Trekking Gear for the Highlands of Nepal

Nepal is a small country that is snuggled up against the Himalayas between Tibet, now a part of China, and India. Its location makes it home to some of the highest mountains in the world including Mt Everest and Annapurna. It is also one of the world’s friendliest coiuntries, with a population that is keen to share the natural beauty of their country with foreigners. That makes it a great destination for trekking and it is Nepal that has made famous the idea of Tea-Room trekking.

In Tea-room trekking visitors hike from one village to another and stay in small guest houses, called tea rooms. The accommodation is usually quite Spartan. It is unusual, for instance, to find running hot water in most places (and where there is running hot water check how they heat it – there are some solar heaters about but oftentimes they chop down scarce trees to get wood so that foreigners can have hot showers). The great adcantages of this form of hiking though is that you don’t need to carry nearly as much gear and you also get to experience something of the local life and food. I don’t recommend eating yak steak or drinking yak milk. Even yak butter tastes pretty rancid, but the lentil soup and garlic soup that Nepal is famous for is well worth having. There are a couple of things that you really need to have with you to enjoy the journey. The paths are often really rough with steep ascents and descents so a good pair of hiking boots is quite important. There is also no electricity in most of the small villages and tea rooms, so a head torch will make life a lot easier, especially when you have to find your way to a primitive “long-drop” toilet in the middle of the night.

Be sure to also take plenty of hand sanitizer and wash your hands all the time to help avoid getting tummy troubles.

Tags: Tags: head torch, hiking boots, nepal