Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 07, 2026 • Effective immediately
Your Trust & Safety Are Our Paramount Commitments
At Mountain Guide (operated by Mountain Guide), we are deeply committed to protecting your personal data, medical information, and government identity documents. The information we collect is strictly utilized to procure statutory forest permits, verify high-altitude physical safety, coordinate emergency rescue readiness, and execute your expedition bookings. We do not sell, rent, monetize, or trade your personal data to any third-party marketing brokers.
1. Introduction & Legal Framework
This Privacy Policy sets out how Mountain Guide (referred to herein as "Mountain Guide", "we", "us", or "our") collects, processes, stores, and safeguards personal and sensitive data when you browse our website, submit booking inquiries, purchase high-altitude trek and tour departures, or communicate with our expedition concierge team.
This policy is formulated in compliance with applicable Indian data protection frameworks, including the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011 (SPDI Rules), and the foundational standards established under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act).
2. Information We Collect & Why We Need It
Organizing safe, guided expeditions in remote Himalayan wilderness zones requires specific legal and physiological information. We collect the following categories of data:
Full name, email address, telephone / WhatsApp mobile number, billing address, and emergency contact details (next-of-kin).
Government Photo ID type and reference numbers (Aadhaar Card, Indian Passport, Voter ID, or Driver's License).
Age, gender, blood group, pre-existing cardiac or respiratory conditions (e.g. asthma), allergies, past history of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), and daily maintenance medications.
Booking totals, partial deposit receipts, GST tax calculation breakdowns, and payment reference IDs / UPI UTR numbers.
3. How Your Data is Used
- Expedition Coordination: Generating official expedition rosters, assigning tent mates based on gender, and preparing sanitized alpine gear kits.
- Forest & Wildlife Permits: Submitting verified participant manifests to State Forest Divisions (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Sikkim) to obtain mandatory environmental transit slips.
- Search & Rescue (SAR) Readiness: Providing accurate identification and emergency contact manifests to civil administration, helicopter rescue operators, and base hospitals during unprecedented weather or medical distress.
- Transactional Communications: Dispatching automated trip vouchers, boarding passes, payment receipts, GST invoices, and critical pre-departure weather advisories.
- Customer Service: Responding to inquiries, WhatsApp concierge questions, and customized itinerary requests.
4. Strict Disclosure & Third-Party Sharing Limits
We operate with complete transparency. We share your personal information exclusively with parties essential to completing your trip safely and lawfully:
5. Security Measures & Data Retention
We enforce comprehensive administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to prevent unauthorized access, disclosure, or misuse of your personal data:
- Encryption in Transit: All website interactions and checkout sessions are protected with Transport Layer Security (TLS/HTTPS).
- Access Controls: Access to expedition medical notes is restricted to designated expedition captains, basecamp operations leads, and safety officers.
- Retention Timelines: Personal details and booking invoices are preserved for 7 years to satisfy Indian tax, GST, and audit requirements. Unnecessary biometric and medical data copies are purged once expedition insurance and audit retention windows lapse.
6. Cookies & Tracking Technologies
Our platform uses essential session cookies to remember selected batch dates, multi-step checkout state, and secure login sessions. We may utilize anonymized analytics (such as Google Analytics) to assess page load performance, understand popular trekking routes, and improve user navigation. You may disable cookies through your browser settings, though doing so may limit checkout functionality.
7. Your Rights & Preferences
As a registered trekker and consumer under applicable data protection laws, you possess the right to:
- Access & Review: Request a summary of the personal and booking data associated with your profile.
- Correction & Rectification: Update inaccurate phone numbers, emergency contact details, or identity references.
- Consent Revocation: Unsubscribe from non-essential newsletters or promotional messages at any time.
- Right to Erasure (Forget): Request the closure of your account and erasure of non-statutory records, subject to pending financial liabilities and mandatory tax audit obligations.
8. Policy for Minors & Student Groups
High-altitude trekking requires specialized supervision. We do not knowingly accept bookings directly from minors under the age of 18 without verified parental or legal guardian consent. For family treks and school expeditions, parents or authorized legal guardians must provide explicit written approval, emergency consent, and indemnity acknowledgments.
9. Grievance Redressal Officer & Legal Notices
In accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, the designated Grievance Officer details for data privacy and consumer inquiries are provided below: