How to Hire a Trekking Company in Nepal

By eHow Travel Editor

Rate: (4 Ratings)

OK, so summitting Everest is out of the question, but trekking to Base Camp (17,388 feet or 5,300 m)? Now you're talking. If you don't book a trip with an adventure travel company and instead choose to do it all yourself, here's what's involved.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Step1

Figure out exactly where in Nepal you'd like to explore and with whom you will be trekking. The person in your group with the least mountaineering skills and weakest physical condition determines which regions everyone can safely explore together.

Step2

Determine how many days you want--and can afford--to trek. You can find trekking packages that offer short or longer treks based on your interests and financial commitment.

Step3

Get recommendations from personal contacts. Talk to people who have been there, ask if they enjoyed the trip, what route they took and how the food was. Find out which companies ran the trip. Browse some of the many books on the topic.

Step4

Plan your trek with the size, fitness level, and interests of trip members in mind as well as the size of the crew, number of porters and desired comfort level. Trail accommodations range from tents to comfy tea house lodgings.

Step5

If just one or two of you need reservations in a prebooked group trek, inquire about cancellations. In the high season--October through December--this may be the only way openings are available in Nepal.

Step6

Be sure to buy travel insurance that includes at least $50,000 in emergency medical evacuation insurance. Then if you need to be helicoptered out of the mountains (the only other way out is to get carried on someone's back), you can repay the trekking company (about $10,000) by credit card, then place a claim with your insurance (see How to Get Travel Insurance).

What to Look For:

Physical limitations
Online trekking companies
Prebooked space
Insurance and liability

Tips & Warnings

In high-season base camp can be packed; consider less-traveled regions.
A trekking permit is required for all Himalayan destinations and may be obtained only in Nepal. Pick one up at the Immigration Offices in Kathmandu or Pokhara.
Budget in tips for your crew. Ten percent is standard.
Get into shape well before your trek starts. Flat trails are rare in Nepal: the mountains are steep and require strong legs and good lungs.

Comments

jackie395 said

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on 10/12/2006 PS.

1. Absolutely true. You are only as good as the weakest link. The track to Base Camp has been treked by hundreds of not thousands of people from all over the world now so it's pretty well just follow your nose.

2. Yes true you can find trekking packages that offer short or longer treks based on your interests and financial commitment but don't make the mistake of not allowing enough time to Base Camp. You need to rest and aclimatise along the way. Altitude sickness is very prevalent.

3. Yes do your homework. This also applies to the gear that you should buy and take with you.

4. While tea houses can be more comfortible than tents, make no mistake they're not 3-star hotels. Some are terrible and because of the number of trekers in peak times you may not even get into the worst of these. So you have to be well prepared and this is the advantage of going with an experienced trekking company (see my previous comment).

5. So true.

6. Yes travel "good" insurance is critical.

7. As I mentioned in my previous comment, just as important is taking the right gear (boots, gloves, sunglasses, torch, medicinces and water purification tablets etc etc etc).

jackie395 said

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on 10/12/2006 Be careful though. Lots of the products at Kathmandu are imitations of the real thing and quality is often compromised. Yes booking through a local adventure travel company can be expensive but you can book directly with treking companies in Kathmandu. But you have make sure you book with a reputible one. My boyfriend and I treked the Annapurna Circuit, Everest Base Camp and Gokyo Ri last year and I'd be happy to recommend the company we booked with, just send me an email. They provided outstanding service and we saved heaps.

Anonymous said

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on 3/13/2006 To cut many costs, much of what you need, eg: water bottles, clothes are for sale at much reduced prices in Kathmandu. The more expensive items such as a very good down sleeping bag, are for rent in Kathmandu.

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