What is trekking ?
What is trekking actually the trekking is a long journey undertaken on foot in areas where common means of transport is generally not available. Trekking is not mountaineering, it is days of walking, along with soft adventure. A trek in Nepal is a special and rewarding mountain holiday. Trekking in Nepal will take you through a country that has captured the imagination of mountaineers and explorers for more than 100 years. Trekkers meet people in remote mountain villages whose lifestyle has not changed in generations. Most of the villages embrace many ethnic groups and cultures. They will see the great diversity. The terrain changes from tropical jungle to high glaciated peaks. From the start, the towering peaks of the Himalaya provide one of the highlights of a trek. In Nepal, trekkers do not trek above the altitude of 18000 ft. (5500m).The major trekking routes have basic infrastructures like electricity, telephones, and health posts. But in the remote and off the beaten areas some of the facilities are not available. However, if you do organize trekking in those places with an experienced trekking company the lack of facilities does not affect anything to fulfill your dream. Since trekking involves walking for many days, trekker will need food and accommodation along the way. On main trekking routes, the hotel facilities are well developed and they cater to basic western standards of taste and hygiene. In the off beaten area, although there are no good hotels and lodges, the trekking company arrange everything like accommodation in the tent, hygienic food, and other required needs. Until 1960s Nepal was unknown as a trekking destination in the rest of the world but many of today’s visitors come to Nepal solely for trekking.
Trekking tips for Himalaya
Trekking is the great sport that brings us closer to Nature. Either in the countryside or in the very remote place we should have to be careful about several things during trekking. Small negligence could cost big incident which easily ruins your trip. Prevention is better than cure thus we have to be careful before we leave for trekking. In this blog, we are talking about some trekking tips for Himalaya that you need to know and follow during your trekking.
What is trekking?
01) Reliable information of trekking area: Get the proper information of the region where you going to trek. Make sure about the availability of accommodation, food and time duration take to reach onward place.
02) Walk slowly: we should walk slowly in the beginning or it’s more important when we heading to high altitude. If you doing a long trek in the high providence you should walk slow and steady at the beginning which helps you to become used to with the territory and also minimizes the chance of blister. After (3500m/11480ft) don’t ascend more then (500m/1640ft).
03) Purify water: Purify your drinking water with purifying pill or you can use steripen. The best way to treat water is to drink boiled water. Bottled mineral water is also widely available in the mountain and the countryside of Nepal.
04) Organize tea house trek: If you trekking in the area where teahouse is available then you should stay and eat in the teahouse because it’s more reliable and convenient then you get to sleep in the warm and cozy room. If you are a beginner hiker then you should do the organized teahouse trek with government register trekking agency which deals with all your necessary and logistic stuff during the trek.
05) Drink plenty of fluid and liquid: Drink plenty of fluid and liquid during the trek because it plays a vital role in keeping the body hydrated but avoid alcohol when you are going towards high elevation. Eating the soupy meal and drinking hot drinks like tea, coffee, hot-chocolate helps to keep the body hydrated.
06) Keep your energy up: Trekking is a tough sport which requires a high level of energy so to keep your energy level up always you should eat plenty of food. During the daytime when walking to keep the energy, you should carry instant energy stuff like a chocolate bar, chips, honey, cashew, peanut etc. For a meal, Dal Bhat is the best food for energy and it also provides you the required amount of energy.
07) Avoid injuries: For the convenient journey, safety comes first. Keep your eye always in your surrounding and be alert whereas the trail in the Himalaya is not easy all the time. Get your own first-aid kit for possible injuries like a sore muscle, small wound, and some pills for diorama, headache, food-poisoning and some insect repellent.
What to wear (Clothing)
It’s always better to have enough clothes when you go trekking in the cold terrain. It’s really painful to shiver with cold because of not having plenty of warm clothes. It’s more painful when you got your journey ruined because of not having a sufficient amount of clothing. So clothing plays an important factor in trekking & outdoor. Weather conditions are unpredictable these days. It could rain, snow even it’s not forecasted so, and we need to be prepared completely for unfavorable weather condition. Here below some points for clothing during trekking in the Himalaya.
I) Avoid cotton outfit in the rain because it takes a long time to get dry and doesn’t warn you enough. Go for fleece, polyester or wool instead.
II) Use wool or nylon socks but don’t use cotton socks because it might create the blister.
III) Wear a cap or hat to protect yourself from scorching sunburn and protect yourself from cold.
IV) Don’t forget your gloves. Better to have one extra pair for daytime which should be thin and light.
V) Get the good shoe. Use your new shoes in the city before you go to Himalaya. The new shoe can create the blister if you don’t become used to it before you get to trekking spot.
What to Carry (Bag pack)
Every trekker should be smart in terms of Bag packing. Heavy loads can create a big problem instead of convenience & reliability so, we should have to be extra careful in bag packing. We should keep in mind during bag packing we should not forget an important thing and avoid carrying the unnecessary thing. Below here some of the things we should not forget during trekking in the Himalaya.
• First aid kit
• Camel bag and water bottle
• Water purifier or steripen
• Instant energy food
• Raincoat and rain cover for the bag
• Extra battery for your camera & torchlight
• Lighter or Matches box
• Extra pair of clothes
• Sleeping bag
• Map, compass, Gps, altimeter, thermometer
Major trekking routes in Nepal
There are dozens of trekking destination in Nepal. Trekking around the world highest mountain is always a big challenge for hikers even to those who are physically fit. There are many places for trekking in Nepal ranging from east to west in the northern region. In this blog, we are talking about a few trekking destinations in terms of facilities available, remoteness, unique, tough terrain, restricted, semi-restricted. Below here we are talking about around one dozen trekking destination in Nepal.
01) Everest Base Camp Trek
Trekking Grade: Moderate
Duration: 12 days
Everest Base Camp trek is regarded as one of the most famous trekking destinations all over the world for all time. This majestic journey let you go close to the highest point on the planet and make your dream come true to witness Mt Everest with a naked eye. The journey through the land of Sherpa which let you explore their culture, custom, tradition, religion, language, and way of living. The highest elevation of this trek is Kalapatthar 5545m/18187ft and the base camp is 5365m/17597ft.
02) Ghorepani Poonhill Trek
Trekking Grade: Easy/Moderate
Duration: one week or less
Ghorepani Poonhill Trek is the most visited trekking destination which can be finished within the one-week duration. The highlight of the Poonhll trek is a sunrise view from Poonhill which offers dozens of world famous mountain. Walk through the lush green rhododendron forest, several rushing stream & waterfall, Gurung & Magar culture so in aggregate this trek satisfies the empathy of trekkers. We reach 3200m/10496ft during Poonhill hike day which is the highest elevation of this journey.
03) Mardi Himal Trekking
Trekking Grade: Easy/Moderate
Duration: one week to ten days
Mardi Himal trekking is newly launched trekking which offers bird’s eye view towards Pokhara valley & Modi Khola valley as the trail traverse through the ridge of lush green rhododendron forest. Teahouse facility is available serving with few pages menu, it is basic but it’s not that bad though you won’t regret. An amazing factor of this journey is from high camp the last place where you sleep we can see Pokhara valley in the night illuminated by light. The highest elevation of this trek is 4500m/14760ft which is Mardi Himal Base Camp. This trek can be done all over the year except humid monsoon days which falls in July/August.
04) Annapurna Base Camp Trek
Trekking Grade: Moderate/Strenuous
Duration: one week to ten days
Annapurna base camp trek is one of the most visited trekking destinations in Nepal. It’s so popular because in Nepal probably it’s the base camp of the 8000m mountain which can be reached within less no of days and the scenery around is so beautiful. The amazing factor of this trek is it’s always different throughout the year. We can see so beautiful highland flower blooming during monsoon time. This trek can be done throughout a year except for monsoon days. The highest elevation of this trek is 4130m/13546ft
05) Tamang Heritage Trail & Langtang Valley Trekking
Trekking Grade: Moderate
Duration: Ten to Fifteen days
Tamang Heritage Trail trek is one of the top trekking destinations in Nepal. This region is located in the north of Kathmandu. After the devastating earthquake this region was badly affected but now almost everything is renovated and rebuild. This trek is highly recommended by NewYork times recently as the top holiday destination for 2017. This region is inhabited by Tamang people famous for their unique culture, custom, tradition, language, and way of living. Tamang people are believed to have migrated from Tibet some centuries ago hence Tamang means horse trader in Tibetan. This trek can be done throughout the year except for the monsoon days which falls in July/Aug.
06) Kanchenjunga Base Camp Trekking
Trekking Grade: Moderate/Strenuous
Duration: Three to Four weeks
Kanchenjunga Base Camp trek would be the milestone to fulfill your thirst to explore your desire to explore the unspoiled and remote territory. This is located in the Far East region of Nepal. This province is still wild and remote and infrastructure like the teahouse, lodges are still running basic. The region is blessed with beautiful flora and fauna as well as the culture of Rai, Limbu people is also unique. Best season for this trek is autumn (Sep/Oct/Nov) and also can be done in spring (Mar/Apr/May) but it could be difficult with snow.
07) Rara Lake Trekking
Trekking Grade: Moderate/Strenuous
Duration: Two week
Rara lake trekking offers the remarkable journey in the heart of Rara National Park which is located in the far western region of Nepal. The journey is unique and remarkable because it is really unique while comparing with the rest of Nepal. The people are unique and the way of living, their culture, custom, tradition and the rituals and rites followed by them is typical. The people living in this region are called Khas. The region is blessed with the unique settlement and the amazing landscape. When you reach the final destination Rara lake one can feel like this is the place where heaven meets earth. The lake is the biggest one in Nepal located at the altitude of 3040m/9971ft. This journey can be done throughout the year except in the monsoon days (July/Aug). The food and accommodation available on the trail are basic but some places are amazingly nice.
08) Upper Mustang Trekking
Trekking Grade: Easy/Moderate
Duration: Ten days to Two week
Upper Mustang Trekking is one of the most unique and pristine treks which offers the unique lifetime memory. Upper Mustang is located in the rain shadow area of Mt Dhaulagiri and Mt Annapurna. This is located in the north of Mt Annapurna & Mt Dhaulagiri bordering with Tibet. Being located in the rain shadow region this province gets really less rain thus its completely dry also called dessert land of Nepal. To trekking into this region you need to have a special permit issued by the office of immigration which cost 500$ USD for ten days and there should be a two-person minimum to get special permission. This region is unique and special because of the amazing landscape, Tibetan style village, ancient caves, sacred monastery, Royal Palace, wall city of Lo-Manthang, Chhoser monastery, Ghemi Village, Samar Village. The mountain isn’t black colors here we can see them multicolored like red, grey, brown, orange. This place can be visited throughout the year except in the winter (Jan/Feb).
09) Khaptad Region Trekking
Trekking Grade: Moderate/Difficult
Duration: 10 days
Khaptad Region Trekking is one of the most unique and pristine journeys in far west Nepal. The region is located inside the Khaptad National Park inside the area of 225km2. This region is blessed with unique flora and fauna as well as amazing landscape. Hindu saint Khaptad chooses this place for meditation and spiritual task thus this place became famous after his name Khaptad. Basic food and accommodation are available for this journey or you can arrange your own supplement. Autumn (Sep/Oct/Nov) & Spring (Mar/Apr/May) is the best time to visit this place.
10) Dhaulagiri Sanctuary Trek
Trekking Grade: Moderate/Difficult
Duration: 10 days
Dhaulagiri Sanctuary Trek is the newly discovered trekking destination which was launched in Jan 04/2017 so we can say it’s the youngest trail in Nepal. The offbeat trail goes through some ancient settlement of Myagdhi district in western Nepal. The last goal of this journey is the lap of Mt Dhaulagiri known as Dhaulagiri South Base Camp at the altitude of 4040m/13251ft. The basic teahouse and homestay are available for the beginning days but we should camp for 3/4 nights in the high province.
