Nepal

[TreeHugger]

Has anyone traveled to Nepal? We are looking at a trip next year, around this time, and would like to start making arrangements this fall. This summer, I am gathering as much information as I can. We will spend time trekking to basecamp, for sure (guided), but what else can you tell me? We will have probably an extra week to 10 days to do other stuff.

I'd appreciate any info you have, or contacts you might suggest, or anything. You can PM me if you'd prefer.

Thanks in advance!

[Scott P]

Has anyone traveled to Nepal?

Yes.


We will spend time trekking to basecamp, for sure (guided), but what else can you tell me?

Going guided is pretty pointless since it's impossible to get lost on the main trails and the porters will know the way even if not. I would just take a porter/porter-guide. Anyway, I would suggest budgeting about $15 a day per person for food, lodging and a porter to carry your pack.


We will have probably an extra week to 10 days to do other stuff.

We spent 47 days in the area and did various treks. Other things to do are river rafting, Chitwan (wild Rino and tigers), more treks, Kathmandu etc. that can easily fill up a week to 10 days. River rafting is highly recommended, but don't expect a guided trip to be the same in Nepal as the USA and it's more rustic. Still fun, but brig warm clothes.

[brettyb]

Did an eight week trip 8 years ago. It was phenomenal. However, as I recall, June is not the time of year to go. It's the monsoon season, and trekking is difficult, mountain views rare. Fall is the most popular time for a reason--the best weather. We were there late October to late December, and were only precipitated upon a couple times.

We did the Jiri-Namche Bazaar-Gokyo peak trek (near basecamp), flying out of Lukla for the return to Kathmandu, and the Annapurna Sanctuary trek. We hired neither guides nor porters, and we were happy with out decision. Finding your way is not difficult at all, though carrying the pack up on down thousands of feet per day ain't easy. (You won't need to carry a tent and anything more than snack food however.)

You are prudent to be planning far in advance.

[Scott P]

However, as I recall, June is not the time of year to go.

Very true. :2thumbs: October-November or March-April are best. December-February usually have pretty clear weather, but it's colder. We were in the region late November-early January and had great, but cool weather.

Avoid late May through mid-September if at all possible.

[TreeHugger]

Hey thanks for all the info! Interesting that you dont advocate using a guide service... I know two people who went and did and said it was super easy that way. We've done multi week treks through the Alps and Iceland with no guide and it was fine, but I hadnt thought of that as a possibility in Nepal, good to know. I was looking forward to the yaks doing all the heavy carrying! haha!

I knew summer was monsoon season, but didnt think it started that early. Unfortunately, for me to take a month off of work in the middle of a school year would be really difficult... something to think about, darn. I was just checking out REI adventures to see what they do, their two trip times for Nepal are in the summer (end of May and June) What's up with that?

Sounds like Christmas time might be a possibility? I might be able to add two weeks to the two I get off then...

How does one get started? I'm a "let's go and see what we find" kind of person, my husband likes "plans". :-)

[brettyb]

I'd start by checking out a couple books from the library (or buying them of course). The Lonely Planet guide to Nepal is great (as are all of their non-US guides). There is a Lonely Planet guide to Trekking in Nepal, by a fellow named Armington that helps a lot too. Once you decide a region to trek in, you can get even more in depth information in a guide like "Trekking in the Everest Region by Jamie McGuinness or Trekking in the Annapurna Region by Bryn Thomas.

Choice of season is crucial when heading to Nepal. The guidebooks will tell you about the downsides of trekking during the monsoon. It can be done, but sounds like there a lot of difficulties (e.g. fewer high mountain views, plethora of leeches, etc.)

As far as hiring a guide, I reiterate that there is no need to do so if you stick to one of the main trekking routes (Jiri-Lukla-Namche Bazaar-EBC) or Annapurna Sanctuary or Annapurna Circuit. The trails were quite easy to follow, with ample foot traffic comprised of locals and tourists alike. Lodges are spaced at comfortable intervals, and all the lodges serve passable food, have English menus, and English speaking staff. When you hit trail junctions in villages, you can ask the kids to point you the right way, or they will probably make a fuss if you start heading the wrong way even if you don't ask!

After getting the guidebooks, the decision to make is which region to trek in. It sounds like you have four weeks, so that would leave time for one long trek, maybe two shorter treks. The Khumbu (Everest Base Camp) east of Kathmandu and the Annapurna Region west of Kathmandu are the two most popular regions. Langtang, just north of Kathmandu, is third most popular (I didn't visit there). In spite of the obvious appeal of seeing Everest, Annapurna is the most popular trekking destination, as I recall, because getting there is easier and cheaper. (Bus to Pokhara, then bus or taxi to trailheads). For the Everest region, it's a long, torturous bus ride to the roadhead at Jiri, then several arduous days hiking up and down thousands of feet per day to reach the high country. (Of course, you can spring for a cab to Jiri to make the trip more comfortable I suppose.) The main alternative is to fly into Lukla and start trekking form there. Flights from Lukla are unreliable, by reputation. We flew out that way without a problem though.

[TreeHugger]

THANK YOU. That is excellent information.

[Scott P]

I know two people who went and did and said it was super easy that way.

It's super easy without them as well.

1. Buy plane ticket

2. Buy guidebook

3. Pack

4. Go

There is nothing else to it and it's super easy. It's super easy in any hotel to arrange a porter to carry your pack. Going rate was $5 a day in 2001-2002; not sure what it is now.


I was looking forward to the yaks doing all the heavy carrying!

I would hire a porter. Locals can't understand why people are willing to dropover a thousand dollars on a plane ticket, but not to hire a porter. Hiring a porter puts money into the local economy.

PS, your pack won't be that heavy. You don't need to carry camping gear or food other than a few snacks. All the poplular treks in Nepal have plenty of food and lodging along the way.


I was just checking out REI adventures to see what they do, their two trip times for Nepal are in the summer (end of May and June) What's up with that?

They want to make money off people who can go in summer; that's all. I really like REI and shop there often (last years dividend was close to $900), but their Nepal and Africa trips are a rip off, price wise.


Sounds like Christmas time might be a possibility? I might be able to add two weeks to the two I get off then...

Yes, Christmas is fine at "low" altitudes, i.e. below 18,000 feet. We spent Christmas dinner at the Machhupuchhare basecamp and had fried yak for Christmas dinner.


How does one get started?

The four steps above; nothing more. Other than the possible political situation (which seems to have calmed down much), there really isn't much to worry about. In fact when we were in Nepal my wife was five months pregnant and I'll probably take the kids to the Everest Basecamp in the next year or two.

I don't have a webpage for the Everest Trek, but I do have a few page written up for Poon Hill in the Annapurna region which have some tidbits that may be useful anyway:

http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/152564/poon-hill.html

[Brian in SLC]

Hey thanks for all the info! Interesting that you dont advocate using a guide service... Sounds like Christmas time might be a possibility?

Some friends went at x-mas to climb. Very uncrowded time, but, was much colder and you do run the risk of having some significant snowfall to contend with. But, they really enjoyed it that time of year too.

A partner and I went there back in the early 90's and on the advice of friends, hired a guide to handle basically everything else. There's over 200 agencies in Katmandu that will do a trip for you. Its really not much more cost that hiring a porter for some of the bare bones treks, to include a guide. Some of the porters double as quasi trekking guides too, I'd think. You can also get to some much more remote area with a guide outfit too, if that's something you're interested in.

Depends on the type of trip you want. What I think we got out of the guide was much more of the local flavor of the place, rather than just the scenery. As well, he was able to hire our porters, pick the guesthouses, etc. But, we were also climbing so a guide made sense for us as we wanted someone to mind camp while we climbed (we climbed without a guide). He ended up cooking for us too, which was a bonus when we were camping away from guest houses, and, also helped us resell all the gear we bought to camp and climb (tons of stuff to stock up on in Namche Bazaar).

June might be pushin' it, but, better early June than later in the summer. We started in mid September and it was on the tail end of the monsoon. Which is a nice way to find out that leeches can fit through the holes for your shoe laces...

Its a great gig. You might read up on it (Lonely Planet, Trekking in Nepal, etc) to decide what style of trip you want and what you want to get out of it. We saw tons of folks trekking solo, and, that is very doable as well, especially on the popular trails. Those folks seemed to hang out with other westerners at the end of the day, and, I kinda liked some exposure to a bit more of the culture that our guide and porters provided. My fondest memories of the trip in fact where those folks. Our porters were so shy, and their english so poor, that we'd never have gotton to know them at all without our guide guy.

The trails are unusually hard especially if you're not used to "that" kind of hiking. Ie, they haven't invented the switchback in Nepal yet...! So, its best to be in some semblance of shape prior to the trip. But, on the flip side, the days hiking schedule that most folks follow is pretty mellow too, and gets you down the road without too much gettin' beat up physically.

Hope you like tea!

Really fun gig and highly recommended.

-Brian in SLC

[Scott P]

What I think we got out of the guide was much more of the local flavor of the place, rather than just the scenery.

Good point, but you get the same advantage with a porter IMHO. Advantages of a porter or porter/guide (most porters know the routes anyway) is that you, not the guide service sets the itinerary (if you

[bruce from bryce]

I've been twice: once with a tour company that provided a guide and a porter (we were sick and the trip had to be modified); and second with a guide and two porters (the guide and one porter we had met in a lodge while on our first trip and then he saved our lives by assisting us to get from the airport to our hotel on our return to Kathmandu during a major demonstration that had shut down the city for 4 days).

The primary reason as stated above, is to assist these very poor people in being able to earn a living. Therefore I would say at least one porter and if you really want to help toss in a guide also.

If you want I can recommend a porter and a guide.

My recommendations:
1. Fly to Lukla to save time unless you are really into hiking the trail from Jiri.
2. Choose Gokyo as your destination instead of Everest Base Camp (EBC) because of the better views of Everest and the entire himalyan range in that area. In my opinion, the EBC scene is overblown and at the camp itself you just see a bunch of people hanging out around their tents.
3. Go late February to early March. Some chance of snow but the flowers are starting to bloom also. Christmas could have a lot of snow and many lodges are cosed.
4. Don't rush your ascent. Typically it 6-8 days to get to Gokyo in order to acclimatize. An extra day at Namche is always a good idea. 600 meters per day is the maximum altitude you should gain in a day.

For further information please PM

[ststephen]

Just discovered this older thread and I thought I throw in some more notes.

The "long tortuous drive" to Jiri was mentioned. In 1984 that drive took us two full days finally arriving at Jiri around 1 am. The hardest part of the journey was riding on the roof of a truck with 20 or so Nepalis all of clinging on for dear life!

I also second the suggestion to visit Gokyo. Wow it looks more built up, then when I was there (I think there were only 2 huts). But the view is fantastic. I also recommend doing the Cho La pass over to the main EBC valley. The camping at the base of Cholatse Peak is wonderful. You probably need a tent and stove to do that part, though that may have changed.

Maybe skip EBC itself, but don't skip the monasteries along the route. I also really enjoyed the Chukhung (sp?) valley. It is the valley along the Lhotse wall with Island Peak at the head. Great day hikes from that village. Back in '84 there was no one there, but of course I bet that has changed.

We hired a porter in Jiri and then two porters in Namche. But, we needed to carry food and fuel for 2 days for the Cho La pass.

[Don]

I hadn't seen this thread before. Very cool. Seems like good advice. I've daydreamed about a trip like this. I think it's time I get some goals, with due dates on paper.
I'm going to take the boy on some decent local summits this summer, see how he likes long days. He'll be 10 in 2 1/2 years...

[Cirrus2000]

I haven't been paying much attention - Karen, is this still in the cards?

Very nice. I'd never really considered it myself, but I can sort of see it as a possibility; never say never. As much as anything, it would be a fascinating cultural trip.

[ststephen]

That's a great idea about bring one's kids on a trek like this. It's so easy to get caught up in school and sports and what not and never plan for something of this magnitude. Gotta cogitate on that idea too...

[TreeHugger]

I haven't been paying much attention - Karen, is this still in the cards?

Very nice. I'd never really considered it myself, but I can sort of see it as a possibility; never say never. As much as anything, it would be a fascinating cultural trip.

Kevin - definitely, yes. Still a matter of timing, I'm afraid... this year was postponed so my husband can try to qualify for Hawaii again, so that gets us to next year.. then the question is... WHEN. Being a teacher, my time off is dictated with little flexibility - that's why I was asking about different times of year. I have all summer, pretty much (monsoons) and Christmas time (snow and cold). Hmmmm. :-)

I really do appreciate all the info here though - I totally prefer first hand experiences and "inside information". Thanks again!