Nepal Trekking Info

Types of trekking
Trekking information about Nepal mountain can be reduced to two primary approaches: camping treks and lodge treks.

Camping Trek
Camping trekking in Nepal is a massive arrangement, rather expensive but the only way to enjoy the trekking in real sense. We provide all camping and kitchen equipment. Porters carry your gears and foodstuff. Sherpa's set the camp, cook and serve meals while the Sirdar controls the porters and takes all administration. Specially while going to the remote areas trek or in the non touristy Himalayas it requires a fully equipped or camping trek. Alpine Asian Trek can organize all the  camping trek in any part of Nepal mountain/ Himalayas.

Lodge or Teahouse Trek
Annapurna, Langtang and Everest region, has basic (lodge or tea house trekking) lodging and food facilities are mostly available. Normally guide decides the lodges for overnight stay and meals have menu there. In winter and summer lodge treks are better to avoid the inclement weather. In autumn and spring the lodges are overcrowded and it can be difficult to find a place to throw in. Normally this types of trekking will follow the main trail and already decided where to stop for that night. Alpine Asian Treks have well experienced guide to let you these trekking.

Preparing for a trek
# In all kinds of trekking you will require to walk 6 to 7 hours daily on uneven trails, which demands physical fitness as well as mental preparedness.

# On the basis of trail condition, altitude, glaciers and passes trekking routes have been classified from 1 to 5 grades. (1 stands for an easy route where as 5 for hard).

# One with cardiac and pulmonary history is required to take the advice of a physician before participating a trek.

# It’s recommended that you have some knowledge about Altitude Sickness its symptoms, prevention and remedies.

# Your insurance policy should cover for helicopter evacuation expenses in the case of serious illness, accident or if you are stranded in any remote area due to inclement weather conditions.

We provide tents, mattresses, dinning tables, food and all kitchen equipment but you have to bring your personal trekking gears on camping trek. Click on the Personal Equipment Checklist for list of personal clothing and trekking equipment. (That will apply only in camping trekking)

# Upon arrival in Kathmandu you can also buy or rent trekking gears.

# Some trekking regions provide with lodging and food facilities, tent equipment not really a need. If you want a light travel, you can buy or rent the trekking gears in Kathmandu upon arrival.

Altitude Sickness
Altitude sickness, often known as Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), is a very important medical consideration while trekking in Nepal.

The symptoms of AMS are as following
Nausea, vomiting
Loss of appetite
Insomnia/sleeplessness
Persistent headache
Dizziness, light headedness, confusion
Disorientation
Weakness, fatigue, lassitude, heavy legs
Slight swelling of hands and face
Breathlessness or irregular breathing
Less urine output

Prevention of AMS
Acclimatization: After 1000m ascent stay one more night for acclimatization
Do not make rapid ascent
No alcohol, no sleeping pills, no smoking, no sex
Drink more: about 3-4 liters day-clean water (boiled, filtered or medicated), tea, coffee, soup, and juice
No heavy backpacks
Climb higher, always sleep lower
Ascent less than 300m a day above 3.000m of altitude
Never trek alone

Treatment of AMS
Descent is the best remedy; do not wait for the helicopters or medical help.

Three medications have been proven useful
Diamox™
Nifedipine (ordinarily used to treat heart problems and high blood pressure)
Descomethasone (an important drug to carry for emergency use).

Trekking seasons
There are 4 seasons
Autumn (Sept-Nov):
The best season offering excellent weather and tantalizing mountain views.

Winter (Dec-Feb):
The ideal season for trekking at lower altitude, generally below 3.000m.

Spring (March-May):
The second best trekking season. The temperature is quite moderate, the rhododendrons are in blossom and the mountain views are excellent.

Summer (June-Aug):
This is the favorite season to trek in the rain shadow areas like Mustang, Upper Manang and Dolpo. This season is also recommended for forest researchers and botanist.
Warning: raincoats and insect repellents are strictly necessary in this period.

Trekking Permits and National Park Fees
All trekkers require a trekking permit to visit Nepal’s interior regions, which are not connected by highways. Recently the Annapurna, Langtang and Everest regions have been declared "permit free"; the National Park or Conservation Area fees are still applicable. We process the trekking permits and national park entrances at immigration offices in Kathmandu or Pokhara.

Upper Mustang and Upper Dolpo: US$ 700 per person for the first ten days.and US$ 70 per person per day thereafter.

Kanchenjunga and Lower Dolpa: Equivalent to US$ 10 per person per week for the first four weeks and US$ 20 per week thereafter.

Manaslu: US$ 75 (Dec-Aug) per person per week.
US$ 90 (Sept-Nov) per person per week. per week rest of the seasons

Humla (Simikot-Yari): US$ 90 per person per week. Extra US$ 15 per day per person
Note: Trekking to Dolpa, Kanchenjunga, Manaslu and Mustang can be undertaken through registered trekking agencies only. The Department of Immigration located at Bhrikuti Mandap, (Tel 4223590, 4222453, 42233681) issues permit for the tourist who intend to trek to any part of the country. Trekking permit fee for different trekking areas are fixed as follows.

Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation
National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Entry Fees

TIMS: Every trekkers have to obtain the TIMS (Trekkers' Information Management System) to go to trek in any part of Nepal. TIMS can be obtain from any counter of the Trekking Company, TAAN's head office or Nepal Tourism Boards counter Bhrikutimandap. It will be for free for the first phase of apply. It will not cost any money but should be obtain. As per the TAAN and NTB it is regulated to avoid the illegal operation of trekking and to update the trekkers data while they are in trekking.