Some things about trekking in Nepal

posted in: East Asia, Nepal

Many of you who plan to visit Nepal, will probably go for a trek in the Himalayas. And if, by any chance, you didn’t consider this possibility, this page is the time and place to do so.

Why trekking?

It’s good for your spirit, It’s excellent for your health!
You’ll see amazing sorts of landscapes and beautiful views. You’ll meet kind and interesting people. It is undoubtedly going to be the greatest experience in your trip, and maybe in your whole life!

And seriously, the whole concept of “trek” is something we don’t really meet in our regular western way of travelling. So if you walked four days in woods in Canada or slept six nights under the skies of Sinai desert, it is still nothing like trekking (particularly trekking in the region we are going to speak about here).

What is a trek anyway?

The trek is simply a walking route. In Nepal most of the walking routes that we, as tourists, use in our treks, are actually the “roads” of the Nepali people that live in the mountains. This “roads” are of course just paths, usually carrying people and donkeys, but – it won’t take long until those paths will turn into real roads, carrying real motor-vehicles.
That’s why you should go for a trek in Nepal as soon as possible, because the progress in some areas is really dramatic, therefore some places won’t be so unique as they are today.
So- there are no motor vehicles in the trek, that’s why you won’t hear a single motor noise even if you try hard, there is no pollution, and the air is so clean you actually wonder if it really exists.
The touristic treks, such as the Annapurna sanctuary and Around Annapurna , go through paths and trails that connect villages along the route. That’s why the trek takes you to amazing landscapes, but still don’t leave you for days with no place to eat and sleep. You will always find villages on the way, usually containing one or more guest-houses that will be happy to give you a place to sleep and usually a really good food to eat.
The trek can take a few days or a few weeks, it all depends on your mood, strength and will.
You set the pace – you can walk 15 kilometers a day or just four kilometers a day, and spend the night in the village you reach on the way.
Another advantage of going through inhabited places is that you also meet the local Nepalis.
You’ll see them working in their fields, learn about amazing irrigating technics, walk with the children on their way to their schools – sometimes so far as a walking day you’ll walk, and enjoy their lovely hospitality at night. The starting and ending points of the touristic treks can be accessed usually by car, bus, or plane.

Which trek to choose?

Nepal is a beautiful country, and offers lots of trails you can trek. The decision which trek to do depends on:

  • the time you want to spend – there are short treks of 2-3 days and long treks that can take a month if you want.
  • physical strength – if climbing to the fourth floor by stairs makes your heart close to explosion, don’t take a hard trek. Choose a trek that doesn’t take you through too many steap slopes, take a shorter trek, and – take it easy! don’t rush to finish it as fast as you can. And – you’ll also have more time to enjoy it.
  • the kind of places you prefer – actually most of the treks in Nepal are in the mountains, but there are differences in forms of lanscapes and people between the areas of the treks.

Treks of Nepal

Nepal offers lots of treks. There are three major trekking areas in Nepal – Annapurna region, Langtang-Helambu and Everest area. The “Everest Base Camp” trek as well as the  “Around Annapurna” trek are regarded some of the best trekking routes in Nepal and actually all over the world.

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