Food on a Tea-House Trek in Nepal: What You Eat and Why

One of the quiet pleasures of trekking in Nepal is the evening meal: a warm dining room, a stove in the middle, and a plate of food cooked in a kitchen at the edge of the mountains. Here is what you will eat, and how to eat well.

I’m Rujan, a licensed trekking guide in Nepal since 2018. I eat in tea houses for most of the year, so this is everyday life for me.

Dal bhat: the meal of the trail

Dal bhat is rice (bhat) with lentil soup (dal), a vegetable curry, a little pickle (achar) and often a papad or greens. It is what Nepali people eat, twice a day, and what guides and porters walk on.

• Refills: in most tea houses, a second helping of rice, dal and vegetables comes free. Just ask.
• Freshly cooked: dal bhat is the dish most kitchens make every day, so it is usually the freshest food on the menu.
• Good fuel: it is warm, filling and easy to digest, which matters up high.

The rest of the menu

• Breakfast: porridge, Tibetan bread (a fried flat bread) with honey or jam, eggs, pancakes, muesli.
• Soups: garlic soup, vegetable soup, thukpa (noodle soup), and Sherpa stew (shakpa), thick with vegetables and dough.
• Momos: steamed or fried dumplings, with vegetables, cheese or potato.
• Noodles and fried rice: filling, quick, and popular after a long day.
• Potatoes: grown in the high valleys, boiled, fried or as rösti-style hash browns.
• Apple pie: on the Annapurna side you meet apples from the Manang and Mustang valleys.

Why prices rise as you climb

Above the roads, almost everything in the kitchen arrives on the back of a porter, a mule or a yak. A bag of rice that costs little in the city may have been carried for a week. So a plate that is cheap low down costs two or three times more near the top. It is not a trick: it is the real cost of the trail. My guide to trekking costs per day gives a realistic daily budget.

Meat, or not?

Many walkers, and many guides, stop eating meat once they are a few days above the roads. In the Everest region animals are traditionally not slaughtered, so meat is carried up from lower valleys, often for days, without a fridge. Eggs, cheese, lentils and potatoes give you what you need. If you do want meat, eat it low down, in busy villages, freshly cooked.

Vegetarians eat very well in Nepal: dal bhat, momos, soups and curries are vegetarian by default. Vegans can manage too, with dal bhat, potatoes and soups; ask the kitchen to leave out ghee, butter and cheese.

Drinks

• Tea: milk tea, black tea, mint tea, and hot lemon or ginger-lemon-honey, the walker’s favourite in the evening. Ordering a large pot for the table is cheaper than single cups.
• Water: drink a lot, 3 to 4 litres a day up high. Refill your bottle with boiled or filtered water, or treat it yourself, instead of buying plastic bottles. My guide to staying healthy and safe water explains the choices.
• Alcohol: best left until you are on your way down. It makes altitude harder and sleep worse.

Eating well up high

• Eat even when you are not hungry. Appetite often drops above 4,000 m. Soup, porridge and dal bhat go down more easily than heavy fried food.
• Garlic soup is a trail tradition. There is no proof it prevents altitude sickness, but it is warm, salty and full of water, and that helps.
• Order dinner early. Most tea houses have one kitchen and one stove. Ordering when you arrive, and choosing the same dishes as your group, means everyone eats sooner and warmer.
• Bring a few snacks from home you know you like: nuts, chocolate, dried fruit. Up high, a familiar taste helps.

One custom to know

Rooms in tea houses are cheap, sometimes almost free, because the family lives from the meals. Lodges expect you to eat dinner and breakfast where you sleep. It is fair, and it keeps the trail’s small family businesses alive. More about lodge life is in my guide to tea-house life.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the food safe?
Mostly, yes. Freshly cooked hot food is the safest. Be careful with salads, cut fruit and anything reheated, and wash or clean your hands before every meal.

Can I get coffee?
Instant coffee almost everywhere, and real coffee in the bigger villages such as Namche Bazaar and Manang.

Do I need to carry food?
No. On tea-house treks you eat in a lodge for every meal. Only snacks are worth carrying.

If you have a special diet, write to me before the trek. I’ll tell you honestly what you can find on your route, and what to bring.