Trekking the Himalayas

Hi people,

I'm planning a trekking trip through the Himalayas, probably a 2-3 week trek this May-July period. I'm not very sure through which part of the Himalayas offers the best treks - India, Pakistan, Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan? My idea of a good trek is something that has fantastic scenery along the way(e.g. Mt Everest or K2 peaks, glaciers, lakes, meadows, buddhist monastries etc), can get to meet (and interact) local culture, a route of moderate-slightly streneous level, and can reach a peak/summit where one is able to get a paranomia of the Himalayan range.

Does anyone have any recommended treks that one must never ever miss out in this lifetime and can meet my idea of a good trek as mentioned above? Or maybe some of you could share your Himalayan trekking experiences with us so as to enlighten those who have not done a trek in the Himalayas yet.

Also, if anyone is thinking of doing a trekking trip throught the Himalayas during this period of time, and have the same passion and idea of a good trek as mentioned above, maybe we can meet up and do the treks together.

Ignatius Cheah
canoeistventure@yahoo.co.uk

May-July is monsoon season in Nepal.

I've never been there at that time, but have been told that you pretty much miss out on all the mountain views then.

May-July is prime trekking season in Pakistan. The K2-Concordia trek sounds just amazing... I gather its pretty much a wilderness trek, so you don't get to see too much of local culture on the trek, but there's plenty to see before and after (no Buddhist monastaries in Pakistan, of course.)

You can read a bit more about this trek on Bear's 'blog

I'm interested in this as well, and have done a little research:

I'm read that trekking near Everest oddly doesn't have very good views.

I'm not sure what your budget is, but Bhutan charges massive fees for staying in the country (IIRC, on a per day basis).

Not thrilled about the political/safety situations in either Nepal or Pakistan right now.

My choice is likely to be Sikkim in India, as I've read that it's more like Nepal was years ago than like Nepal is now. Not deserted back-country, but not overdeveloped and relying on tourist dollars either. Also, as safe as you'll get in that part of the world.

As always, your mileage may vary.

Hey oswiu aka llew,

Thx for ur tip. Do u happen to know the guy "bear"? if u do, dun mind if u give me his email so that i can contact him? anyway, was reading ur RTW trip blog and saw that u made a trip to singapore! hehe! I hope that you a great time in my home country! and glad that instead of sticking to all the touristy areas, you made an effort to get out to see the heartland and bukit timah hills and see the way of life singaporeans lead. really appreciate that! juz a few comments to make. the newton hawker center isn't exactly the best food around in singapore. the heartland hawker centers are more old, a little more chaotic(but fun and enjoyable to watch) and serves MUCH better food. Think there a couple more places in singapore that you'd missed out and are not very well-known to foreigners but appreciated by singaporeans. if u ever do come to singapore again, i would be more than happy to show ya ard!

Fudd, thx for ur tip too. My budget would probably be travelling on about 200-300pakistani rupees/day. rough it out kind...actually, i heard that sikkim is actually getting a bit touristy, thx to darjeeling, where lots of tour operators are bringing tourists to remote regions by wheels that were used to be reached by foot. I was hoping to trek somewhere where is very un-touristy, and as mentioned by oswiu, pakistan is probably a good place. i dun think the political safety situations are that bad, and i believe all the bad images of unstability in nepal/pakistan are a bit overhyped by the media. tourists/backpackers are still in nepal and they are even taking part in the demonstrations against the King! hehe! I still believe that trekking in pakistan is quite safe, as most trouble is in the big cities. I would probably just avoid staying at islamabad for too long, where it is much safer in the north. if u said that oddly, trekking in nepal doesn't have gd views, then I'm thinking of the Himalayas in north pakistan or Leh/manali in India. wat do u think? if u r interested, we can always try to make arrangements and work things out. do gimme ur views yeah. if you like to trek together, can contact me at canoeistventure@yahoo.co.uk

Hi again...
I don't know for sure about the mountain views in Nepal in summer (I've never been there) but from what I've read, the skies are cloudy almost all of the time. I believe Sikkim is in a similar climatic zone, and so has similar problems with summer trekking.
I visited Nepal in the spring, and just loved my trek there... Early May might still be reasonable (and as a bonus, Kathmandu is one of the easiest places to get a Pakistani tourist visa.)

As for Pakistan, I absolutely loved it. It was probably my favourite country on the trip (no sleight meant to Singapore, of course ) and the mountains there were spectacular. The people were really, really, friendly (people were CONSTANTLY inviting me in for tea, meals, or even to stay in their homes.)

Unfortunately, the safety of trekking in Pakistan isn't uniform. There ARE areas where it's dangerous to trek (mostly due to the risk of robbery rather than political or religious violence.)
Fortunately, it's pretty well known which areas ARE safe, so you can easily just stick to them. I stayed in "safe areas" and never felt at all threatened. This also went for the cities I visited too.

The lack of trekking infrastructure (teahouses, etc.) in Pakistan means that you can't rely on picking up food or accomodation as you go, so you have to either hire porters, or limit yourself to relatively short treks.

Hmm... what else can I say... I don't know Bear, but you can PM him on BnA, and I'm sure he'll be happy to fill you in on his trek.

As for me... I may well end up in Singapore again on my next trip. In August I'm leaving for a working holiday in NZ, followed by an overland trip from Australia to Europe. If I do make it there, I'll be sure to give you a shout. I enjoyed it there last time, and it could only be better with a local guide

Hey Ignatius Cheah,

Sounds like where ever you decide to go, you're gonna love. the visability in Nepal and Sikkim really isn't that great in the summer time, but sometimes in the morning you'll great some good views, risky though...

Sikkim is getting touristy, only because everyone needs a permit to enter, so there are a lot of tours going on. In the south you don't need to use a tour, but in the north you have to. The third largest mountain on earth is there though (I won't even try to spell it though). I went to the south and to Gangtok (spl?), I tried to do some trekking on my own (with out a tour company) and you can if you do the "monastary trek", but most of it is by road and it dosn't make sence to walk on a road when you can just hitch a ride (like I ended up doing). That said, I've heard good things about the tour groups that trekked up north.

Never made it to Leh, but that sounds great! I'll be really jealous if you go. ;-)

Pakistan and Nepal are two of my favorite countries in the world, trekking aside. Pakistan is cheaper and less travelers go there, two big advantages to me. Nepal is cool though and you have to go there for yourself, great place.

email me or PM me if you have any questions - fivebuxx@yahoo.com

I did the Everest trek in April of 1999. I went with Himalyan High Treks and had a great experience! Check out their website for ideas. October/Nov. is a great time to trek there - the rains are done and the atmosphere is very clear for great views. Also, a local guide, Tamang Expeditions is a great resource for info. Amber Tamang also works for HHT (both are reputable and trustworthy companies).

http://www.bootsnall.com/adventures/articles/05-01/everest-trek.html

http://blogs.bootsnall.com/Chuck/

Mansoon season is better season to go for tibet trekking, Buddhist temple is avaibale enough there as well as the palace of Dalai Lama. I would like to inform you if you are Intrested than Beside Nepal, India and Pakistan tibet will be the best place. I am Travel personnel in Nepal and we do Operate travel packages to Tibet.

Here is my friend's Himalayas trekking experience, hope it is useful for you

http://forest-cafe.infinites.net/0BurmeseHimalayasMontageScanned.htm

G'Day mate,

i would suggest \trekking through the northern Pakistan will be great experience.
enjoy the great Karakorum, Himalaya and Hindukush ranges.

Iman

Apart from the LP Gudies are there companies which would take folks into the Hindukush range.

What about the political situation in pakistan in these areas.

Anybody been there recently this year??

Madhu

Hmm... I wouldn't mind some insight into this either.

I've been tentatively planning a trip to Nepal for next summer- thinking I'd spend about four to six weeks there from early May to early-mid June, spending the first two weeks trekking. I know the timing isn't terrific (monsoon season and all that), but my uni vacations are incredibly limited (a week in December and a week in February, not nearly enough for a solid trip... and May 1 is the absolute earliest I can hope to go). Would the conditions in early May near, say, Annapurna be so bad that I should go somewhere else and put Nepal on the back burner until I can go at a better time of year?

If so, any suggestions on where I should go? I fixed on Nepal because a) I really want the trip to involve some serious trekking, and b) it's a solid enough fixture on the backpacker circuit, even with its politics, that my parents feel comfortable letting me go. That would probably be a lot more of an issue in, say, Pakistan. I've also considered Torres del Paine (Nepal is my definite #1 choice, but if that doesn't pan out, I'm by no means set on Asia), but it seems a lot more expensive and harder to tackle solo- lack of teahouses, etc.

Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated!

Edit: Okay, just LP-ed it; looks like May isn't monsoon season, just deathly hot. I suppose I can deal with that.

Has anyone thought of Ladakh? It's a territory in Northern India and the best time to go is in the summer...

I couldn`t trek for health reasons but it is a place renown for trekking. The views are stunning and culturally it is a bit like Tibet. Also, during that time of the year, there are numerous religious festivals which are worth seeing. The people are extremely nice (they let you take portraits for free!...) and there aren't that many tourists there.

If anyone wants to trek in the Himalayas, I think it`s a place worth consideration.

Oooooh I want to go! Maybe I'll do this! Is it possible/easy/safe to go alone?????

Cherie you cannot trek in that region alone by yourself..but you can arrange for a small group trek. Personally do not know of any companies but was on my way to Leh (capital of Ladkah) to figure things out but got snowed in Manali itself. Thus, summer is the best time...after September its really trecherous up there with unpredictable weather.

Culturally that area is very close to Tibetian Buddhist traiditons. Ladakh is also a sensitvie area for India as part of Kashmir is controlled by China...we lost it in one of wars.

India in general is pretty safe..you will get hassled a little for the blond looks but other than that pretty safe.