A hapless guide, poison tea, and fatal flooding — these are the hard lessons we learned about the avoidable dangers of trekking in Nepal.
After getting a glorious 105 miles through the Upper Mustang region of Nepal under our belts, the sky seemed the limit to our Himalayan hiking endeavors. In the market for more mountain fantasia, we signed up for a fortnight’s trek in the Manaslu Conservation Area, part of the Mansiri Himal range near Tibet.
What we didn’t appreciate was that the best-laid plans could go royally wrong. Unbeknown to us, we set off with a less-than-capable guide during peak festival season, there were dangerous landslides and a fatal avalanche ahead, and we were primed to be poisoned at a teahouse.
Here’s a brutal account of how we almost snuffed it trekking in Nepal. And foremost, the lessons learned from one helluva trip!
The Trip Begins: Beggars Can’t Be Choosers
Having recently left an Indian ashram on an intense volunteering program, my partner, Jason, and I deemed hiking the Himalayas a harmonious endeavor after such a spiritually awakening window.
Our bodies were in balance, yoga-fit, and as strong and healthy as they’d likely ever be. Moreover, Nepal was only a 48-hour sleeper train and a day’s taxi ride away, giving us the time to digest what we’d just done — India was a lot to drink in.
![pokhara pokhara](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2022/11/pokhara.jpg)
Divinely, our window to trek Manaslu in October 2022 dovetailed with our friend’s timeline, flying into Pokhara later that month. Alas, our tight trekking window conflicted with a huge Hindu festival, Dashain. No matter, there would likely be less congestion on the trails.
Because the Manaslu region is restricted, hiring a certified guide is compulsory, a commodity that’s few and far between during Dashain. Understandably, celebrating with loved ones took precedence.
Slim pickings meant days of traipsing to practically every trekking agency in Pokhara, eventually producing the only guide in central Nepal willing to work.
With only 3 hours to secure our permits before the Nepal Immigration office closed for the holiday, we sat down to meet him. Grateful for the wages, he emitted all the right noises to satisfy our antenna of curiosity for striking a compatible relationship over the 14-day, strenuous undertaking.
A Bumpy Start
![Khola Bailey Bridge Khola Bailey Bridge](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2022/11/khola-bridge.jpg)
Man-Sized Tantrums
![Our Guide O’Neil With our nepalese guide O’Neil](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2022/11/oneil-guide-1.jpg)
A Cup of Poison
![hotel room hotel room](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2022/11/hotel-room.jpg)
![Getting sick by poisonous drink Getting sick by poisonous drink](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2022/11/getting-sick.jpg)
A Ginger Shouldn’t Be Gnawing on Ginger!
Beacons of Light
Final Thoughts
![Hotel Room Sitting at our hotel rooms](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2022/11/sitting-at-hotel.jpg)
![homestay in nepal homestay in nepal](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2022/11/homestay.jpg)
Safety in Nepal: What We Learned
![nepal hiking nepal hiking](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2022/11/nepal-hiking-1.jpg)
Find a Decent Guide
- Reach out to multiple trekking agencies to see what’s on offer, comparing service and costs.
- Conversing with the guide will reveal any language barriers and their English proficiency.
- It sounds obvious, but inquire about the guide’s experience of the hike you intend to hoof.
- Ascertain that the guide has a good network of guides to communicate with during the trek.
- Probe the guide’s first aid and mountain rescue training, and quiz them on their experience handling Acute Mountain Sickness/other emergencies. Request to see any certificates.
- Discern the guide’s penchant for alcohol — not a deal breaker per se; this one’s a judgment call.
Finalize Arrangements
- Fix the payment plan; negotiate a pay-as-you-go understanding or agree on half the money upfront, for example. It’s more cost-effective to cover your expenses on the trek than settling the full amount up front with the trekking agency.
- Be clear, so your guide understands they will be paying for their food and lodging during the hike.
- Establish that you will have the final say on which teahouse you’ll overnight. This will align with your budget and needs, not the guide’s, who will get Nepalese Guide subsidies wherever they stay.
- Check that your guide (and porter) is equipped with the appropriate gear and essentials.
Avoid Pitfalls
![Ganesh Himal range Ganesh Himal range](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2022/11/ganesh-himal.jpg)
- Significant Hindu holidays overlapping your trek will affect many reputable guides’ availability.
- Pick a good weather window. Landslides in the extended monsoon period of October transformed our trek from a challenging adventure to a lethal game changer as the landscape became unstable, disbanding families and forcing them to seek refuge in nearby caves for days on end. A group of French trekkers also went missing in these alarming conditions. Also, beware of avalanches known in the Manaslu region; one occurred at Larke Pass, which wiped out a trekker.
- If a health issue requires an airlift rescue, mobilize the helicopter well before dusk, if possible, when fading daylight makes it too late to fly in.
- Ensure that your guide can access live reports of events higher up on your trek. Local intel is king, particularly when the weather turns and the trail can become treacherous.
- Weigh your options and know when to quit. While we descended, a fatal avalanche at Larke Pass wiped out a trekker at the base camp. Other trekkers also went missing in the landslides.
- Elicit your guide’s help during any dicey water crossings.
Important Points to Note
![Trekking in nepal Trekking in nepal](https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.gearjunkie.com/uploads/2022/11/nepal-trekking.jpg)
- Check that your travel insurance covers the intended elevation gain, any inclusions about hiking with a guide, and expediting payment for helicopter and medical costs.
- Visit local social media groups and online forums to unearth anything unusual where you’re headed.
- Subscribe to any warning alerts from your government and that of Nepal.
- Before setting off, speak to hikers who have trekked where you intend to go.
- On the hike, glean information from oncoming trekkers and their guides.
- Follow your gut instincts before, along the way, and after.
- Report any untoward behavior from your guide, a teahouse owner, a helicopter pilot, or a hospital staff member to TAAN, and leave a factual, honest review on Tripadvisor, Google Reviews, and social media.