trekking Nepal

Hi Macca, I did the Annapurna loop just last October. DO IT! It really is one of the most astounding trips you can ever do. Although there are a few big days, and the altitude is certainly something to be conscious of, it's not too hard. Thurong La is certainly a big day, 5416m! If you want to do the peaks, you will need a trekking peak permit, which is different from the standard trekking permit, and you should have some experience at high altitude. As far as trekking companies are concerned, they are ALL crooked. Especially when it comes to the treatment of their guides and porters. They all proclaim one thing to you when you are handing over your money in Kathmandu, and then you quickly learn the realities once on the trail. That being said a guide and porter will make all the difference in your trip. The trail is pretty straight forward and you don't really need a guide for the Annapurna trek, but I highly recommend it for a variety of reasons. A guide will greatly enhance your experience by first and foremost giving you a venue in which to interact with the local culture. That's one of the biggest highlights of the Annapurna. Secondly, if you are like me, the guide will be there to answer the myriad of questions you might have. Finally, a guide will get you into the best places, take care of all the finances, and make sure your meals are up to scratch. Porters are great too. Don't feel like it is exploitation. It's not if you are making sure they are treated well and properly equipped. Although you can carry your load for 20+ days (at least a week of which is higher in altitude than Mt Cook), do you really want to on you vacation? I can't recommend a guide and porter enough. If you still are unsure about it, consider this; in a country where the majority of people live on less than $300 a year, you can have the moral satisfaction of knowing you are employing two good people for a month. So how do you get around the issue of having a guide but not giving most of your money to the tour agency? Hire the guide personally. You will pay less than if you were to use a company, and the guide and porter will make the money they deserve. Send me a personal message and I can connect you with the guide my partner and I went with. He was great. As well I can link you to my photos of the trip to get extra fired up.

Hi Guys I'm so pleased tofind this thread! Like Macca, I am planning to spend this coming Oct in Nepal and have just booked a 14 D Kumuka tour to Base camp, which I need to confirm on Monday. I am wanting to see as much of the Annapurna as possible, with the balance of the month, but having read spottydogs comments, now have reservations about using a company for this, thinkin that I would definitely enjoy the benefits a more individualised tour. I would like to follow up on your recommended guide too, Spottydog. As well as getting advice on guides I have a couple of other questions; Is the Annapurna circuit (supposedly a 20 day trip) a better scenic and cultural experience than a trek to Everest BC?. What it the actual track like along the Annapurna? Are light hiking boots sufficient? Has anyone had any experience with mountain biking around the Annapurna Loop? Regards

hey toadwoods3, check your PM. although you will marvel at the old men carrying 80kgs up endless stairs carved into the mountain side in nothing but a pair of jandles, light hiking boots are likely not sufficient for you. most of the trip they would do fine, but i think that thuorong la would put them to the test. as for the bikers, we saw a few doing the loop. but it did seem as though they were carrying their bikes just as much as they were riding them. and i don't think you do the trip any faster. you can only go as far as your porters can walk in a day. and you still have to adjust to altitude. hope that helps!

hi toadwood, my first option was to do an 'Intrepid' when in Nepal having done one while in Thailand last year and really enjoyed it..They do an Annapurna-base camp trip over 37 days but at a cost, I would be interested in what it is costs wise on the trip you are planning.There is also a longer trek from the south to base-camp over 20 odd days, check out Intrepid options they have just released new trips in nepal. What ever you decide on I would be interested in your choice and costs and hopefully, when you return, what changes you would like to have made, if any. Good luck with selection and keep in touch.

hey macca, 37 days? why so long? if all goes well the loop should take you half that time. does that include the peaks you were keen on as well? i told this to toadwood but you might like to know too. the price to organize a trip in kathmandu is at least half the price if not more, than to go with an international tour operator. when we were there we were amazed to see tour groups who had paid well over $1000 or sometimes upwards of $2000 a person staying at the same guest houses as us, and eating the same food. when it was all said and done we paid in total about $600 a person. (the price for the trek alone was about $500, but alcohol and desserts are not included in the fees, nor was the healthy tip we game narayan and yam.) hmmmmm where does the extra money go?

sorry, those prices are in Canadian dollars, not Kiwi.

Thanks Spotty for that reply and PM, very useful I am now looking at alternatives and have had some positive feedback from a the Third-pole treking company. eg http://www.andreastravels.com/Nepal2006.html Will review my plans and keep you posted. J

hey toadwood. check your PM again. i was thinking about a few things today. i'm glad you guys have asked these questions as it has given me an opportunity to relive the fabulous experience. while in kathmandu a good spot to spend an afternoon before you leave is the office of the NGO PortersProgress. it's run by ex-guides and they offer plenty of free advice. plus there is a log book from trekkers advising agencies to avoid, and recommending good guides. you can also buy your iodine tablets there. http://www.portersprogress.org/ which brings me to another issue. water. bring something to purify your water. it is cheaper, and significantly more environmentally (and morally) sound than buying water bottles on the trek. we used a droplet system. (Pristine ClO2) it was totally effective, much lighter and cheaper than the various filter options and didn't taste bad at all. there is also another great option at least in the annapurna range, i don't know about EBC. a great Kiwi NGO started up a clean water station project at various stops along the way. the deal is this; towns have a station that provides clean and safe water via ozone treatment, an independent body regularly inspects the facilities to ensure quality standards, the local mother's community group manage the facility and use the profits to improve the community. the cost for a litre is nominal, far less than a bottle of water is for sure. another very important thing: plane tickets. if you haven't booked them yet, don't leave it too late. we arrived into kathmandu via bangkok, and although we didn't have any trouble getting into the country, we did have some issues getting a flight out. there are only two flights which fly via bangkok, thai airways and nepal airlines. we tried to book our flights two months in advance and couldn't get a ticket out of kathmandu back to bangkok. EVERY flight into bangkok, including all flights from india were booked until mid december. we ended up getting the last two business class seats on nepal airlines. if you choose to take the bangkok route i would choose thai airlines as they are far more dependable. on top of the earlier fiasco, we were held up in kathmandu for 3 days because our plane was held up somewhere else. (nepal airlines only has 3 planes in its international fleet) i won't even begin to tell you the nightmares we had at nepal airlines headquarters. the only reason we got on the plane ahead of everyone else that was suppose to be on our scheduled departure date was because of our business class seats. had we not had them, who know how long we would have had to wait for seats to come available. if you do fly with them (they do have very good airline food) be sure to give yourself plenty of time layover in bangkok. i hope that good info for you. keep me posted! d