| 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 unkown 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 Annaprna, is a
circuit trek and passes through Tibetan villages in a
little-visited, restricted area. A trip to Kanchejunga, 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 Dhaulagi 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.
TOP |
