Your first trek in Nepal: what to expect

Most people who write to me before their first trek ask the same few things: am I fit enough, what is a day like, where do we sleep, and what if I feel unwell up high. Here are honest answers, from the trails I walk with guests every season.

Choose a walk that suits a first trek

A first trek does not need to be the highest one. A walk that stays below about 4,000 m, with good teahouses and a road or airstrip not too far away, lets you learn how your body walks day after day. Ghorepani and Poon Hill, Mardi Himal or the Langtang Valley are good first treks; Everest Base Camp is possible too if you have the days to climb slowly.

What matters more than the name: enough days. Altitude is the one thing on a trek you cannot hurry, so a plan with rest days is safer than a plan that saves two days.

How fit you need to be

Fit enough to walk five or six hours on a steep path, and to do it again the next morning. You do not need to be an athlete. Walk, climb stairs and carry a small pack for a couple of months before you come, and walk in the boots you will trek in.

Fitness does not protect you from altitude sickness. Very fit people sometimes climb too fast for that reason. Walking slowly is how I walk anyway.

A day on the trail

• 06:30–07:00 Tea, breakfast, packing. Bags out before we eat.
• 07:30–08:00 We start walking, while the air is clear.
• Around noon Lunch at a teahouse on the way, about an hour.
• 13:00–15:00 We reach the night’s village. Afternoons are for rest, a short walk higher up on acclimatisation days, washing socks and looking.
• 18:00–19:00 Dinner in the warm dining room, around the stove. Early to bed.

Most days have four to seven hours of walking with breaks. Some days are shorter on purpose.

Where you sleep and eat

On most popular routes we stay in teahouses: family-run lodges with simple twin rooms, thin walls, shared toilets and one warm dining room. Rooms are not heated; nights above 3,500 m are cold, so a warm sleeping bag matters. Food is simple and good: dal bhat (rice, lentils and vegetables, with a refill) is the meal most guides eat, and it is the best value too.

Hot showers, charging and wifi usually cost extra, and they cost more the higher you go. See A day’s real costs on the trail for what a day costs.

Altitude, simply

Above about 2,500 m the air holds less oxygen, and every body needs time to adjust. The rules I follow:

• Above 3,000 m, sleep no more than 300 to 500 m higher each night, and take a rest day every few days.
• Drink plenty, eat well, no alcohol up high.
• Tell me how you feel, honestly, every morning and evening. A headache, poor sleep or no appetite are normal signs to watch; they are not a failure.
• If symptoms get worse, we do not go higher. If they get worse at rest, we go down. Going down is the treatment.

What to bring

Each trek page has its own list. The few things that matter most on a first trek: boots you have already walked in, a warm down jacket, a sleeping bag good to about −10 °C for the higher treks, a water bottle and purification tablets or a filter, sun cream and sunglasses, and a small first-aid kit with your own medicines. Down jackets and sleeping bags are easy to rent in Thamel.

Money, permits and insurance

Bring enough Nepali rupees in cash for the whole trek; there are few cash machines on the trail and they often do not work. Most areas need permits, and most areas need a licensed guide since April 2023. Travel insurance that covers trekking at your highest altitude and helicopter rescue is essential. Each of these has its own guide on this site.

Walking with a guide

I plan the days around you, watch the altitude, sort the permits and rooms, and tell you the stories of the places we pass. I don’t sell packages: you hire me as your guide, and the rest is paid at what it costs. If you would like it all put together as one package, ask me, and we confirm it by email.

If this is your first trek and you are not sure which walk suits you, write to me. Tell me your dates and how you like to walk, and I will tell you honestly what I would choose.