Straight answers, updated . If yours isn't here, message Mohan — he'll answer it and we'll add it.
Yes, for most regions. Since April 2023 Nepal requires a licensed guide for trekking in national parks and conservation areas, and restricted regions such as Manaslu and Upper Mustang have always required both a guide and a minimum group size. Solo unguided trekking is no longer permitted on the major routes.
Fit enough to walk five to seven hours a day on uneven ground, for several days in a row, carrying a light daypack. Most treks don't require technical skill or previous altitude experience. What matters more than fitness is how your body handles altitude, and that's not something training predicts reliably.
October and November give the clearest skies and most stable weather, followed by March to May, which adds rhododendron blossom at lower altitudes. June to September is monsoon — wet and cloudy in most regions, though Upper Mustang and Dolpo sit in the rain shadow and stay dry. December to February is cold but clear, with some high passes closed.
Usually yes for teahouse treks in Annapurna and Everest. Restricted-area permits for Manaslu, Upper Mustang and Tibet need more lead time — {state your real minimum for each}.
{Answer this from operational truth. If assignment depends on route and dates, say so and state when you confirm. Do not promise guide selection unless you offer it.}
Most of our trips run privately for your own party. {Describe whether you run fixed group departures, and the maximum group size per guide.}
{n}% of the trip cost to confirm your dates and start permit work, with the balance payable on arrival in Nepal. Full details on the payments and bookings page.
Bank transfer, Wise, credit card, and cash in USD or EUR on arrival. Card payments carry a {n}% processing fee that we state up front rather than adding at checkout — bank transfer and Wise avoid it.
Refunds depend on how far ahead you cancel. The full table is on the payments page and matches our written terms exactly.
Tipping is customary in Nepal but not compulsory, and it is never included in our quotes. {State the range you suggest for guides and porters, per day or per trip.}
Yes. We're VAT-registered in Nepal (VAT 606006705) and can issue a formal invoice in the company name you need.
It depends on the region. Most treks need a TIMS card plus a national park or conservation area permit. Restricted areas — Manaslu, Upper Mustang, Dolpo, Tsum Valley — need an additional restricted-area permit, which by law can only be issued through a registered agency and requires a minimum group size. We arrange all of these for you.
No, and nobody legitimate does. Most nationalities get a visa on arrival at Kathmandu airport or at land borders. We send you the current requirements and the forms, but the visa itself is between you and Nepali immigration.
A passport scan valid for at least six months beyond your travel dates, passport photographs for permits, your insurance policy details, and your flight arrival information. {Add anything else you actually require.}
Simple. A basic room with two beds and a shared bathroom down the corridor, a communal dining room heated by a stove in the evening, and a menu of dal bhat, noodles, soup and eggs. Above roughly {altitude} expect cold rooms, no heating in bedrooms, and a charge for charging devices and hot showers.
Patchy and improving. Most teahouses on Everest and Annapurna routes sell wifi by the day, and Nepali mobile networks reach many villages. Do not plan on being reachable every day. {State what your guides carry for emergency communication.}
Porter loads are capped for their safety and welfare. {State your actual limit in kg per porter and how many trekkers share one.}
Dal bhat is the staple and comes with free refills — it is what your guide and porter will eat, and it is the best-value meal on any trail. Vegetarian food is straightforward everywhere. Tell us about allergies or dietary needs when you book so we can brief the guide.
Usually yes, for a fee that rises with altitude. Bring a power bank and expect to pay per device per charge in higher villages.
Acute mountain sickness is your body reacting to reduced oxygen, and mild symptoms — headache, poor sleep, low appetite — are common above 3,000m. It affects people regardless of age or fitness, which is why our itineraries build in rest days rather than selling them as an upgrade. The treatment that always works is descent.
Your guide monitors the group daily and asks directly about symptoms. If someone shows signs of altitude sickness the response is descent, not waiting to see. {Describe what happens next — who is contacted, how, and what the office does.}
Yes, and we won't run a trek without it. Your policy must cover trekking to the maximum altitude of your route and helicopter evacuation. We send you the exact criteria when you book so you can check your policy against them before you pay for it.
{Describe the real process. Name a helicopter operator only if you have a current arrangement with them. Never publish an evacuation time you cannot guarantee.}
{State the actual course, provider and duration your guides complete. Do not invent hours or certification names.} We also run a pre-season guide development workshop.
Not from taps or streams. Bring purification tablets or a filter bottle, or buy boiled water at teahouses — it costs a little more than bottled but avoids leaving plastic on the trail.
For a teahouse trek up to 4,500m: a four-season sleeping bag, insulated jacket, waterproof shell, broken-in boots, two litres of water capacity, sun protection and a personal medical kit. Full list with a printable version on the packing list page.
Yes, and it saves both money and baggage. Thamel in Kathmandu and Lakeside in Pokhara have dozens of rental shops — down jackets and sleeping bags rent for a few dollars a day. Our packing list marks which items are worth renting rather than flying with.
Anything you do not need on the trail can stay at your hotel in Kathmandu or Pokhara at no charge, and we can hold bags at our office too. Note that domestic flights to Lukla and Jomsom have strict weight limits — {state the current allowance}.
Independent travel isn't permitted. You need a Tibet Travel Permit plus, for western Tibet and Kailash, an Alien Travel Permit and a military permit, and you must be accompanied by a licensed Tibetan guide throughout. We arrange all of it — you send a passport scan and we handle the rest.
{State your real minimum lead time, and note that Chinese authorities occasionally close Tibet to foreign travellers at short notice.}
Bhutan sets a Sustainable Development Fee per traveller per night on top of your trip cost, which is government policy rather than an operator charge. We quote it separately so you can see exactly what goes to the government and what covers your trip.