Before you trek
Before you leave home
- If you are booking through a trekking agency, check the difficulty grade of your chosen trekking route and make sure you get an accurate list of all the gear you’ll need.
- Start training at least three-months before you go trekking to make sure you are physically and mentally prepared.
- Buy a comfortable pair of walking boots. New boots need to be well worn-in before departure. If you are going to regions where you know it will be cold, make sure they have a thick sole and good grip.
- Depending on your trekking itinerary, ask your doctor at home about the medicines necessary and ask advice on how to avoid and treat High Altitude Illness.
- Bear in mind that porters shouldn’t carry more than 30-35kgs. Please minimize your trekking gear where possible. If you are taking an internal flight in Nepal the baggage allowance is usually 15kg + 5kg hand baggage.
- Contact KEEP to find out about volunteering opportunities in Kathmandu or along your route.
Why choose a trekking agency?
- Try to organise your trek through local companies that are government-registered and, if possible, ones that promote eco-trekking like KEEP’s eco-members. Most trekking companies offer a package that includes a guide, porter and accommodation for a fixed daily rate.
- If you hire a local company you will help improve the lives of your guide or porter and their families in rural Nepal.
- Make sure that the guide has a license from the Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management and that the agency has used them and the porters before.
- If you are going to trek at high altitude there is a risk of High Altitude Illness. A guide can help to advise you on acclimatisation, general prevention and what to do in case you get it.
- Guides can provide you with correct and up to date information about trekking routes and Nepali culture.
- Trekking agencies can help you in case of any emergency; they can coordinate evacuation with your Embassy.
- Check out our list of recommended trekking agencies
- If you decide to hire a freelance guide or porter directly, check out KEEP’s trekkers’ log books for up to date recommendations about porters working in the area you’re visiting. Hiring someone off the street, who hasn’t been recommended, is risky.
Arriving in Kathmandu
Visit KEEP for up to date trekking information.
While in Kathmandu you should also
- Make sure to get the right permits for the trekking route chosen
- Buy water purification solutions like iodine to treat water and reduce the number of plastic bottles used which are often discarded along trekking routes
- Pick up any last minute supplies and trekking gear