Privacy & Cookie Policy

Who We Are

Trekkaro Adventures Private Limited (“Trekkaro”, “we”, “our”, or “us”) is a trekking company registered in India, operating through the website trekkaro.com. We are the data controller responsible for any personal data you provide to us when using our website or services.

Our registered address is:

Data We Collect

We collect only the personal data that is genuinely necessary to provide our trekking services safely and legally. Data is collected in two ways:

2.1 — Data You Provide Voluntarily

Personal details such as your name, mobile number and email address are collected only when you choose to share them, for example by:

1. →Registering for a Trekkaro account (name, mobile number, email address)
2. →Making a trek booking (name, contact details, age, emergency contact, travel insurance details)
3. →Submitting an enquiry through our contact or private trek form
4. →Participating in our Refer & Earn programme
5. →Applying for a career with us
6. →Verifying your mobile number with a one-time code sent on WhatsApp (to sign up, log in or reset your password)
7. →Choosing to receive new trek batches and offers on WhatsApp (we record your choice, when you made it and where — sign-up, booking or your profile)
8. →Claiming a review reward (the name your review is posted under, and an optional link to it)

2.2 — Government-Issued Identity Documents

As part of the trek registration process, we collect a copy of a valid government-issued photo identity document. Accepted documents are:

1. →Aadhaar Card
2. →Passport
3. →Voter ID Card
4. →Driving Licence

2.3 — Data Collected Automatically

When you browse our website, certain technical data is collected automatically by our servers and by the analytics and advertising tools described in Sections 03, 04 and 09:

1. →IP address and approximate geographic location
2. →Browser type, device type, and operating system
3. →Pages visited, time spent on pages, and navigation paths
4. →Referring website or search query that brought you to our site
5. →The treks you view, the booking pages you open and the bookings you complete (trek, amount and booking reference)
6. →Cookie and device identifiers set by Google Analytics and the Meta Pixel

How We Use Your Data

We use the personal data you provide strictly for the following purposes:

1. 3.1Service Delivery — To process your trek booking, manage your account, issue booking confirmations, invoices, and TrekCash rewards.
2. 3.2Communication — To respond to your queries, send booking reminders, trek briefing documents, weather alerts, and logistics updates relevant to your booked trek.
3. 3.3Safety & Emergency — To contact your designated emergency contact in the event of a medical or safety incident during a trek.
4. 3.4Personalisation — To remember your preferences and provide a more relevant browsing experience on return visits.
5. 3.5Marketing Research — On occasion, anonymised or aggregated data may be used for internal research to improve our services. You will not be individually identified in any such research.
6. 3.6Legal Compliance — To comply with applicable Indian laws and regulations, including the Information Technology Act, 2000, and its associated rules.
7. 3.7Website Improvement — To analyse how our website is used and to improve navigation, content presentation, and user experience.
8. 3.8WhatsApp Service Messages — We send one-time codes (for sign-up, log-in and password reset), booking confirmations and TrekCash notifications to your mobile number on WhatsApp, using the WhatsApp Business Platform operated by Meta Platforms. These messages are part of our service and are sent whatever you choose for offers.
9. 3.9WhatsApp Offers — Only With Your Consent — We send new trek batches and offers on WhatsApp only if you have ticked “Send me new trek batches and offers on WhatsApp” at sign-up, when booking, or in your profile. You can stop at any time (see 6.4), and we limit how often we send them.
10. 3.10Advertising on Facebook & Instagram — Our website uses the Meta Pixel to tell Meta which treks you viewed, which booking pages you opened and which bookings you completed. This lets Meta show you ads for the treks you were interested in on Facebook and Instagram, stop showing ads for a trek once you have booked it, and measure how well our ads work. Meta may link this information to your Facebook or Instagram account under its own privacy policy. We do not send your identity documents, payment details or medical information to Meta.

Data Sharing & Disclosure

Your personal data will not be sold, rented, or traded to any third party under any circumstances. Data is shared only in the following limited situations:

1. 4.1Trek Operations Partners — We may share the following details with our trek leaders, local guides, transport coordinators, and accommodation partners strictly to deliver the trek you have booked: name, contact number, age, medical notes, travel insurance details, government-issued identity proof (Aadhaar Card, Passport, Voter ID, or Driving Licence) and emergency contact information. All such partners are bound by confidentiality obligations and may use this data only for the purpose of the trek.
2. 4.2Government & Forest Authorities — Many Himalayan treks pass through protected forest areas, wildlife reserves, and restricted zones that require mandatory permits. We submit participant details — including name, age, contact information, and government-issued identity proof (Aadhaar Card, Passport, Voter ID, or Driving Licence) — to the relevant Forest Department, District Administration, or other statutory authority as required by law to obtain these permits. This is a legal requirement and cannot be waived. Identity documents submitted to authorities are governed by the respective authority's own data handling procedures.
3. 4.3Payment Processors — Booking transactions are processed by third-party payment gateways (currently Paytm). These gateways operate independently under their own privacy and security frameworks and do not share your financial data with us.
4. 4.4Analytics Providers — Usage data — pages viewed, treks viewed and completed bookings (booking reference and amount, without your name or contact details) — is shared with Google Analytics solely to help us understand how our website and bookings perform.
5. 4.5Legal Obligation — We may disclose your data if required to do so by a court order, government authority, or any applicable law in India.
6. 4.6Meta Platforms (WhatsApp, Facebook & Instagram) — To send you WhatsApp messages, your mobile number and the content of the message are processed by Meta through the WhatsApp Business Platform. Browsing and booking events from the Meta Pixel are shared with Meta as described in 3.10.
7. 4.7Hosting Provider — Our website and database are hosted by Hostinger, which stores data on our behalf and may not use it for its own purposes.

Data Security & Retention

1. 5.1Security Measures — We implement reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. Our website uses HTTPS encryption for all data in transit.
2. 5.2Retention Period — We retain your personal data only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by Indian law. Account data is retained for the duration of your account's existence. Booking records are retained for a minimum of 3 years for tax and audit compliance purposes. A record of your choices about WhatsApp offers (when you agreed or opted out) is kept for as long as your account exists, so we can show that we respected them.
3. 5.3Data Accuracy — If you believe any information we hold about you is incorrect or incomplete, please contact us immediately. We will promptly investigate and correct any inaccurate data.
4. 5.4Data Breaches — In the unlikely event of a data breach that poses a risk to your rights, we will notify affected users within a reasonable timeframe and take all necessary remediation steps.

Your Rights

As a user of Trekkaro.com, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

1. 6.1Right of Access — You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you at any time.
2. 6.2Right to Rectification — You may request correction of any inaccurate or incomplete personal data we hold.
3. 6.3Right to Erasure — You may request deletion of your personal data, subject to any legal obligations we must fulfil (such as retention of booking records).
4. 6.4Right to Opt Out of Marketing — You may opt out of marketing at any time: WhatsApp — tap “Stop promotions” under any offer, reply STOP, or switch off “WhatsApp updates” in My Profile (reply START or switch it back on to resume); email — use the unsubscribe option in any marketing email; Facebook & Instagram ads — use “Why am I seeing this ad?” or your Ad preferences in Facebook/Instagram, or block third-party cookies in your browser (see Section 10). You can also simply contact us.
5. 6.5Right to Withdraw Consent — Where processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.
6. 6.6Grievances — If you have a complaint about how we handle your personal data, write to our Grievance Officer at info@trekkaro.com (subject: “Privacy grievance”). We will address it in line with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, as its provisions apply.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@trekkaro.com. We will respond to all requests within 30 days.

Cookies — Overview

To make Trekkaro.com as useful and reliable as possible, we use small data files called cookies which are stored on your device (PC, tablet, or smartphone). Cookies help us deliver core website functionality, remember your preferences, and understand how our site is being used. They cannot be used to identify you personally.

Cookies improve your experience in two principal ways:

1. →Personalisation — Recognising preferences you have set on previous visits so we can display content appropriate to you.
2. →Analytics — Measuring how visitors use our website so we can continuously improve how we present content and services.

There are two categories of cookie used on Trekkaro.com: First-Party Cookies (set by us) and Third-Party Cookies (set by external services we integrate).

First-Party Cookies

These are set and controlled by Trekkaro, and are needed for the website to work.

1. PHPSESSIDA standard session identifier that keeps you securely logged in to your Trekkaro account while you use the site. It is deleted when you log out or after a period of inactivity.
2. tk_*_purchaseSmall notes kept in your browser’s storage (not cookies) after a booking, so that a completed booking is reported to Google Analytics and the Meta Pixel only once, even if you reload the confirmation page. They contain only the booking reference.

Third-Party Cookies

These cookies are set by external services integrated into our website. They are governed by the privacy policies of those respective companies, not by Trekkaro.

1. _ga / _ga_*Google Analytics — Measure how visitors use our website (pages and treks viewed, visit length, where visitors came from) and which bookings are completed, so we can improve the site. Loaded through Google Tag Manager, which manages these tags but does not itself profile you.
2. _fbp / _fbcMeta Pixel (Facebook & Instagram) — Record the treks you view, booking pages you open and bookings you complete, so Meta can show you ads for those treks on Facebook and Instagram and measure our ads (see 3.10). _fbc is set only if you arrive by clicking one of our ads.
3. NID etc.Google Maps — The map on our Contact page is provided by Google, which may set its own cookies when the map loads.
4. WhatsAppChat button — Our “chat on WhatsApp” buttons simply open WhatsApp; they do not set cookies on our website. Conversations with us on WhatsApp are governed by WhatsApp’s own privacy policy.

Managing & Disabling Cookies

You have full control over cookies on your device. Most modern browsers allow you to:

1. →Block all cookies — Prevent any cookies from being stored on your device. Note this will disable login and booking functionality on Trekkaro.com.
2. →Delete existing cookies — Clear all cookies already stored from a previous session via your browser's settings or history menu.
3. →Block third-party cookies only — Prevent cookies from external services while allowing first-party session cookies to function.
4. →Browser notifications — Configure your browser to alert you each time a cookie is about to be placed, giving you individual control.

Cookie settings are managed differently in each browser. Please refer to your browser's help documentation for specific instructions: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, or Opera.

Children's Privacy

Trekkaro welcomes trekkers aged 8 years and above. We believe that introducing young people to the mountains is one of the most enriching experiences a family can have together. However, the participation of minors requires additional safeguards that we take very seriously.

11.1 — Age Requirement & Parental Consent

1. →Participants aged 8 to 17 years may join a Trekkaro trek only with the explicit written consent of a parent or legal guardian.
2. →The consenting parent or guardian must be reachable by phone throughout the duration of the trek and must be named as the emergency contact on the booking.
3. →Bookings for participants under 18 must be made by the parent or legal guardian, who assumes full legal responsibility for the participant's fitness for the trek and compliance with all safety guidelines.
4. →On certain treks in high-altitude or restricted zones, the parent or guardian may be required to submit a signed physical consent declaration at the trek assembly point.

11.2 — Identity Proof for Minors

1. →For minor participants, a government-issued identity document (such as a School ID, Aadhaar Card, or Passport) must be provided as part of the trek registration.
2. →This identity proof is collected solely for the purpose of obtaining trekking permits from the Forest Department or other statutory authorities, as described in Section 02 and Section 04.

11.3 — Data Protection for Minors

We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of 8, and our website is not directed at such children. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child's data has been collected in error, please contact us immediately at info@trekkaro.com and we will delete such data without delay.

Changes to This Policy

1. 12.1Trekkaro reserves the right to update or amend this Privacy & Cookie Policy at any time. Any material changes will be posted on this page with a revised effective date.
2. 12.2We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Your continued use of Trekkaro.com following the posting of any changes constitutes your acceptance of those changes.
3. 12.3For significant changes that materially affect how we use your personal data, we will make reasonable efforts to notify registered users via email or a prominent notice on our website.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy & Cookie Policy or the way we handle your personal data, please do not hesitate to reach out. We are committed to resolving all privacy-related matters transparently and promptly.

1. →Email: info@trekkaro.com
2. →Phone: +91-805 7654321  |  +91-750 5626675
3. →Postal Address: Trekkaro Adventures Private Limited, 267-A, Azad Road, Opp. Zila Panchayat Office, Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, India — 244221