Nepal Trip

I know there are several folks on this board who have done some trekking in Nepal. I have searched the posts and found some excellent info already.
I am planning a trip for next March and I would like to get input from folks who have done this. I want to do this with a guide an a small group. But, I would like to be able to have flexibility and not have every minute of the trek scheduled. I am interested in what trekking company you would recommend and also I'm still debating whether to trek in the Annapurna or the Everest region.
Any advice, guidance, hints, etc are greatly appreciated. Thanks for the input.

I think you already have my #1 piece of advice: allow extra time.

My visit to Nepal was on a mountaineering expedition (read: tough schedule, hammer all the time). Loved the trip; my only regret was not taking more time.

We climbed Pumori, so we were in the Everest region. If I go back, I'll go someplace else just for the variety. But if my wife and I go, I may go back to the Everest area just because I'm familiar with it.

For reference, I was out of the US for 5 weeks, and it wasn't nearly enough. I don't know your schedule, but when I go back, I am going for at least 3 months. Maybe I'll go in retirement, and take the time to go to more than one area.

The pace is different there. If you are on a firm schedule, you will be out of step with the place, and you'll feel that. Even so, you can't go wrong. Take a good camera!

Have fun!

TCD

I was in the Everest Region for a trek to Everest Base Camp for acclimitizing and then off for a mountaineering ascent up Island Peak. We gave ourselves three weeks. We had plenty of time but some of it was taken up needlessly by being stuck in Lukla for three days waiting for the weather to clear so we could fly out. We made our flight out by 15 minutes. So from that perspective, give yourself a little extra time.

I completely loved the trip and I recommend it to anyone. I think most people would be happy taking the same trek and climbing up to nearby Kala Patar for a complete panorama of the surrounding peaks.

We tented throughout the trek and if we were to do it again, we would stay in the lodges. I feel it's more comfortable and would have given us a better opportunity to mingle with other people.

I left with a greater respect of its culture, its people and how lucky we are to live where we do [although that could be argued].

Everyone should do this once in their life! I'm now very interested in trekking to Bhutan since their culture has been less westernized.

Thanks for the responses so far. I should probably mention that I am planning on taking off 4 weeks for the trip, so looking at maybe a three week trek. Allowing 4 days for travel, that provides a little leeway.
I am also very interested in experiencing true Nepalese culture/life, not just the touristy stuff.

Glad you posted this, I'm eager to hear what others have to say as well.
We'll be trekking to EBC and Kala Patthar in October. We'll be in Nepal for a month. We won't use guides/porters, but will do a tea house trek as opposed to tent camping to keep the weight down and also as RollingRock mentioned because we don't want to be isolated and would rather mingle with other hikers and locals.
We debated whether to do EBC or Annapurna at first, but figured, hey, it's Base Camp, right? How cool will that be!

RollingRock said:

I was in the Everest Region for a trek to Everest Base Camp for acclimitizing and then off for a mountaineering ascent up Island Peak. We gave ourselves three weeks. We had plenty of time but some of it was taken up needlessly by being stuck in Lukla for three days waiting for the weather to clear so we could fly out. We made our flight out by 15 minutes. So from that perspective, give yourself a little extra time.

Everyone should do this once in their life! I'm now very interested in trekking to Bhutan since their culture has been less westernized.

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I am leaving in oct for 4 weeks and am planning on climbing Island Peak...would love any beta on it!

I can tell you more after I return, am joining a Swiss group that is being led by a German Guide that I met in the Alps last year.

http://www.berie.ch/index.php?id=195&L=1

From what i have heard from everyone that has been trekking to nepal, the scenery is unbelievable and it's all good!

Buffalo said:

but will do a tea house trek as opposed to tent camping to keep the weight down and also as RollingRock mentioned because we don't want to be isolated and would rather mingle with other hikers and locals.

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One disadvantage is using the tea houses is sanitation. We not only tented, but had our own cooks. We stayed in a couple of tea houses and the kitchen sanitary practices were a bit suspect. Even so, if I were to return I would still be using them but carrying my own eating utensils and clean them myself. Also bring extra toilet paper as it's a commodity and in case you run into issues.

I trekked twice, once just myself and guide/porter, second small group of friends and same guide w/additional porters.
We used World Peace Trekking, Kathmandu, Lal and Sinjan Lama. Not sure if they are still in business (as I haven't received letters requesting US sponsorship in some time ).

I trekked twice in the Annapurna Region, to Annapurna Sanctuary (awesome) and the Full Round Annapurna Circuit (pretty great). From what I've read, there are other ecotreks that have cropped up around the ACAP (Annapurna Conservation Area Project region) since 2000 and 2001, when I visited Nepal.

I visited the Sanctuary in March and there was still a great deal of snow to deal with an avalanche risk beyond Chomrong. I did the circuit counterclockwise in November, and saw NO snow.

On my first visit, my "guide" kept asking to read my guidebook each night, and I soon realized that I was funding the vacation of two brothers, "internal tourists". All was well, we had alot of fun, they interpreted for me and bargained rates for me -- and I gave them a job for ten days. On my second visit, they arranged a certified climbing sherpa guide to take us all round Annapurna and the brothers served as porters. This also worked quite well. There are hundreds of young men in Kathmandu that are looking for guide work. If you enlist one, just be kind enough to spend a few of your own bucks before leaving Kathmandu to ensure they have the essentials. And its also a good idea to carry your own money; and keep some small rupee denominations in easy to reach areas for each day on the trail you will inevitably be politely shaken down for a school building project. Consider it part of the experience. Its actually quite fun.

We always stayed in tea houses, sometimes in just a villager's home or outbuilding. Waterless hand cleaner will become your friend.

If you are confident, and enjoy cultural immersion, its pretty safe to go the scaled back Kathmandu Nepali based guide route. If you feel you need the security of a full service trek, you will find them too.

Whatever you decide, have a great time and please post pictures. (I've been planning to digitize my slides for years).

www.Lonelyplanet.com is a good source of info.

I trekked around the Annapurna Circuit and into the Sanctuary many moons ago, with just a few of us and a single porter/guide. Later two of the trekkers hired a second porter but I managed the route carrying all my own gear and taking off on my own near the end. It was October and early November so I'm not sure what things are like in the Spring, or like on the Everest side of the country.

I had no problems with tea houses, we found the accommodations simple but sufficient. The food is plain but filling, no one travels to Nepal for the food. I liked the flexibility of traveling in a small group without a set itinerary, we modified our plans multiple times. I also found it easy to take off on my own and find accommodations in any of the towns. The Annapurna Circuit is very good for that.

http://www.hikethewhites.com/nepal/

Darl58 said:

I am leaving in oct for 4 weeks and am planning on climbing Island Peak...would love any beta on it!

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The base camp itself is very stark, rocky and not all the inviting. We camped there the night of and night after; then took off. We woke up at midnight and did an alpine start in the dark with headlamps. You climb up glacial and rocky moraine. By dawn we started to reach the snowline. I recall there was a knife edge like section around this time where ropes were setup and we used our jumars to get across. Once we reached the snow we roped up. The final pitch at about 500 feet[?] is steep. Ropes were laid to the summit. There was another team up there before us and our ropes got crossed with theirs causing delays for us. We used our jumars and ice axes to get up this final pitch. Also there were some icy bulges that some members of our team had a tough time getting over. Even so, we summited on a beautiful, bluebird sky day! It was a long day. I think we started around 2AM and didn't finish until 9PM that night! You'll probably do it faster because as I said, we had a few issues.

Not that it's a deal breaker, but keep in mind the political climate in Nepal these days. There is a Maoist led general strike going on now which reporters on the ground in Nepal believe could force a resignation of the Prime Minister and a change of government in Nepal in a few weeks. http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/20100503_Maoists_in_Nepal_lead_strike_to_force_government_to_quit.html

Nepal is no longer the idyllic trekking and hang-out spot it was when I was there for 2 months in 1978.

JohnL

I went about 3 years ago inthe fall to the Annapurna Sancutary and was part of an organized trip through Kumuka (www.kumuka.com). Their rates were incredibly reasonable compared to most established tour companies, and I thought they did a good job. We ended up being just two of us walking, with a guide and porter all to ourselves. Because of our small group size, we had to make sure we arrived at the guest houses early, since the larger groups often sent a porter ahead and tended to take up most of the available spaces. Just something to consider. Camping versus teahouses...go with the teahouses.

Rebecca

not to rain on your parade but.....

General strike continues amidst violence.....

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/08/world/asia/08nepal.html?ref=global-home

JohnL

That whole situation, which has been going on for several years, is just really tragic. Of course we'll stay away from politics here. But it is just very sad that a beautiful country full of peaceful, relatively happy people is being deliberately destabilized. Suffering is being caused by the forces of fear and hatred.

JohnL said:

not to rain on your parade but.....

General strike continues amidst violence.....

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/08/world/asia/08nepal.html?ref=global-home

JohnL

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I really would not worry about it. I was there the year their was an internal royal family killing which caused lots of unrest and general strikes. Maoists know if they hurt the tourism trade they would lose what support they have in the trekking villages. I found a military presence at Lukla and Namche Bazaar [I was told if I was seen after it got dark I would be shot!] but the military was really there for our protection. I felt safe and never threatened.

One more thing if you can. We got involved with Porter's Progress in which we each brought over one large duffel bag each of Patagonia underwear and fleece [donated by Patagonia] at their headquarters in Kathmandu for the porters to make them safer. A few die very year. I'm not sure if this organization exists anymore or there is something similar, but it you should have seen the smiles on their faces. They gave us these great thank you notes in 'broken english.' One of the highlights of our trip actually.

RollingRock said:

I really would not worry about it. I was there the year their was an internal royal family killing which caused lots of unrest and general strikes. Maoists know if they hurt the tourism trade they would lose what support they have in the trekking villages. I found a military presence at Lukla and Namche Bazaar [I was told if I was seen after it got dark I would be shot!] but the military was really there for our protection. I felt safe and never threatened.

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I was there three weeks after 9\11 when Anti Americanism was at a high point. The Maoist insurgency got a boost from 9/11 (didn't all terrorist groups?) but it was still safe for tourists in Nepal. I would definately travel with a Nepali -- not solo -- though. Just safer having someone fluent in Nepali, although not necessary -- guide books tend to say that it projects a better image for you if you are supporting a Nepali with work.

Burg, I've never been there, but a commercial expedition group that I have helped for years with is running 2 trips there next year - 1 is Base Camp/Namchee Bazar
and the other is Following Buddha's footsteps, so probably not so much hiking as culture.

PackPaddle & Ski is a very friendly small commercial group and they have been out to Nepal at least 1x or 2x per year for the last decade.
Might be worth a call to investigate...

Thanks for all the responses, so far. Lots to think about. Looks like Porters Progress is alive and well. Great idea.