Trekking in Nepal

[Timothy]

I am considering a trip to Nepal with my youngest son for his 13th birthday in 2017. Would anyone have experience and advice regarding accommodations, guide services, 'must see' locations, and trekking recommendations that would include Everest viewing opportunities and perhaps summiting a peak (any peak) while there? Many thanks.

[lazy climber]

You can go "unguided/supported" however the cost of using local guides/porters is fairly cheap and the experience of going with a "local" is worthwhile. I have noticed that those traveling with a guide seem to get faster service at the tea houses.

If you choose to go on your own you have to deal with travel to and from Kathmandu which can be a daunting experience. About three years ago I guided a group and even using Nepali guides and porters it took us two days to get out of Kathmandu into Lukla and then two days to get back out at the end of the trek. Travel can be an experience.

Also having someone carry your stuff. getting your room and gear situated before you get there and even have your drinks and snacks ordered and ready for you as you walk in the door where you are staying is really nice.

If you want to see Everest you have to go up the Khumbu valley to Gorak Shep. Kalapatar ( 18K ft hill) offers a great view of Everest. Everest Base camp has no view and you really cannot go into the camp area so unless really want to say you have been there skip that hike and do Kalapatar.

There are several trekking peaks in the area, Island Peak and Lobuche, both a bit over 20K ft, are nice climbs. You need to figure on 17-21 days to see all that and climb one peak. If you do not need to climb a peak you could do a two or three pass trek ( Renjo, Cho La and Kongma La) These passes are in the 18K ft range.

If you take your 13 year old and you do climb make sure you check the "records" for youngest climber on a peak. We did Lobuche and had a 17 year old with us , he was not the youngest but was close. Not that should determine your trip but keep it in mind. More than likely you will get sick, so keep that in mind as well with a younger person. I can afford to lose 10-15 pounds in a month from being sick but can they. Even if you do not get sick you may lose weight from the exercise and different food.

There are several good local trekking firms that you can use. We have used Ang Rita Trekking in the past and had a good experience with them. There is another group called Nepal Independent Treks that are good. Ang Rita has a web site and is fairly fast in answering questons.

Kathmandu and area have a lot to see but the less time you spend in the city the more time you have up country ( and possibly less time to get sick)

There will be a lot of different opinions about how and what to do, I would look at several Nepali tour groups, see what they have to offer and then build your own itinerary with what you want to do and see.

In Kathmandu you can rent a car and driver for how ever long you want to see the local attractions , I think I paid about $40 a day for a car and driver the last time I was there.

[sean bennett]

If I may add my two pennies...Don't drive in Kathmandu.

Also, TAG Nepal's Tendi Sherpa. Google them. Tendi is a great guy and probably a genius. I went with him up Lobuche and also Manaslu Circuit.

[jrbren_vt]

As far as guides go, your choose from a variety of levels of support depending on your budget and how much planning and prep you want to do on your own. Local guides were suggested above, you can also hire "western guides" where the level of support is much higher such that all you have to worry about is your personal gear and show up & trek/climb. Ofcourse the higher the support level, the greater the expense, so it depends on what you want to do and what your budget is. In the part of the world "western" refers to Europe, the America's, Australia/NZ, etc ... You can do a web search on Nepal trekking and you will get a ton of hits for guide services. I like the full support, I went with Adventure Consultants out of New Zealand when I went in 2004. I went to India in 2007 with KE Adventure out of the UK. I would recommend either if they match your price point and desired support level. Many like to do all the trip planning and prep work on their own, if that's you you would not want to spend for these services.

There there numerous peak/high pass opportunities out there (note Ri means peak, La means pass out there). When you mention a peak, know that "trekking peak" does not mean a walk up peak, it is an administrative term in Nepal, some are technical at least to the degree you need to know glacier travel. Are you looking to climb a glacier peak ? Island peak is a glacier peak, for example.

There is another option for Everest viewing, travel the valley to Gokyo lakes and climb Gokyo Ri (a non glacier peak). Because it is farther from Everest you can actually see more of the mountain from there vs Kala Patar (which I have not climbed so I cannot compare). I recommend a loop with this valley and the valley LC recommends.

I went for the mountains, the best memories are the cultural experiences from the part of the world and the people I met on my trekking teams. Allow time to explore Kathmandu.

Either way, have a great trip.

[mtgirl]

A recent trip report - I did a very similar trip in 2015. Highly recommended.

http://14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=16858" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Scott P]

I am considering a trip to Nepal with my youngest son for his 13th birthday in 2017. Would anyone have experience and advice regarding accommodations, guide services, 'must see' locations, and trekking recommendations that would include Everest viewing opportunities and perhaps summiting a peak (any peak) while there?

I'd recommend getting a couple porters rather than a guide. In 2012, these cost $12-15 a day for the Everest region; I don't know what it is now. If you get a porter rather than a guide, you can choose your own schedule and pick where you want to go. The porters will know the way to most places as well.

There are plenty of "smaller" peaks for you and your son to climb in the Everest that will provide good views. Last time I was there, my then 10 year old son and I climbed 11 peaks, none of them higher than 18,400 feet. Here is our trip report if you are interested:


http://www.summitpost.org/a-return-to-t ... aya/838418" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The trails in the Everest region are actually easy to follow. Also, buy the below book, which is very detailed, and covers many side trips, including most of the ones we did above.:

http://www.amazon.com/Trekking-Everest- ... 1873756992" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This map is pretty good too:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/156695 ... VF5TRWJVM6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This one is also useful:

http://www.amazon.com/Khumbu-Nepal-Nati ... TGD3AMA41D" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[AndyJB444]

I am headed back to the Khumbu in a few weeks for a trek to EBC. Set up all of our logistics on our own through a local nepali trekking company (Gokyo Treks & Expedition).

I was quoted $18/day for a guide, and $15/day for a porter.

Roundtrip airfare from between KTM and Lukla is currently $344 per person.

TIMS is currently $12 per person, and park permit is $35 per person.

I will be budgeting about $1500 for 2 people for 2 weeks to cover lodging and food while on the trek. Hoping that will be on the high side...

Cheers-

[Harmit]

Our experience was that the autonomy and flexibility of not being guided was great. Routefinding is almost non-existent, especially to ebc. Having a porter is fine, but since you likely won't have a tent and need only minimal food (assuming you are at lodges) then weight is not an issue for most. We did a modified 3-pass trek last year in Oct...it was less busy due to after-quake issues, so getting spots at the lodges was nbd. We thought the highlights were going from Goykyo to Lobuche over Cho la, and Chukung Ri.

[lazy climber]

As you can see there are lots of options, I guess my view is that unless you are really tight on your budget hiring a guide and /or a couple porters does not increase the cost of the trip a bunch, although a few $100 is a few $100, but it does add to the economy.

The one thing I noticed was a lot was the "unguided" trekkers would eat their meals and then disappear to bed I guess, those of us who had guides and porters tended to sit up and shoot the breeze the best we could with all the guides and porters, the first time I went with was with family ( daughter, brother and several nieces and nephews) and once the other trekkers went to bed we would get out the cards/games and play with the locals for hours every night while they told us wild stories, most of which we could not understand, although my daughter had lived in KTM for a year so she could translate a bit.

Everybody treks at roughly the same pace so as you go along you meet the same trekkers, guide and porters along the way and at the tea houses, so over the course of 3-4 weeks to get to know the "group". We had some French guy who was travelling alone join up with on the climb of Island.

I still think it is worth hiring a porter or two depending on what you are doing, the small hills can be hiked OK, the bigger 6K meter ones mostly require gear so you may want a porter for that. What ever you decide make an effort to meet other trekkers, take time to visit with the locals and interact with the tea house operators, I still think the same women runs every teahouse. Just wait till you get there to see what I mean.

Its an interesting trip, one you will never forget. The Nepali's are great people, it was a couple years between my last two trips, I was walking down the street in Thamel, there was shop keeper I recognized and as soon as he saw me he came running down the street yelling about how good it was to see me again, how many 1000's of people does he see a year and he remembered me. Also there is a Himalayan restaurant in Durango, I walked in and one of the waiters saw me and came running up like I was a long lost brother, I did not recognize him but he said he remembered me from KTM.

One more thing about guides, my daughter worked at a hospital outside of KTM for a year and did a lot of travel, she trekked in the Annapurna District and met a couple from Boulder who told her all about a guide they had used and at the end of their trek he took them home for a couple days and then to the airport. When my daughter and I climbed we ended up with the same guide and when my daughter was leaving Nepal she stayed with the same guide and he took her to the airport. He did all this not as a guide but as a friend. We have run into the Boulder couple twice while bashing ice in Ouray.

I could go on about the people you meet, the friends you make and the experience but you will experience that yourself

[Scott P]

I guess my view is that unless you are really tight on your budget hiring a guide and /or a couple porters does not increase the cost of the trip a bunch, although a few $100 is a few $100, but it does add to the economy.

Opinions vary, and I would always recommend a porter or two for the reasons above. The first time I went to Nepal, I opted to get one for my wife since he was five months pregnant on our 216 mile trek, but I opted not to get a porter for myself. To be honest, I regretted the decision and kind of felt like an @ss. A bunch of people needed employment and wanted to carry my pack for $5 a day (this was years ago-it's more now) and I opted to carry my own pack. It was a decision I regret and opted not to repeat on subsequent trips and I have adhered to that.

As for a guide to get to Everest Basecamp, I'd probably recommend passing and getting porters instead. This isn't because of finances, but because of flexibility. If you want a guide to take you to base camp, then there will be plenty of ones willing to take you.

The problem with this is (for me at least) is that I like to set my own schedules and destinations. I want to be in charge of where we go and I like to take side trips that are off the beaten track. Most of the time, I like to be in change or where we are going and when. A guide may not agree with this. Many of them want to just go to basecamp and back and stay at all the normal stops along a set itinerary.

Another disadvantage is that many (perhaps most?) of the guides in the area want you to spend the night at a lodge run by their buddy's or where they get some kind of kickback. They will stay in the same place every time. This isn't necessarily bad, but personally I like to spread the wealth around a little. For example, on day 1 (if starting at Lukla), most people stop in Phakding. We opted to push on to Bemkar and stayed in an otherwise empty, but friendly lodge next to a waterfall.

[smithkc20]

Has anyone done the Annapurna circuit recently? I'm looking for guide recommendations/ contact information. I would rather find someone directly than go through a company.

Thanks

[BrenAuer237]

Has anyone done the Annapurna circuit recently? I'm looking for guide recommendations/ contact information. I would rather find someone directly than go through a company.

Thanks

http://apexnepaltrek.com/
Ask for Bhairab Sitaula. He's a great guy.