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I walked in Nepal decades ago with a physical guide, ie a person. I walked solo, i.e. not in a group, but my memory is that the groups also had a guide. I thought it was the norm. Is this something different?
Yes new rules were officially brought in from 1 Apr 2023 stating that to do the major walks, EBC, Annapurna, you had to go in a group, or indivually with a guide. I heard the implementation was slightly confused but not really heard anything since then!
Wendy and I hiked the Annapurna Circuit + Sanctuary in 2008 on our own, an amazing experience! Strange to think that a guide is mandatory now — it would be a bit like making guides mandatory on the camino!
Yes it’s new!! Trying to drive employment for the guides and reduced hiker risk which I get and that’s the upside. When I did EBC I was suprised you could do it without a guide… in fact I booked onto a small group of 5 with a guide as hadn’t realised could do it without one. That said one of the hikers collapsed and without the guide sorting out an immediate air rescue the chap would have probably died! Different game at 5000 metres!
That would have been great. I thought I was pretty adventurous back then (it was sometime in the 1990s?) when I walked solo with a guide and porter- maybe I would have gone 'guideless' if I were walking with someone else. The whole thing was arranged through very slow email exchanges with a local enterprise in Kathmandu. I recall that my 'dial up' connection from Sydney was painfully slow - and no doubt the connection from the other end even slower and less reliable. Once in Nepal, communication was tricky - no mobile phone, no whats app! And I did wonder if someone would show up on the appointed day. But, of course, they did.
After 8 trips and many treks in Nepal I wrote a post that may be of help in selecting a trek:
Thanks for the memories
. I remember landing in La Paz once, the highest major city on world, and a fair few arriving passengers were in a bad way just walking out the terminal! One girl was being sick!! I remember running up just a few steps there in a market just to catch a lift and I had to really catch my breath!Thanks for the memories
Walking in altitude is unimaginable until you have done it
Day 2 on my 3 day walk around Mt Kailas in Tibet I thought …. Camino - ha - walk in the park compared to this.
But a most memorable experience- I went back twice more.
Great list! I really appreciate it and all your other info!!
I hear ya. I didn't have the same issue in La Paz, maybe because it was late in my time in Peru and Bolivia and I'd acclimatised by then. Also altitude sickness is such a personal thing - and seemingly bears no connection to your level of fitness or whether you've taken medication or not - just luck of the draw? I didn't suffer from it but my sister with whom I travelled was quite ill for a few days.
Reminds me of a trek >4000mts where a youngish chap, was a bit too confident and moaning that we were all too slow so he got a move on. A few hours later he was coming down on a stretcher! Thankfully he was fine with the the damage being to his ego.
I did the same “hire a guide at a cafe” for the Inca Trail and joined up with another woman who had flown direct from home to Lima then Cuzco that morning and we started the next morning. That first night we had to visit the campsite of one of those fancy expensive tours for oxygen for her and she went back to Cuzco the next morning.
I hiked the Annapurna Circuit in November. We had the most wonderful guide (if you ever want a recommendation). That said, I'd say about 90% of the people we met were using guides. Another 10% were not. I think implementation of the new rule is not being inforced 100%. While we were trekking, 2 groups needed helicopter rescue. One after an avalanche knocked someone off the trail literally 5 minutes behind me. I can't imagine not having a knowledgeable guide in that situation. Hope this helps.
Apparently smokers do well in altitude- their bodies are used to living with less oxygen.
www.independent.co.uk
Old skool!
I have trekked with with friends in Nepal four different times, always with a guide and porters.. The porters carried our luggage since the terrain is not conducive to vehicles. In the Everest area the porters are usually Sherpas but not so in other areas. Guides were not mandatory when we trekked but they were strongly recommended due to people getting lost as well as natural disasters such as the earthquake in 2015. There are many trekking companies who will arrange a guide (and porters). We used a company called Earthbound Expeditions based in Kathmandu and were very happy with their service.
I was on Everest walk last nov and word out there is that after a month these rules were implemented the authorities gave up checking that the rules were being carried out. They only applied to Annapurna, and associated walks and Langtang and that area. Everest area refused to bring this law in. Therefore so many experienced walkers and young back packer boycotted the western walks and all headed to Everest region obviously to save money and or to remain independent. However there is word out officials may try again to enforce the rules later next year!
To add to my comments I beleive the Annapurna and Langtang Tea house owners are struggling financially because of this law because of downturn in business and therefore there is a chance that it wont be reinstated that need a guide.
Thank you! Yes it a tough one. I don’t really want to have a guide though walking alone at 4-5k metres carries risk! Whilst I understand the need to support local guides, to me mandating a guide will put loads of people off. There will always folks that want a guide of course but the archetypal backpacker / trekker values independence over almost anything else.
@Pelerina, I mostly just skimmed reading this thread as I will not be going to Nepal in the balance of my lifetime, but totally relate to those who have hiked in Nepal and are excited to recall and share their wonderful memories. I think many of us occasionally digress on threads; I know I do.
Yes those were the days!
