Trekking in Nepal

Trekking in Nepal – The main purpose of visit to Nepal is hiking in the Himalayas which is a wonderful experience for many visitors if it is their first time with the hiking stick or hundred times. This is good introductory article for trekking in Nepal and aims to give answers to the questions most commonly asked regarding this activity.

Trekking is mostly a many days’ activity in the mountains. Some treks are done on the Himalayas and some on the foot hills of the Himalayas in Nepal. All treks get you to places that are only accessible by feet since roads cannot be constructed in the mountain terrains. As with most of the treks, you pass through villages that have been in existence for the past several centuries and hike on trails that have been in use for centuries.

Trekking trails in the mountains of Nepal is different as compared to other parts of the world. Bucket list worthy, the Himalayas has an altogether different gravity of their own, unlike any other place on the planet. It has been very common with tourists who visit Nepal for the first time to comment that the trip was life-changing. This is the case due to the size of the Himalayan ranges and the difference in scenery, friendliness of the people and slow pace at which life progresses when people travel on foot.

“Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you.”

By David McCullough Jr.

Table of Contents

• Trekking in Nepal – What to Expect
• The best time for trekking in Nepal
• Accommodations during the trekking in Nepal
• Popular Trekking Regions in Nepal
• Basic Gears for Trekking in Nepal
• Some Tips for First-Time Trekkers
• Do You really need a guide/porter?
• Trekking in Nepal and Insurence

Trekking in Nepal – What to Expect

The trails of Nepal pass through villages unreachable by automobile. The best analogy to a Westerner’s mindset is to consider these trails as highways in a world sans roads and cars. You’ll meet children en route to school, herders with their yaks, and porters with vegetables, timber, or even live chickens in transit. The variety of “trail traffic” will amaze and delight you.

Day to day, or valley to valley, the landscape can be dramatically different. Depending on your trek, you’ll walk through plush rhododendron forests, terraced vegetable paddies on steep slopes, open pastures, snowfields, and spectacular suspension bridges.

The villages vary from a handful of homes to large towns with hundreds of homes sprinkled across the hill sides. Many villages often have their own personality and are in truly spectacular locations. The going is generally pretty moderate, usually about three hours in the morning and another three in the afternoon with stops for lunch at villages or packing a lunch when villages are too spread apart.

The best time for trekking in Nepal

Generally speaking, weather conditions in Nepal are changeable with the seasons, and spring-from March to May-and fall-from late September to November-are considered to be the best time for trekking.

The summer months become a problem for hiking because landslides and/or rain obscure mountain views. Nevertheless, the region of Upper Mustang happens to be untouched by the effect of monsoon, which therefore creates an excellent destination for summer trekking.

Trekking is also gaining popularity in the winter. Although the temperatures are colder and snow may block higher passes the weather is normally clear with magnificent views.
Climate
The climate varies from season to season and even depending on route variations. The temperature may also vary substantially depending with altitude even on the same trek. It may often reach as high as 30°C/85°F below 2,800 meters plummeting well below freezing at the end of a high pass.

Accommodations during the trekking in Nepal

Some of the most popular routes are those that use local lodges, the treks can also be referred to as ‘teahouse trekking’. While climbing this type of routes that pass through areas that don’t have villages or lodges one has to embark on a camping adventure.

Most of them are just ordinary, and have very basic facilities and amenities. A bed with mattress, pillows and blankets, and sheets or a mattress placed on the floor and shared with other inmates may be available. In the lower altitude, the teahouses provide clean rooms, hot shower and even flush toilet facilities.

In higher elevation, the teahouses are comparatively less fancier where they offer just a bucket of hot water for the washroom and squat toilet that does not have a flushing system. Purchased toiletries include tissue paper while it is necessary to bring your toilet paper or purchase one from the local store.

One can find all types of foods in the teahouses such as simple Nepali food. While in the lodge, dinner and breakfast are usually provided, lunch is normally arranges at one of the restaurants that are found along the trail. The available choices include the staple food of the country the Dal Bhat right to steaks and chips.

Food available for purchase are Sherpa stew, fresh vegetables, rara noodles, different soups, homemade breads, rice dishes, spaghetti, pizzas, eggs, potatoes, apple pie, Dal Bhat and beverages like black tea, lemon tea, hot chocolate, ginger tea, milk coffee/tea, green tea, black coffee and lemon ginger tea. Prefer to take freshly prepared food, which is hygienically prepared like dal bhat, greens and vegetables and soups garlic, potato and onion.

Trekking in a camp is another conventional way of trekking which is possible anywhere in the Nepalese territory. Camping trekking entails sleeping in camps to be established at vantage points in the whole journey.

Depending on the camping treks that you choose, the following are people who will be with you through the technical as well as logistical aspects.

Popular Trekking Regions in Nepal

Hundreds of trekking routes cross Nepal, including at least one long-distance route: the Great Himalayan trek, Nepalese part, crossing the country from east to west. The most popular areas in Nepal for trekking are the Everest, Annapurna, Langtang, and Manaslu regions. Among these, the most popular routes include the Everest Base Camp Trek in Khumbu and the Annapurna Circuit Trek.

Other treks in the Khumbu region, such as the Gokyo Lakes Trek, share similar villages as the Everest Trek, but Gokyo itself is a high mountain eyrie with some of the most stunning turquoise lakes and excellent lodges right on the main trail.

The Annapurna Sanctuary Trek is slightly more reclusive, but it also provides lodges and campsites near Annapurna’s base camps. More far-flung treks-the Manaslu Circuit, Kanchenjunga Base Camp, and Upper Mustang-receive fewer visitors and offer very basic facilities.

The Langtang Valley Trek is quite easily accessible from Kathmandu, which therefore positions it among the most popular trek routes of Nepal. Thus, the accommodation and food are much more basic and locally produced at higher altitudes, with hardly any waste management infrastructures available.

Basic Gears for Trekking in Nepal

The type and route of trekking you plan to do in Nepal will be a determining factor in the kind of trekking equipment you should bring with you. Several types of equipment are available in Kathmandu or Pokhara for hiring from trekking agents or for buying. However, the following are some basic trekking equipment that you must bring; we have just listed them briefly below.

Sleeping bag: Mummy-shaped sleeping bag that keeps you warm up to -10 degrees Celsius, along with a thin and light sleeping pad.

Trekking Boots: First of all you will be needing a decent pair of well-worn-in boots for hiking. Do not show up in Nepal with the wrong fitting boots or brand-new pair. Your feet would hurt and you get blisters.

Clothing: Hiking clothes of various layers will be required to keep you comfortable in the varying altitude and weather; these will include a base layer for next to the skin, fleece second layer, windproof and waterproof shell jacket and pant. Couple of pairs of warm gloves and warm hat along with trekking socks and thermal socks.

Sunglasses: Sunglasses with a high UV protection factor, which will account for the brightness and glare of the sun in Nepal.

Trekking Poles: Lightweight adjustable trekking poles that can withstand strong pressure.

Daypack and Duffle: A dayback not too heavy to carry your necessities and a duffle bag large enough to carry all of your trekking gear.

Headlamp: Good quality, LED headlamp.

Other accessories are water bottles or hydration bags, tablets for water purification, general medications, snacks, and supplies for personal hygiene.

Some Tips for First-Time Trekkers

The first time one plans to take a trek in Nepal, there is always the feeling that one should include as many attractions as possible during the first trip. But it is also pertinent not to over fill your plate, to the extent that you find yourself straining to accomplish the tasks at hand. Instead, it is possible to make a rational decision, that is, to plan properly. Here are some tips: It is for this reason that hikers should only use the services of an experienced guide or choose the right expedition company with regards to safety records. Always make sure your group has porters with prior experience and especially a guide, a cook and ideally at least one Sherpa that can help with carrying your pack up steep terrain or throughout the trek. This is very essential because such support helps to over come high altitude and bad terrains.

Do You really need a guide/porter?

Even the most frequented trails are marked but it is always encouraged that you get an experienced guide to lead you. This will help you in securing yourself and make sure that you don’t lose important opportunities of the place you intend to visit. An emergency and an accident will also be handled by a guide for your convenience. But they are in contact with local health care facilities. In the extreme medical cases, they also organize a helicopter rescue service in order to deport you immediately.

Such perception shows that having a porter will make your trip much more pleasant. Porters are so useful especially if are engaged in a one day hiking because they assist in carrying the luggage. It is important to know that not all individuals can handle a significant and a serious amount of load for a long period of time. Remember though that if you hire yourself a guide, then he will not porter your things for you.

Trekking in Nepal and Insurance

To trek in Nepal and ensure that one is well covered with the insurance policy corresponding to the level of risks, both are inseparable since the treks are considered to be adventurous. As with anything in life, it is always best to know the details so that a trekking adventure will only be fun and safe.

First of all, trekking in Nepal takes place in areas which are geographically inaccessible andthus, medical facilities are rare. It has been recommended that very adequate travel insurance should be obtained, and this should include medical evacuations, treatment as well as repatriation. This coverage should include high altitude trekking as most of the respective trails involve territorial elevation where one can easily be attacked by altitude related diseases such as AMS- Acute Mountain Sickness.

It should also include the cancellation or curtailment of the trip in case of circumstances that are beyond the traveler’s control such as earthquakes, war, terrorism, and illness among others. This is especially true in Nepal where they can enable Pa and/or Ma to change their behaviour depending on the weather or what is going on in a certain area.

When choosing an insurance agenda make sure it has provisions for trekking at the level of altitude that you intend to undertake. There can be restrictions or additional coverage needed for the areas which exceed a certain height say 4,000 meters (13,123 feet).

Also, check if your policy consider other things like helicopter rescues since this might be important in areas that might require evacuation in cases of emergencies such as sickness or accidents.

It is suggested that when one is buying an insurance cover, he or she should take his or her time to read the policy documents to note what is covered, what is not covered, the procedure to be followed when filing the claim’s and emergency telephone numbers. The best thing to do is to select an insurance company specializing in adventure travels/trekking in Nepal.

Trekkers can also protect themselves in case of an accident or an illness that may occur during the trek through the proper insurance that will give the trekkers a blanket security while on their journey in Nepal.