How to Go Trekking In Nepal

How to Go Trekking In Nepal

Nepal is a wonder on the map of the world and offers absolutely stunning trekking routes that attract several tourists to these remarkable places every year. Before I go into further details of trekking in Nepal, for those who are unaware of the beauty Nepal wraps within itself, let us first quickly shed light on some famous (and beautiful) trekking routes in Nepal.

Following popular trends of tourists visiting Nepal’s trekking routes in 2014, the most visited routes included the Manaslu Circuit Trek, the Kanchenjunga Base Camp Trek, The Upper Mustang Trek, the Three Passes Trek which includes the famous Mt’ Everest Base Camp Trek and the entire Annapurna region.

Based on personal experience, I will suggest people wishing to visit Nepal avoid getting intimidated by popular places and choose a trek route based on how many days you are willing to spend there. Some routes take longer and some are completed within 5 days also.

Any Nepal trekking company can offer information about how many days a particular trek route will require along with explaining its route as well. Having said that however, I will not recommend that you follow the route map and venture out alone to trek without a guide.

Especially people who are indulging in Nepal trekking for the first time, having an experienced guide with you is absolutely essential. I do not mean to be persuasive but when it comes to finding a guide, never compromise an experienced guide for a little fluctuation in the cost. The difference between an experienced and inexperienced guide can really turn enormous if something goes wrong during the trek.

You can find a guide either independently or through agencies and hotels; however both have their pros and cons. An independent guide has no authenticity and there is no judging on whether the person is truly experienced or simply bluffing. The agency or hotel referred guides are a tad bit costly as you will have to pay commission to the agency or hotel, besides paying the guide his fee.

Any Nepal trekking guide referred by an agency has insurance, has a trek permit and has the ability to negotiate with the locals in terms of prices for food, etc.

Here it is also essential to choose a Nepal trekking company that is experienced and offers the best prices, as they can really charge you madly for their all inclusive package. It is suggested to try out out at least three different agencies to compare prices and expertise.

In my Nepal trekking tour, I encountered agencies that were ready to charge a scary $1500+ for the all inclusive tour, however you can easily find a more affordable agency through checking out others. Also a standard experienced guide from an agency can cost you about $15 to $20 per day.

Also since most agencies offer a 1:5 guide to trekker ratio, if you can manage to find others to go along, your Nepal trekking guide cost can be reduced considerably, as you will be sharing it with others.

Also it is best to hire a trekking guide from the starting place of the trek. For example most of the treks in the Annapurna region start from Pokhara, and it is best to hire an experienced guide from their instead of hiring from Kathmandu. Those who wish to visit the Mt’ Everest base camp or the Lantang region treks, Kathmandu then is a better choice.

By now you may be thinking that I am continuously bragging about hiring an experienced guide. This is because the different trek routes sometimes can get so complex that you just cannot move ahead without guidance or asking others for the way. Getting lost or encountering unsuspected problems is not uncommon on Nepal trekking routes and an experienced hand will always help.

Never try to move ahead alone, as you can get into grave problems once you are lost or encounter a problem or an accident. Trekking is, let alone in Nepal, an experience of a lifetime, provided it is done right following all safety precautions, and in the company of an experienced guide (there I mentioned it once again!).