Mr. Thile Sherpa founded Refuge Mera Lodge in Khare, Mera Peak, to provide essential services such as lodging, a restaurant, camping facilities, climbing gear, and Climbing Sherpa guides in the Mera region.
With over 20 years of experience in the tourism industry, he began his career as a trekking leader, working with several renowned companies. Since 2005, he has led treks across all major trekking routes in Nepal, India, and Tibet. After years of dedication, gaining firsthand experience, and understanding both tourism and tourists needs, he established Refuge Mera Lodge to offer high-quality services to climbers and trekkers.
Today, we take pride in the strong reputation that Refuge Mera Lodge has built in the tourism sector. The lodge has successfully provided well-managed services for Mera Peak Climbing, Baruntse Expedition, and Amphu Labtsa Pass, ensuring a seamless experience for adventurers in the region.
"Impact in Mera region due to Refuge Mera"
After 2012, Refuge Mera Lodge took the initiative to promote the Tea House Lodge Trek in the Mera region by engaging with various trekking agencies and convincing them to adopt this approach. Before 2012, most companies organized only camping treks from Lukla, Tumlingtar and Jiri, as the Tea House Lodge Trek was challenging due to the lack of proper accommodations.
With the establishment of Refuge Mera Lodge, local communities were inspired to invest in the hospitality industry, gradually upgrading their simple tea shops into lodges, particularly in Kothe, Thangnak, and Khare. As a result, some climbers began using Tea House lodges for their Mera Peak expeditions. However, until 2015, climbers still had to carry their own tents, food, and equipment from Kathmandu for Mera Base Camp and Mera High Camp, as no fixed camping services were available at higher altitudes.
"Practice Makes Man Perfect."
After gaining valuable experience from 2012 to 2015, we identified a great opportunity to provide comprehensive services directly from Khare. This led us to introduce the “Base Camp to Mera Peak to Base Camp” package system for Mera Peak climbers. This innovation made organizing Mera Peak expeditions easier for many trekking companies while while significantly reducing their transportation costs.
Continuously analyzing the needs and demands of Mera Peak climbers, we further refined our services in 2018 by dividing the "Base Camp to Mera Peak to Base Camp" package into three distinct categories:
- Mera Peak Camping Service
- Personal Climbing Gear
- Climbing Sherpa Guide
This flexible service model was quickly popular and widely appreciated by trekking companies and soon became a standard practice for Mera Peak expeditions. Over time, this system expanded beyond Mera Peak and the same system was adopted for other peaks in the Everest region, including Island Peak and Lobuche Peak, where it is now commonly used.
"WiFi Internet for Rescue and Contact"
Refuge Mera Lodge provide satellite WiFi internet at Khare in 2015 with collaboration of Mercantile Pvt. Ltd. to provide a reliable communication facility and improve rescue operations for tourists in the Mera region. At that time, mobile network coverage was limited upto Kothe, so we Refuge Mera Lodge became the first and only place in the Mera region offering WiFi access. This connectivity enabled us to quickly coordinate rescue for numerous tourists, guides, and porters. The WiFi internet also allowed tourists to stay in touch with their families, friends, and relatives. Recognizing its impact and success, we expanded the WiFi comunication network services across the entire Mera region, continuing our mission to improve communication, safety and connectivity.
"First to Offer Unique Services in the Mera Region"
Refuge Mera Lodge was the first hotel in the Mera region to introduce a range of amenities, including WiFi internet, a bakery café, coffee machines, warm electric mats in rooms, and a sunroom facility.
While many factors contribute to the growing number of tourists in Nepal, we are proud to say that Refuge Mera Lodge has played a significant role in attracting more visitors to the Mera region through the unique services and facilities we offer.