For many of our treks, you can choose
between staying in tea-house or camping. A tea-house is
a local run guest house, but standards vary enormously.
In popular areas such as Annapurna, tea houses are more
like hotels, with hot water, Western food and private
rooms, whereas in remote areas, they are far simpler and
more authentically Nepali. Tea-house trekking is less
expensive than camping, and is suitable for small groups.
With large groups, irrespective of the area, it is more
practical to camp. A team of guides, porters and cooks
mean you trek in comfort and provide international-style
food of a high standard.
Grade 1
For trekkers
with no previous experience, we offer a diverse
range of easy treks. By easy, we mean that
trek involves no difficult climbing or ascents
to high altitudes, takes usually no more that
a week and is suitable for anyone. However,
you should not think that loss of height means
loss of interest; while our more challenging
treks get you closer to a small number of
mountain ranges; lower altitude treks often
provide colorful horizons of a whole series
of ranges. High or low, mountain villages
reachable only by several days walk from the
road brim with character.
The Ghorepani
and Jamsom treks follow well-trodden trails.
The tea-house along these routes offers hot
water and Western-style food. Of course, theses
treks are not popular without reason and you
will find the terrain and views superb. If
the idea of tea-house trekking appeals to
you, but you would prefer to escape from the
crowds, then the Helambu trek could be your
ideal choice. You trek up to within sight
of enormous snowy mountains, and then wind
at a leisurely pace through a spectacular
green valley. The tea-house is simpler here,
but you will benefit from the peace of the
unspoilt villages and the friendly welcome
of your hosts. To really get away from it
all, try the Shivapuri trek, Siklis trek or
the Royal Trek. Whilst you will still pass
through many remote villages, these regions
are so unspoilt as to have no tea-houses,
and you will need to camp. Again, the range
of mountains you can view on these treks is
superb.
Grade 2
Grade
2 treks are more challenging than Grade 1,
and are suitable for any walker looking for
something a little more energetic. They are
longer (10-20 days), involve more walking
up and down and climb to higher altitudes,
where you will be rewarded with close-up views
of big mountains. For a well-trodden route
with good tea-house facilities, you could
choose the Annapurna Base Camp Trek, which
gets you close to glaciers and affords spectacular
houses; try a trek in the beautiful Langtang
region.
From the
Langtang Base Camp, you have the additional
option of scaling a trekking peak. For a moderate
trek out in the wilds, Ganesh Himal would
be a good choice. With only 100 visitors a
year to this region, the local cultural traditions
are still very much intact. On this trek,
you across the high Singla Pass (4600m.) The
Rara Trek is similarly remote and is a good
option for the summer season as rainfall is
low. As tourists are relatively unknown is
these last two regions, you need to camp.
Grade 3
Grade
3 treks should only be undertaken by those
with some previous mountain walking experience.
They ascend to altitudes of up to 500m and
involve some steep climbing, although it is
necessary to use ropes. Treks at this level
can he arranged for periods of 7-21 days.
For a popular
and spectacular trek, with the possibility
of staying in well-developed tea houses, the
Annapurna circuit is a good choice. A gradual
ascent through a green river alley will lead
you up to a number of high passes, where you
will reach the altitude of 5416m. This trek
will give you a close insight into Tibetan
culture. Another understandably popular trek,
with good tea house facilities, is the Everest
Base camp. The goal of this trek speaks for
itself, but in achieving it, you cross a glacier,
see Mt.Everest and a whole variety of soaring
peaks and experience the rich Sherpa culture.
For a real adventure in wild and Makalu Base
Camp the Makalu trek traverses many high passes
before reaching the Base Camp at 5000m. The
Tibetan plateau of Mustang is a wild, treeless
desert. The last two treks are possible only
if you camp.
Grade 4
Grade 4
treks are only for real adventurers. They
involve steep ascents to high altitudes with
the possibility of some rope climbing. You'll
need stamina to complete one of these treks,
as it can take 20-28 days to journey to the
heart of the wildernesses that they cross.
All are camping expeditions. The exception
is the Simikot trek, which is very remote
with a truly undeveloped culture (quite a
shock.) This can be accomplished in a shorter
time (7-14 days.) However, you can also use
the little-visited Simikot as the starting
point for a trip to Mount Kailash (20 days.)
A
trek through the isolated Dolpo region us
one of the few good possibilities for the
summer months, as the area gets little rain.
Manaslu, like Annapurna, is a circuit trek
and passes through Tibetan villages in a little-visited,
restricted area. A trip to Kanchanjunga, the
third highest mountain in the world, will
take you into the remote Far East region of
Nepal. Here, Sherpa, Rai and Limbu culture
happily to co-exist. If you want the ultimate
challenge, the Dhaulagiri trek is the most
difficult of our featured treks. This wild
trek involves challenging trekking on rough
high terrain, perhaps with a ropes pitch or
two.
For further information
and price details please mail us at: skyline@enet.com.np