May 8, 2014 4:00pm by David Farrar

Trekking the Himalayas

Have had quite a few people ask about how to go about doing a trek in the Himalayas, so here’s what we did – for those interested.

Choose a company

Almost everyone sensible uses a company to arrange guides, porters and accommodation. On a personal recommendation we used Himalayan Encounters, and they were excellent. I can recommend them without reservation.

The cost was around US1,500 each and this covered:

Three nights accommodation in Kathmandu
Flights between Kathmandu and Lukla
16 nights accommodation in tea houses on the trek
A guide and two assistant guides (for a party of five)
A porter per two people (they can carry up to 30 kgs) so three porters

Our guides were top class. They were incredibly safety focused, and were very helpful to me when I got altitude sickness. They were also informative and a lot of fun. I recall at one stage I had to take a leak on the way back from Everest Base Camp, so went behind a large rock. They yelled out that it was a holy rock, just to freak me out (it wasn’t). Lots of fun chatting to them in the evenings also and playing card games etc.

Airfares

The company covers the internal airfares. We travelled Malaysia Airlines (booked before they lost a plane) to and from Kathmandu. They lost or delayed my luggage both times, and their planes are old and tired. The service was pretty average. I would not use them again.

Other costs

Food tends to cost around US$25 a day per person, but we actually ended up around $30 a day. Prices increase the higher you go, but very reasonable for three meals a day.
If you want hot showers, electricity, wireless Internet then the cost is around $3 for a shower, $2 an hour for electricity and wireless ranges from $5 flat rate to $12 an hour near the very top.
Tips for the porters and guides. We tipped a pretty significant amount because the service was so good. Lonely Planet has some general guidelines.

Route

It takes around 12 days to go to Everest Base Camp and back if you go directly up and down. If you can spare the extra five days, I highly highly recommend the 17 day route via Goyko and the Cho La Pass. It is harder, but the views are even more spectacular – and you get to do a loop, rather than up and down the same way.

Health

I joke that our biggest achievement was none of us got Travelers’ Diarrhea. Nepal has the highest prevalence of this in the world. If you’re trekking up to eight hours a day, you really don’t want this.

We were religious with disinfecting our hands constantly. We used water purification drops or tables on all our water – even for teeth cleaning. We did not eat meat above Namche.

I did get altitude sickness. The rest of the party didn’t. You won’t know if you do, or not, until you get there. Make sure you have a spare day in the schedule, and once above 3,000 metres don’t climb more than 500 metres a day (or technically don’t sleep more than 500 metres higher than the night before).

Generally need to immunise for Hep A, Hep B, Polio, Tetanus, Diptheria and Typhoid. Malaria not a high risk trekking. Rabies is more a risk in Kathmandu than trekking.

General

Some general issues, taken from Lonely Planet guide:

Monkeys are holy, but also aggressive and have rabies. Avoid, but do not kill!
If a bear attacks, lie face down in the ground
Do not give money or food to beggars, but you can donate to schools or monasteries
Purify water with iodine – do not buy bottled water. Drink 2l to 4l a day
Do not wear leather (shoes or belt) inside Hindu temples and wear long trousers in all temples, and no photos in most temples
Always pass on the left of religious objects, not to the right
Ask people before taking photos of them
PDAs are frowned upon
Don’t point soles of feet at people
Do not touch children on the head
Give or receive money with your right hand and touch left hand to elbow as show of respect
Lukla Airport has been rated the most dangerous airport in the world – seven crashes since 2004 with 36 fatalities
Nighttime temperatures can be as low as -20 degrees
Never get between a yak and the ledge as they may knock you over!
Power surges common so voltage guard with spike suppressor recommended
Nepali culture uncomfortable with the display of the female leg
Viagra every 12 hours can help prevent altitude sickness!

Gear

I’ve included my gear list below after the break, for those interested.

If you don’t plan to tramp or trek a lot, then it will be far cheaper to buy most of your gear in Kathmandu or hire it in Namche. They have absolutely everything and it is exponentially cheaper.

But if you want top quality gear that you can keep using for other treks and tramps, then you end up spending a lot of money at Macpac, Kathmandu, Bivouvac and Mountain Designs.

The one thing you must have in advance are your boots, as you do not want to try out new boots on a 17 day trek.

Clothing

Base – Merino x 2
Bootlaces (spare)
Boots – Tramping
Gaiters
Glasses – Sun
Gloves
Hat – Balaclava
Hat – Sun
Hat – Warm
Jacket – Down
Jacket – Light (Rain and Wind proof)
Shirt – Merino 140
Shirt – Merino 195 x 2
Shirt – Merino 320
Shirts – T-Shirts x 2
Sandals
Shorts
Singlet – Thermal
Socks – Heavy x3
Socks – Light x2
Sweater – Fleece
Togs
Trousers
Trousers – Over
Underpants
Underwear – Longjohns

Gear

Bag – Canvas 100l
Cards (Playing)
Credit Cards x 2
Ear Plugs
Money Belt
Pack – Daypack 30l
Paper
Passport – plus photocopy
Pens
Photos – passport x 4 (visa, trek visa x 2, sim card)
Plastic Bags
Pocket Knife
Sleeping Bag (suitable for -20 degrees)
Sleeping Bag Thermal Liner
Torch
Towel (medium)
US Cash
Walking Sticks x 2
Water Bottle x 2
Waterproof Bag for Sleeping Bag
Waterproof Liner for Canvas Bag
Waterproof Pack Cover
Waterproof Pack Liner
Wet Wipes

Electronics

Battery for Torch
Camera
Cord – camera charging
Cord – external batteries charging
Cord – iPhone charging
Cord – Laptop charging
iPhone
iPhone external batteries x 2
Kindle
Laptop
Plug – double
Plug Adaptor – Type C
Plug Adaptor – Type D
Power Surge Protector

Health

Anti Chafe Cream
Anti-altitude sickness – Diamox- 125 mg tablets x 36
Antibacterical cream – Mupirocin (Bactroban) cream
Antibiotic – Ciprofloxacin 500mg tablets x 12
Antibiotic – Zithromax x 3
Antidiarrhea – Loperamide/Immodium x 20
Antiinflammatory – Ibuprofen 200mg tablets x 20
Antiseptic – Povidone/Iodine 15 mls
Band Aids
Blister Patches
Deodrant
Hand Sanitiser
Insect Repellent
Lip Balm
Pain Relief – Panadol x 10
Rehydration – Gastrolyte
Shaving Cream
Soap
Strepsils x 6
Sunscreen
Toilet Paper x 4
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Ventolin Inhaler
Water Purification – Aquamira