Independent trekking
Backpacking through Thonje kani (Trek 1)
This style is very popular with those able to carry their own equipment and seeking a closer, more intimate rapport with the local people. It’s also a cheaper way to trek in Nepal and ensures that your cash goes straight to the local people. Anyone willing to carry their own gear, with some experience of hill walking, can easily arrange a lodge-based trek on the main routes around the Annapurnas. If you have already been to Nepal or other developing countries you will have the added advantage of knowing roughly what to expect.
Many other trekkers in the Annapurna region hire a local porter/guide through a reputable agency, paying a wage that also covers all of their living expenses. If you hire a porter, make sure you check and provide all the necessary clothing and equipment for high altitude. In the past porters have died on high passes due to lack of proper equipment. Porters should also be insured – this should already be done if you hire a porter/guide through an agency. Hiring porters off the street and hotel areas is not necessarily a good idea these days, unless it comes through reliable recommendations.
If you decide to head off into the hills alone, be sure to read the sections in this guide on altitude and mountain safety. The points may seem obvious, but every year people are evacuated from or die in these mountains.
An independent trekker’s day
Being independent means you could have a long lie-in and make all those group people envious, but more likely you will want to be on the trail as early as possible. In the lodges you may be unlucky and find yourself at a disadvantage to the groups, who will often be served first. After breakfast the day is much the same as for those in groups, except that you can dictate your own pace, itinerary and lunch spots, so there are some positives against the negative of the heavy pack on your shoulders. Living off the lodges generally means a simple diet, but does that really matter? The lodges can supply all you really need in the way of sustenance. See Appendix E for details of foreign tour operators and local agencies.
‘FRIED CHAPS’
The Nepalis’ use of the English language is a most endearing feature of the country. You’ll see this most obviously on signboards advertising the lodges’ ‘faxsilities’, such as inside ‘to lets’, ‘toilet free rooms’ and, on enticing teahouse menus, ‘fried chaps’, ‘banana panick’ and the like. Watch out for the proudly displayed signs ‘Open defecation-free zone’.
Accommodation on trek
Mountains cannot provide bread and warmth, but they can provide secure anchorage for a troubled mind.
The Mountain Top, Frank S Smythe
Lodges
A trader’s house lodge in Tukuche (Trek 1)
The style and condition of accommodation used on trek will depend on the sort of trip chosen. In the past, camping throughout the Annapurnas was the best option, but today lodges are the more popular choice. Lodges en route are relatively basic, but dormitory-style rooms are rapidly being replaced by small but perfectly adequate twin-bedded rooms. Some rooms have en suite toilets and almost-warm showers. Beds tend to be hard, and dividing walls allow for a certain amount of communal interaction. Mattresses are getting thicker each year, so carrying a thermarest is not really necessary except on rare occasions (and for some homestays). There are now a few deluxe resort-style lodges in the Ghorepani/Ghandruk area, which are effectively ‘normal hotels’ with comfortable bedding, carpets and excellent dining areas.
Camping
Camping trekkers can expect a surprising degree of comfort in often wild, remote regions. Typically, large two-man tents are used and a mess tent is provided. In addition, dining tables, chairs, toilet tents and mattresses come as standard. All food is provided and cooked by the crews.
Homestay
Homestay is a new concept, where trekkers overnight in local people’s houses. Normally a room will be set aside for the guests. Most homestays are basic, with outside toilets and primitive washing facilities – much as the first trekkers found. Through local hydroelectric schemes electricity has now found its way to many rural areas, so lack of comfort is not quite on the scale it used to be. Mattresses may be thick or thin! Meals are provided by the household, using wholesome local produce. Don’t expect much other than nourishing dal bhat (lentils and rice) for dinner, but you could be surprised!
Washing
If there are no proper showers at a lodge you can ask for a bucket of hot water, but you’ll have to pay for it. Hot showers in lodges are generally provided by solar systems, but as with many aspects of trekking, utilising scarce resources (wood or kerosene) means conflict with conservation. Camping group trekkers will be given a bowl of hot water at some point during the day, normally mornings, and often now on arrival at camp as well.
Toilets
These will provide endless conversation throughout any trip. Most are outside, often up small, steep steps… be very careful not to drop any valuables down the holes! Increasingly however, loos are becoming quite modern, at least in appearance, with a few lodges offering ‘Flash Toilets’. Along the trails, toilet paper should be burnt and waste buried where possible.
Food
The kitchen of a lodge in Phu (Trek 6)
At one time a liking for dal bhat would have been a great advantage. Today eating on trek has become most civilised, with ample amounts and reasonable choice almost everywhere. Those on fully inclusive group or independently organised treks with full services can expect filling breakfasts, including porridge/cereal, bread/toast with eggs, as well as hot drinks. Lunch is often a substantial affair, with tinned meat, noodles, chips, cooked bread and something sweet to round off. At night the lodges are able to provide two- or three-course dinners: soup, noodles/pasta/rice/potatoes as well as a dessert of fruit and so on. Plentiful amounts of hot water/drinks are available on arrival and at all meal times to ensure dehydration is kept at bay, especially at higher altitudes. The further you get from civilisation, the less choice there is, but this far into the trek anything tastes good!
Kathmandu now has a good variety of supermarkets, but don’t anticipate many treats elsewhere. Across the city new shopping malls are opening, with familiar food brands and every possible item necessary for comfort. Pokhara Lakeside also has a good range of smaller supermarkets now. You might want to take some of your own supplies if venturing into remoter areas. Muesli tastes good even with water; instant soups and tinned fish are a good standby. Everyone should take chocolate, energy bars and snacks to relieve the eventual monotony of lodge food. Make sure as much indestructible rubbish is carried out by you or your crews, or use the places set aside for disposal.
IT’S BOILING!
Note that water only boils at 100°C at sea level, and the boiling temperature reduces by approximately 1°C for every 300m, meaning that your tea may not be as tasty nor the instant soups so scrumptious at Phu, 4100m above sea level. Thermometers were used by the early spies in the Himalayas to ascertain the altitude according to the temperature of their tea.
Money matters
The currency is the Nepalese Rupee (Rs). Notes come in the following denominations: Rs5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000, and coins: Rs1, 2 and 5.
APPROXIMATE EXCHANGE RATES
£1=Rs130
€1=Rs117
US$1=Rs107