I’m thinking of heading there as my next big trip, current thoughts are to go up through India from Kerala, Goa, Rajasthan etc then into Nepal for some trekking. Ideally I’d want to do it off the beaten track without using a company, just wondering if anyone’s done this or had any experiences of Nepal at all really. Thanks!

I did a MTB trip from Pokhara to Kathmandu with KE adventure about 10 years ago, not quite what you are planning, but great. The route between these two places takes you along the foothills of some really big mountains – an amazing experience.

A long time ago. Flew into Kathmandhu from Bangkok. Hung out for a few days then overlanded it to India (Gorakphur, where we got stuck for a few days, unable even to get on the roofs of the trains that were passing through the station).

nepal’s ace, very ‘user friendly’ in trekking terms, Trailblazer guidebooks are very good, main routes like Annapurna and Everest have loads of tea houses, so on those you only need to carry a sleeping bag, clothes and some money – you can’t really go wrong – trekking is a major industry there, but going independently is no problem, certainly on the major ‘classic’ treks. Less popular routes are more difficult logistically, depends on what you’re hoping to do.

How long is “big”? From listening to long discussions with friends who’ve spent lots of time living and working in India, I’d say don’t try to do too much.

It’s an enormous country, with some enormous queues and some enormous sets of rules and requirements, and it takes a lot of time and effort to travel. So covering a lot of distance will leave much less time for enjoying the places you pass through than you might hope, especially if you’re on small routes off the beaten track.

Unless you’ve got 3/6 months or more, maybe pick north or south, or pick a centre in the south, and travel in a oner to another centre in the north

About 10 yrs ago I had a holiday – 3 weeks camping/trekking in the Khumbu with a company. It was really good. I expected to be amazed by the scenery, and I was. I did not expect to be so deeply affected by the culture of the people I met.

I’d go again if I could.

Went in 2004 for a mountaineering trip – organised thru a UK company.
My first time outside the western world, opened my eyes. The Khumbu and Himalaya are stunning, Kathmandhu was fascinating. But most of all the people were incredibly friendly and generous – Sherpas in particular.
Will definitely be going back…

If you are planning on taking a bike just be aware that the trekking routes aren’t so good for riding, it can be a bit of a slog.

Just come back from an organsied trek to Everest base Camp and I am starting to dream about going back.

Slightly off-topic, but I recommend reading The Snow Leopard to anyone interested in Nepal.

About 10 years ago spent 6 weeks on an expedition to Kanchenjunga in the east of the country. Spent 2 weeks trekking to the base camp and then 3 weeks climbing, then 3 days on the way back white-water rafting on the Tamur river, then time-off messing around in Kathmandu. The whole thing was absolutely stunning and agree with the comments about the people/culture. As we were on a tight time-scale, the trekking was a bit of a chore as it was mostly head-down plodding, not really having chance to look around and take it all in. Would recommend going with others,if only to have the chance to say “look at that!” and share the experience. There is quite a lot of bureaucracy involved with getting visa’s and travelling around, but it is all worthwhile and I would love to go back, in fact I have only drunk green tea since then, so it has left some lasting mark on me!

Great place.

Climbed Island Peak 8 years ago.
trekked in via Gokyo, Kalar Pattar etc

love it.

I spent a month there about 6 years ago. Stayed with friends in Tansen and then did the Annapurna circuit, followed by a short stay in the Chitwan national park. Lovely country, lovely people – highly recommended. Apparently there’s now a road going much further into the Annapurna area, which is great news for the locals but not so great for an authentic trekking experience. Booking everything independently when you get there is no bother, and you can be sure that your money is going into the local economy rather than tour operators. Much cheaper too. If you’re going to trek at altitude (Annapurna circuit goes up to 5,400m IIRC) then it’s very important you aclimatise properly. This has absoultely nothing to do with how fit you are!

Thanks all for the replies. I’d be looking to go for upwards of 6 months, and have been to many places in India before, just not the south hence why I’d want to start there. I’d be able to bypass some of the tourist bits and major towns/cities where possible.
Sounds like its definitely doable without booking loads of stuff in advance.

I spent 6 months in India and a fed in Nepal about 4 years ago. India, as others have said above, is huge and you should not attempt to travel around it as much as you are, unless you are going for months and months. I spent a month in Varanasi alone, as it was so amazing. Nepal has a very different feel to india, quieter, easier, but amazing.

Sounds like its definitely doable without booking loads of stuff in advance.

Yeah, absolutely and it’s a really nice way of trekking too – contrary to what someone above says, going independently means you meet loads of other people and get to choose who you spend time with rather than being stuck with the same people for weeks, who you may not actually get on with.

If you’ve got lots of time, trekking Everest Base Camp from Jiri is really nice. You start further away from Everest at the town where the climbing expeditions used to walk in from before there was an airport at Lukla and the first week or so of the trail is relatively quiet and different from the stuff higher up. You start off in cloud forest and sort of climb gradually up into the high mountain terrain. You kind of get a better feel for the scale of it all and acclimatise better as a bonus.

After Lukla it’s all much busier, but still stunning. Then maybe back via Gokyo. Or trek the Annapurna Circuit first, more round than in the mountains mostly, then, once you’ve done that, cut across and trek up into the Sanctuary which is absolutely stunning, proper high mountain hanging valley ringed in massive, snow-capped peaks, quite beautiful.

If you do want to go more off the beaten track, it’s a little more complicated logistically, but doable. You can always hire porter-guides locally – one of the positive things about trekking independently is that you put money directly into the pockets of local people and the local economy rather than agents and tour guides and UK businesses – not saying there’s owt wrong with any of those btw or that they don’t support the local economy, of course they do, just that it’s satisfyingly direct doing it yourself.

The plus of hiring a local porter or guide is that you get a different insight into the culture and history of the area and may even make a new friend along the way – I have a Sherpa mate on Facebook from when I trekked into Everest, which is kind of amazing.

Also, as people have said, the local culture is lovely, very mellow, slghtly Buddhist because the Sherpas are originally from Tibet and practice Tibetan Buddhism, very friendly, open and accepting of things.

That said, the Maoist insurrection, which went on for years – not sure what the current state of play is, worth checking before you go – was quite bloody and nasty and at odds with how I’ve experience Nepalese culture. Mostly though, foreigners were strictly off limits and even the gunpoint request for ‘a donation’ to the Maosists was a friendly, smiley affair and we got a receipt too, so we only had to pay once…

Anyway, blah, amazing country, very chilled, stunning mountains, lovely people, very easy to travel and trek independently, but also easy to sort guides etc on the ground in Kathmandu or more locally. Enjoy 🙂

As BadlyWiredDog. A long while ago I walked Anapurna Basecamp from Pokhara. Started by myself and met people along the way. Things could have changed a lot but I don’t think we even had a map between us – just asked the way as we went and turned up at teahouses.

I got the impression that the major routes get VERY busy in peak season. IIRC the ‘season’ starts in October but the last week in September was very quiet – when we got back it was obviously getting much much busier so think about when you go. Worth checking about pre-booking as the interweb has made it a lot more difficult to just turn up at places as, if they’ve a web connection, a lot of people do pre-book.

The mountains are stunning – I’ve been thinking about going back recently. Has anyone done much riding there? Was rather inspired by the midweek movie the other week but the amount of carrying looked high.

Funnily enough I’ve been thinking about Nepal too recently. Have been harbouring an itch to go for years and circumstances mean this could be a good year to actually do it.

Long shot, but does anyone have any experience of sorting out bike trips independently vs the likes of KE/Skedaddle/Exodus? Given that I will be somewhat constrained in terms of time having everything sorted appeals but it would be nice to understand what other options are about.

Another point – it was very quiet when we went (November) but I think that’s because the Maoist insurgency was in full swing at the time, which had put off tourists. We were forced to give a “donation” but it was a few dollars, and they even gave us a receipt! I believe that the situation is a lot more stable now, but you should check with the foreign office.

Despite going “in season” we were caught in a blizzard, which meant being stuck in the high mountains for a few days, with no way of contacting our families to let them know we hadn’t been killed in the avalanche that had wiped out a tourist party. In the end, a group of us chartered a helicopter to get back to Pokhara. None of this is meant to put you off, but you should be aware that the unexpected can happen, and you should be flexible with your timetable.

Fantastic place. Very easy to do the trekking thing, as they are well geared up for it. Go to Pokhara for the Annapurna thing or over to Everest for the base Camp thing.

And you must go rafting on the Kali Gandaki! 5 days of pure enjoyment. In my top five things I’ve ever done.