Nepal Travel Guide

Solo trekking
is banned.

Nepal now requires a licensed guide on trekking routes, including ones that were independent for decades. That single rule change reshapes how a Nepal trip is planned, and plenty of older guidance has not caught up.

Two things determine whether a Nepal trek goes well, and neither is gear. The first is the permit regime, which changed materially and is administered by park and conservation authorities rather than by the agency selling you the trek. The second is altitude: acute mountain sickness kills trekkers every season, and the best guidance on it comes from a non-profit rescue association that has no trek to sell you.

The reading list

Link-out only. Agencies and primary rules, not people selling you the gear.

Permits, and the guide requirement

Rules changed. Check the authorities rather than a blog post written before they did.

  1. Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation

    Government of Nepal · Primary

    The authority for Sagarmatha and the other national parks. Entry permits are issued under this department, not by your trekking company, whatever the package implies.

  2. Nepal Tourism Board

    Government of Nepal · Primary

    The state tourism body, which administers trekker registration and publishes current rules including the guide requirement. Promotional in tone, and still the official source.

  3. Department of Immigration

    Government of Nepal · Primary

    Visas, extensions and the on-arrival process. Go here rather than to an agency that charges to fill in a form you can complete yourself.

Altitude, which is the actual risk

More trekkers are hurt by ascending too fast than by anything else on the mountain.

  1. Himalayan Rescue Association

    Non-profit · Primary

    Runs the aid posts at Pheriche and Manang and treats altitude sickness every season. Their guidance on ascent rates and symptoms is the best available anywhere, written by people who have no trek to sell and who see the consequences.

  2. Nepal health notices

    US CDC · Health

    Vaccines, water and food precautions, and altitude guidance from a public health agency.

  3. Nepal travel advice

    UK Foreign Office · Advisory

    Entry rules, regional restrictions, road safety and current conditions. Blunt about domestic aviation, which has a poor record.

Reference

  1. Nepal

    Wikivoyage · Guide

    Volunteer-written and ad-free, organised by region and usually quicker to reflect rule changes than commercial guides.

  2. Nepal

    CIA World Factbook · Reference

    Geography and demographics in standard format.