Everything we’d tell you over a cup of tea

Above 3,000 m, gain no more than 300–500 m of sleeping altitude per day, and take a rest day every 3–4 days or every 1,000 m. Walking higher during the day and coming back down to sleep is good for you — “climb high, sleep low”.

Headache, poor appetite, nausea, trouble sleeping, feeling wiped out. Mild symptoms are common and usually settle with a rest day. Tell your guide — every time. Nobody is judging you and we would far rather know.

Symptoms that don’t improve with rest, worsening headache that painkillers don’t touch, breathlessness at rest, a wet cough, confusion, or trouble walking in a straight line. The treatment is descent, immediately. Your guide makes this call and it isn’t negotiable.

Drink more water than feels necessary. Eat even when you don’t fancy it. Go slower than you think you should — if you can’t hold a conversation, you’re walking too fast. Skip alcohol and sleeping tablets above 3,000 m.

Boots (broken in, ankle support), a warm sleeping bag or a good hire one, and a proper waterproof shell. These three decide whether you’re comfortable or miserable.

Down jacket, sleeping bag, trekking poles, duffel bag — all cheap to hire or buy in Thamel and Pokhara. Tell us what you have and we’ll fill the gaps.

Headtorch and spare batteries, sun cream and lip balm with high SPF, a power bank (charging on the trail costs money), earplugs, blister plasters, and cash in small notes.

Cotton anything, jeans, a second pair of boots, hairdryers, and a suitcase — you’ll want a duffel your porter can carry and a 25–35 L daypack you carry yourself.

Most nationalities can get a tourist visa on arrival at Kathmandu airport, or in advance from a Nepali embassy. Check the current rules for your passport before you fly — they do change. Bring a passport valid for at least six months and a couple of passport photos.

Our Annapurna routes need an ACAP conservation permit plus trekker registration. Nepal also requires a licensed guide on these trails. We arrange all of it; you just send us a passport scan.

Permits are quick, but peak-season lodges and internal transport are not. October and April fill up — the earlier you tell us your dates, the better the lodges we can hold for you.

A clear scan of your passport photo page, your travel insurance policy number and emergency contact, your arrival flight details, and anything medical your guide should know about.

Vegetarian is the default in most teahouses and vegan is very manageable. Gluten-free is harder but workable — rice-based meals are everywhere. Tell us in the booking form and your guide briefs the lodges ahead of you.

Don’t drink untreated tap or stream water. Use purification tablets, a filter or a SteriPen, or buy boiled water at the lodges — it’s cheaper than bottled and avoids leaving plastic in the mountains.

Appetite drops with altitude just as your body needs more fuel. Force something down at every meal, and carry snacks you actually enjoy for the long days.

Meat on the high trails has usually been carried up unrefrigerated for days. Most guides avoid it above Chhomrong, and so should you.

A simple twin room with wooden walls and a foam mattress, a shared bathroom, and a warm dining room with a stove that everyone gathers around after dark. Comfortable low down, basic and cold high up.

Hot showers, device charging and wifi are usually charged per use, and the price climbs with altitude. Bring a power bank and small notes.

In October and April the popular lodges fill up. Your guide walks ahead or calls ahead to hold rooms — one of the quieter reasons a guided trek is easier than doing it alone.

Single or private rooms can usually be arranged, though not guaranteed on the highest sections where lodges are tiny. Ask in your booking special requests and we’ll tell you honestly what’s possible.

Weather moves trekking days in Nepal — a closed pass, a delayed flight, a road washout. Never book your flight home for the day after you’re due back in Kathmandu. Two spare days is the sensible minimum.

Kathmandu to Pokhara or Syabru Besi takes most of a day on winding mountain roads. If you get travel sick, come prepared — and consider the short flight to Pokhara instead.

Domestic and mountain flights have strict, low luggage limits. You can leave a bag at your Kathmandu hotel for the trek — everyone does.

Airport pick-up and drop-off, and all ground transport between cities and the trailhead, are part of the trip. You won’t be haggling with a taxi at midnight.

You must have travel insurance that covers trekking to your route’s maximum altitude and helicopter evacuation. Many standard policies stop at 4,000 m — check the number, not the marketing. We ask for your policy details before departure.

Existing conditions, medication, allergies, past altitude problems — we need to know, and it stays between you and your guide. It changes how we pace the trek and what we carry.

If your guide says stop, descend, or wait, that decision stands. It is the whole reason to walk with a licensed guide rather than alone, and it is the only part of your trip that isn’t up for negotiation.

Leave your itinerary and our contact details with someone at home. Register with your embassy in Nepal if your government offers it.

Of the four we run, Poon Hill (4–5 days, low altitude) is the gentlest start and Annapurna Base Camp (moderate, 4,130 m) is the one most first-timers come for. Mardi Himal is the quiet alternative. The Annapurna Circuit is a serious undertaking — lovely, but not a first trek.

A licensed guide, a porter carrying the heavy bag, rooms held in advance and permits already sorted. Your job is to walk, eat and sleep.

Good trekking pace is unhurried. Days end early, afternoons are for tea and cards, and nobody is racing. The people who suffer are the ones who treat it as a challenge to be beaten.

No question is too basic. What the toilets are like, whether you can charge a CPAP, if your ten-year-old will cope, whether you can add three days in Pokhara — ask before you book, not after.