You need to get visa to visit Nepal. You can apply the visa in your home country or obtain at the airport on arrival. To obtain visa on arrival, a passport size photo is required.

The peak seasons for trekking are the spring (Mar to May) and the fall (Sep to Nov) when you'll have clear skies and superb mountain views. Keep in mind, this is also when the trails are most crowded (although there are ways to avoid the crowds). The winter (Dec to Feb) and summer (Jun to Aug) months are also great times to visit—although weather can be unpredictable, these months offer a unique experience and fewer crowds. For Chitwan (Nepal's southern jungle region), winter is the best time to visit when the temperatures are pleasant and the foliage less dense to allow for better wildlife sightings. Check out our article on the best time to visit Nepal.

Personal expenses (tips, soft drinks, bar bills, laundry, telephone calls, donations, and extra snacks, etc) are not included in your trip price. If you're going trekking, the only things you'll need to pay for out of pocket are wifi and battery charging (when available), extra meals outside of what's included, alcohol, and soft drinks.

Yes. All of the necessary permits for your trek are included in the price and will be arranged for you prior to your trek. For certain restricted regions (like Manaslu), you'll need to have a full day in Kathmandu prior to your trek as your specialist will need your passport for the permit registration.

You can bring your own light-weight sleeping bag from home or you can rent one in Kathmandu (which your specialist will help you with). Most teahouses also have blankets you can use; in the warmer month, you may just want a sleeping bag liner to use with the blankets, and in the colder months, you'll want a warmer winter sleeping bag.

You can buy virtually everything you need for trekking—from down jackets to water bottles—in Kathmandu. There is a variety of authentic name-brand store as well as a large selection of knock-off products that are fairly good quality. It's still worth bringing your own gear if it doesn't take up too much weight, especially your own trekking boots to avoid any potentials issues when purchasing new shoes. Here's a full list of what to pack for your trek.

Tipping is not required but is expected, and really depends on how happy you were with the service. Guides (both for trekking and cultural tours), porters, and drivers are typically provided with a tip at the end of your service with them. Here's everything you need to know about tipping along with suggested amounts.

Classifying the difficulty of a trek is somewhat tricky, as it depends on your fitness and experience hiking in the mountains. In the Himalaya, a trek's difficulty depends on the steepness of the trail, the general altitude, and the duration of the trek. Generally, the higher you go the more difficult the trek becomes. For most treks in the lower foothills (Ghorepani, Ghandruk, and Pikey Peak), it's fairly moderate trekking, although some days will be more challenging than others. For higher-altitude treks (Everest Base Camp, Gokyo, Annapurna Circuit and Nar Phu), the treks become more challenging as you'll be going over 5,000m passes and longer days.

Porters typically carry up to 30 kg. max. (to ensure they're not overloaded). For fragile items, such as cameras, it's still best to carry these items yourself. If you have more than 15 kg., please carry the extra weight in your day pack. In the commercial trade, when transporting goods and supplies up into the high mountains, some porters carry up to 100 kg. and get paid less than a fair wage provided by a responsible trekking company.

The local trekking guides our specialists work with are often born and raised in the regions you're trekking through and have grown up in the mountains. Most often, they'll have started in the business as a porter, then graduated to a cook's helper, then to an assistant guide, and finally to a fully-certified guide who has completed a four-week guide training course organized by the Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management (NATHM) and the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN). Learn more about the local guides our specialists work with.

All of the guides our specialists work with speak fluent English and have many years of experience in guiding foreign travelers. It's a requirement that they all are trained in first aid as well as carry a first aid kit with them during the trek.

If you fall ill during your trek, the course of action depends on what's wrong. If it's altitude sickness, moving to lower altitudes and taking altitude medication will solve most cases; if it's quite severe, your guide will arrange for an emergency evacuation by helicopter (be sure that emergency helicopter rescue is covered in your travel insurance). If you have a stomach sickness or other types of food or water-related illnesses, your guide will have medication on-hand for most common illnesses.

You usually meet your trekking guide once you're in Kathmandu. You'll have a full briefing on the trek at the start of your trip where you'll meet your guide, be able to ask questions and receive all the information you'll need for the trek. Sometimes due to logistical restraints, your guide may also meet you at the airport for the flight to the beginning of your trek.

Most days in the mountain involve 4-6 hours of trekking. When you consider your day starts at 8 am and ends around 4-5 pm, it's not too arduous as you'll be taking a number of breaks and stopping for lunch along the way. The higher you get in elevation (especially in the Everest region), the shorter your trekking days will get to ensure you don't gain altitude (and thus altitude sickness) too quickly.