Common questions & mistakes people make when trekking in Nepal

Asking the right questions before and during your trek can help save you time, money, and your life.

From no money to no time, many trekkers are sacrificing their lives & holidays when they shouldn’t be

Over the past 17+ years I’ve received countless emails with questions about trekking in Nepal. Of the majority the following two questions are the most common:

1. I don’t have enough money, can I go without a guide?
2. I don’t have time, can I do the “trek” faster?

Other common questions include:

1. I’m fit and I’ve trekked “___” in the “___”  (trekked in another country)so can I do the Annapurna Circuit alone?
2. I can read a map really well, is the trek well marked so I can do it alone?
3. I only have 7 days, I’ve been told I can fly up to base camp to shorten the trek?

I would love more questions about trekking gear, what shoes to wear, when to go, which trek or even what type of hat to wear. But no, the majority of questions are all about doing it alone or on the cheap.

This makes me so mad and sad. Why? Because people keep making the same mistakes. These mistakes either but their lives in danger or can often ruin their holiday. I write back with blunt replies and ask them to read through my about trekking in Nepal section or better yet buy a guidebook to Nepal which answers their questions in full, and then some. But so many people claim they also don’t have the “time” to read these days.

If I put that into the context of buying a car, learning to drive, or renovating a house … I’d be worried about humanity, and about crossing the road to visit someone.

Long ago I took the time to individually answer these questions. But there’s little motivation to continue as I find myself repeating answers over and over again to little avail. Hence this page.

Here are some real life examples of people who ask these questions as above, and the real life results.

Common questions, their answers, and real life examples

I’m on a budget, can I go trekking in Nepal without a guide?

Yes you can go trekking in Nepal without a guide. In 2023 Ntpeal Tourism board and TAAN made trekking guides mandatory, but having implemented checkpoints. If this is an issue for you, then there are also treks that don’t legally require guides like Everest Base Camp, Gokyo, and the Three Passes. However, if you don’t have the money, then why are you considering  Nepal?

Nepal used to have the reputation for being a budget destination. It still is compared to say London or New York. However,  India is cheaper for accommodation and food. Thailand is better value for money and food. Granted, none of those destinations can match Nepal’s mountains, temples or jungles. But, it’s worth thinking about.

The result is people come to Nepal hoping for a cheap trek. You can still have a cheap trek, but it really depends on your definition of cheap. As an example do read more about how much does a trek in Nepal cost?

Aside from special permit treks, Everest Base Camp is the most popular and therefore one of the more costly treks in Nepal. After calculating return flights to Lukla, accommodation, food etc plus insurance the costs mount up. Then when adding on a guide’s fees many people try to cut back – and so the problems begin. Here is my page on costs of EBC here, but please read on here with real life examples of that happens:

• Jill wanted me to suggest a porter to act as her guide her – sorry Jill, but porters are not guides, they are porters. Moreover, you can be arrested if using a porter as a guide.
• An Australian in his 20s took a porter as a guide when I was trekking. His porter did not speak English and enjoyed drinking every night. As you might guess the Australian was struggling badly with a lot of issues that went well beyond his years instead of enjoying his trek.
• A group of Russians didn’t want to spend any money so they just followed another group. The other groups guide was not happy and so an all out argument broke out. Not the nicest of things to happen in the mountains.
• Just last month some volunteers in Nepal came back from a trek in bad shape. They had taken one of their host families friends, an unqualified guide, on the cheap. Problem was, as nice as he was, the “guide” was not qualified, got lost more than once and ended up being shunned by more than one local on the route.
• A couple asked me for a the cheapest possible guide for a trek. I explained everything to them including costs. Turns out they were staying in a $200 per night hotel in Kathmandu but didn’t see the worth in hiring a $30 per day guide that would literally be with them 24/7 for 12 days.  This has been the most common scenario in the past few years. Trekkers spending a lot on hotels, restaurants, flights, but when it comes to hiring a guide they want the cheapest or none at all. It grates, and trekking guides also find it degrading which often impacts the quality of the trek.

All real world examples.

I don’t have time, can I do the “Everest Base Camp” trek faster?

This is another head banger. Trying to shorten a trek. In particular ones at high elevation.  Everest Base Camp is a minimum 12 day trek. Cutting it short will mean taking out an acclimatization day. This means you have a higher risk of altitude sickness and quite frankly dying. Your alternative is to spend USD $1800 on a chartered helicopter back to Lukla to save three days.

Since 2018 to today, do beware of the helicopter scam in Nepal. Both trekking companies and trekkers have been caught falsely cashing in on their travel insurance to both profit and speed up their trek. Naturally it goes beyond saying that the travel insurance companies have discovered this and have added premiums to helicopter rescues due to this.

There are some unscrupulous trekking companies out there who say you can do it in 10 days – do read my post on avoiding scams in Nepal. I would avoid them like the plague. Others again promise that you could trek in and fly back by helicopter. True, but there’s still a risk, and it’s very expensive to do this.

Cutting days short from a recommended amount is a bad idea on all high altitude treks. Period. It’s not worth your life.

Real world examples of shortening a trek in Nepal:

• A couple from  Singapore had to turn back when the husband got sick before reaching Gorak Shep on the EBC trek because they tried to do the whole trek in 9 days. Now multiply this true story by at least 3 for every EBC trek I’ve done and have met people having to turn back.
• This couple could have done the Annapurna Base Camp trek and had a great time with 8 days or Mardi Himal trek with 6 days. Instead they rushed EBC like so many and ended up seeing little and getting dangerously sick.
• A couple from Texas, USA, rushed up the Everest Trek when the wife got altitude sickness. Believe it or not the husband even considered going on without her. They didn’t have a guide either. The trekking lodge owner and my guide had to persuade them to return. She lived. I’m not sure about the marriage.

Hindsight is great. But foresight can help you have a better trek.

Why is a guide so important when trekking?

A trekking guide is really good if you’ve never been trekking before in Nepal. They will help arrange everything for you from permits to flights. They will explain the landscape, mountains, food, environment, culture, teach you about trekking know how,  and help with accommodation. They will also show you the right route along the way. Most importantly if something like altitude Sickness hits you, or if you have an accident they are their to help.

Personally speaking, with over 17 years of experience, I advise people who are on a budget to get the best trek possible for their budget. If the EBC trek or Annapurna Circuit trek is out of that price range, then go on a shorter trek and really get a better experience.

If you’ve never been trekking before in Nepal, then a guide will really help. If you have been trekking in Nepal before and want to go again independently then you’ll be much better prepared.

I’m fit and I’ve trekked in other countries so can I do the Annapurna Circuit alone?

Nepal is not like other countries. Do you know what Dal Bhat is? Do you know if the water is good to drink? Have you trekked in an environment with high humidity, and also low humidity with dust? Do you know what the actual trails are like in Nepal to walk on? Just like travel insurance, each country will have it’s own conditions.

I don’t care if you’ve climbed Mount Kilimanjaro backwards with a unicorn on your back while wearing a rainbow colored blindfold. You’ve not trekked before in Nepal so you don’t know the place. Period.

Yes, trekking experience is great. Maybe you could get away with hiring just a porter-guide. But again, for first time trekkers in Nepal I always suggest they hire a guide. After that on another trek, sure, head off and do your own thing.

Real examples of trekkers from other countries who want to go it alone in Nepal:

• Stefan from Switzerland left my guesthouse for the Annapurna Circuit Trek in 2017 fully determined to do it himself as he was an “experienced” European trekker. He never even made it to Thorong La. In fact he took a wrong turn and twisted his ankle in the rain. Luckily some villagers found him. He still had to be rescued though.

This tale is true like many others. Unfortunately many of these types of trekkers end up dying too. Vitaly Bazlov died when heading off on a side trek by himself in 2016. Christiaan Wilson was another trekker who went out by himself and didn’t come back.

In 2024 two ex-special forces men set off on the Daulagiri trek with 20+kg backpacks. I warned them repeatedly this was a bad idea. But they insisted they were experienced combat specialists who had been all over the world and could handle it. Within 2 days one of them had badly twisted his ankle. The other was exhausted and admitted he then needed both a guide and porter to be sent up to help him continue on while his friend returned.

These stories are true and happen far too frequently.

I can read a map really well, is the trek well marked so I can do it alone?

Don’t listen to the old “experienced” trekkers on social media who say such and such trek is well marked out. In Nepal no trek is well marked out. That’s the honest truth. If you have a lot of experience in trekking in Nepal then certainly things are easier to notice.

Every monsoon season signs and marker poles are washed away. The trails also change due to rain and landslides. Yes, treks like EBC are marked out, but there’s a moving glaicer on the way there that changes the path every year. And, guess what? It’s the most popular location trekkers go missing on the EBC trek. Yes, on treks in Nepal there are signs, but not as well as European trekking routes or a many North American routes. Do not expect the same level of professionally marked out treks that you might get elsewhere.

Likewise maps, offline or online, are only so good. Trails can change every season and Nepal is not known for great signage even in villages. Power cuts are frequent and GPS devices do not always work well when surrounded by mountains or up in the mountain passes.

Real world example of a happy trek gone wrong:

• I met one man from Austria who just couldn’t get his GPS to work properly and he was very angry that the map on his phone was not accurate – at least according to him. He ended up hiring a guide from a village enroute who was also not qualified and only made the situation worse as he too couldn’t read the map. This wonderful trek now seemed like the “worst trek in the world” according to him.
• Allan thought his quote of USD $50 per day was too much for a guide. So he opted for a just a porter. Not only is this illegal (a porter cannot be used as a guide) but he ended up with a porter who drank every night. If Allen had taken more time to look for a guide, he may have found a cheaper one. Or, if he had paid $50 he may have had a brilliant guide that helped him discover Nepal better than many others.
• Just last week someone contacted Missingtrekker.com about their husband who went alone to Langtang. He went missing for five days. His wife was distraught back home. Turns out he twisted his ankle trying to rush through the trek and with little internet / telecommunications in a nearby village he couldn’t contact her. He hobbled back, made the call and everything was fine.

A trek should be enjoyed and be a wonderful experience. It’s not a race nor a feat of endurance. People did all that decades ago. Enjoy your trek don’t turn it into a miserable experience trying to be an expert.

I only have 7 days, I’ve been told I can fly up to Everest base camp and shorten the trek?

Do you have $USD 2,000 with additional cash? Do you realize you’ll get altitude sickness unless you rush down quickly?

It’s a crazy idea being pushed by some super-rich people at the moment. It’s also a very stupid idea as you run the risk of actually dieing pretty quickly up there unless you plan to fly out again. If Everest Summiteers make the trek to acclimatize, what makes you think you can just fly in.

In truth some of the super rich do fly in. Visit EBC. Then fly out again. If that’s your thing … but it’s certainly not trekking.

These days people are also taking up the offer of shortening a trek by trekking in and flying out. Again, if you have a spare USD$1,800 then off you go. Of you could go cheap and wait for a spare $400 shared helicopter seat to Lukla, and another to Kathmandu. It’s safer than the first method. But, you didn’t really trek the whole trek did you?

Do a different trek if you can’t afford or don’t have the time

Trekking in Nepal is meant to be about having a great experience. The two treks most people want to either cheapen, or shorten are Everest Base Camp and the Annapurna Circuit. The latter can certainly be shortened. By nature of the road the days of the 21 day APC are gone. Most complete it in 12-16 days with ease. However, those who want to shorten it again, miss out on acclimatization, or drive past Manang. This is dangerous in terms of altitude sickness. You should really not drive past Chame. Or course, let’s not forget that driving to shorted the trek makes the trek more expensive!

The point I’m making is that you’ll need 12 days minimum for either one of these treks. If you don’t have that time, then pick a shorter trek and have a better time on a different trek!

Likewise if you’ve never been trekking in Nepal before. Hire a good trekking guide and make your trip of a lifetime the best one ever. Opting for a cheap guide or no guide can mean a ruined holiday. It’s just not worth it.

If you’ve been trekking in Nepal before you will know the way of the country a little better and can make a more accurate personal decision about taking a guide or not.

If it’s your first time, then a guide really is a better option. If you need a guide recommendation, then you can contact me through my Find a Nepali Trekking Guide service. However, I’d prefer it if you just buy my Guidebook to Nepal because A) it lists all local guides and trekking agencies and B) it’s 100% unsponsored, easy to read, up-to-date, grounded, and honest.

Trek with a social conscious!

Finally, there are people out there who want to end solo trekking in Nepal. They use the arguments of missing trekkers, injured trekkers and culturally unaware trekkers to do this. You can read more about TAANs attempts to stop solo trekking in Nepal here. And indeed their 2023 ban on solo trekking.

Here’s the thing. If you’ve never been trekking in Nepal before, hire a local guide. By doing so you are being safe, supporting the local economy and getting experience.

Then, when you come back to Nepal you might just have enough experience to trek independently!

Have a great trek!

All in all, most people have a better experience when they take a guide for their first trek. Do read how to choose and hire a guide for trekking in Nepal for more information. Beleive it or not, that is the oldest, and most up-dated resource on how to hire a guide in existence. There’s a reason I wrote it. There’s also a reason by many trekking companies have adopted its points into their sales pitches.

Likewise, not cutting back on days by either making the time or choosing a shorter trek will result in you having a much better trek!

Trekking in Nepal can be great experience so long as you don’t skimp on days or a guide. Just some advice based on the people I’ve met over the years and my own personal experience in Nepal.

One last thing. Preparation is king. I’ve dedicated many pages in my books and this website on where to trek, how to trek, equipment you need and yes I’ve also detailed all the treks listed with daily photos and the best trekking maps. Want to be prepared ahead of time? Get my Trekking in Nepal guidebook or my complete Nepal Guidebook.

Get my Trekking in Nepal Guidebook & discover more than anyone else!

Looking for more insider tips and information like this? Get the most up-to-date, popular and dedicated guidebook to Trekking in Nepal in the world. Covering 28 full treks over 400 pages. The only trekking guidebook in the world with trekking links showing you how to link treks together! Available as an instant download or worldwide shipping for the paperback edition!

Take a look below and you’ll find out why this beats all other guidebooks!

Get the Trekking in Nepal guidebook here!

Get the paperback Trekking & Hiking Journal here!