by the same method the original payment came from.
- We aim to process an approved refund within 7 to 10 working days of confirming the amount. Where we are waiting on a supplier to release money, it can take longer, and we will keep you posted.
- Bank or gateway charges on the original transaction are not refundable, since those are not amounts we received.
- Refunds are made only to the person who made the booking.
Questions
If you are unsure whether to cancel, postpone or push on, talk to us first — a conversation usually opens up an option the slab table cannot. Call or WhatsApp +91 75820 33222, or email banjarihimachaltours@gmail.com.
This policy forms part of our Terms & Conditions.