The information that we provide is for UK passport holders.

A passport with 6 months remaining validity at the end of your stay is generally required, and you should have at least 2 blank pages for each country that you visit.

For other nationalities, please refer to your own Government website for the latest information.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have the correct travel documents and visas for your holiday. Please ensure that you check for the latest advice before travel.

If you are travelling via India (Delhi or Calcutta) to your destination you may also require a visa for India. This may apply even if you are not leaving the airport unless your baggage has been checked all the way through to your destination. Generally, if you use the same carrier for both legs of your journey, you will not need an India Visa. Please download the detailed information document: Visa PDF India.

Visa Nepal

All nationalities require a visa. The visa process is partly automated and the fee is $30 for 15 days, $50 for 30 days, $125 for 90 days. The visa is FREE for children under 10 years. The visa allows multiple re-entry. Payment must be made in cash and USD, GBP or Euros are accepted.

Part of this on-arrival visa process involves filling in a ‘Tourist Visa Application Form’ and you can simplify the procedure at Kathmandu Airport by filling this form in online (within 15 days of travelling) at this link. This generates a receipt which you present (hard copy or saved on your phone) on arrival. This should allow you to go straight to the cashier to pay for your visa and has the potential to save you time in the visa queue.

Whilst these are not now needed for the visa process, we recommend that you travel with at least 2 spare passport photographs.

TREKKING PERMITS – WHAT DO WE NEED FROM YOU ?

For treks in the Everest region – EBL, EVL, EHW, ELL - we need your passport details and we need you to take with you to Nepal 2 passport photographs. You will hand these over to your local leader on Day 1.

For treks in the Annapurna region – ASL, ACL, UAT, ANL and for the Gosainkund and Langtang Trek - GLT – we need your passport details and we need to send through to Nepal ahead of your departure a scan of a passport-style photograph of yourself. Please send this to us once your holiday is guaranteed.

For these Conservation Area treks and other treks requiring Special Permits – KAN, DLG, NAP – we need to send through to Nepal ahead of your departure a scan of a passport-style photograph of yourself and a scan of the information pages of your passport. Please send these to us once your holiday is guaranteed. On arrival in Kathmandu you will still be required to provide your passport (with your visa) for presentation at the Nepal Tourism Board. Your passport will be returned to you by your tour leader at dinner.

For those trips requiring Climbing Permits – MER, IPC, CTL, YAR - we need to send to Nepal ahead of your departure, a scan of a passport-style photograph of yourself and a scan of the information pages of your passport. Please send these to us once your holiday is guaranteed. On arrival in Kathmandu, for YAR and for CTL, you will still be required to provide your passport (with your visa) for presentation at the Nepal Tourism Board. Your passport will be returned to you by your tour leader at dinner.

Dengue fever is a known risk in places visited. It is a tropical viral disease spread by daytime biting mosquitoes. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available and therefore the best form of prevention is to avoid being bitten. We recommend you take precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

Vaccinations

You should contact your doctor or travel clinic to check whether you require any specific vaccinations or other preventive measures. You should be up to date with routine courses and boosters as recommended in the UK e.g. diphtheria-tetanus-polio and measles-mumps-rubella, along with hepatitis A and typhoid.

Malarial prophylaxis is not usually required for trips in the mountains, however if you are visiting rural and remote low lying areas then they might be necessary.

On holidays to more remote areas you should also have a dentist check up. A good online resource is Travel Health Pro.

The unit of currency in Nepal is the Nepalese Rupee.

It makes a lot of sense to spend some time before coming on an active holiday getting some additional exercise. The fitter you are, after all, the more enjoyable you will find the experience. Although the trekking on this trip is not difficult or sustained, hiking at even moderately high altitude is more tiring than at lower elevations. We suggest that you adopt a weekly exercise regime leading up to your trip. Regular hiking in hill country is the best training but any regular exercise such as jogging or swimming is also good for developing cardio vascular fitness and stamina. Before coming on the trip we recommend that you make time for some longer walks in hilly country. It is also a good idea to do some reading about the culture of Nepal. There are many books on this subject and some are listed below.

Whilst October to November and March to May have traditionally been considered to be the best times to visit Nepal (either side of the monsoon and neither too hot nor too cold), these seasons can comfortably be extended to include the period from December to February for holidays which do not trek to the really high altitudes. Pre-monsoon (February to May) the best of Nepal’s colourful flora is in evidence, with plants such as rhododendron and magnolia in full flower. This is also the main climbing season for the 8000 metre peaks. The post-monsoon months (October onwards) usually offer the clearest skies and the most settled weather. Temperatures in Kathmandu and during the trekking will range from around 18 or 19 degrees Celsius in December/February to between 22 and 27 degrees Celsius in April/May and September/October. In Pokhara is will be a couple of degrees warmer than this. Outside of the summer monsoon, this part of Nepal receives very little rainfall but mountains do produce their own localised weather and short-lived storms cannot be ruled out at any time of the year.

As a reputable tour operator, KE supports the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's ‘Travel Aware’ campaign to enable British citizens to prepare for their journeys overseas. The 'Travel Aware' website provides a single, authoritative source of advice for all kinds of travellers and we recommend that before travel, all KE clients visit the official UK Government website at travelaware.campaign.gov.uk and read the FCDO Travel Advice for their chosen destination. North Americans can also check out the U.S. Department of State website: www.travel.state.gov for essential travel advice and tips.

KE treat the safety and security of all clients as the most important aspect of any trip we organise. We would not run any trip that we did not consider reasonably safe.  Should the FCDO advise against travel for any reason, we will contact everyone booked to travel to discuss the situation.  We receive regular updates directly from the FCDO and are in constant touch with our contacts on the ground.  If you have any questions about government travel advice, please call our office.

KE do not encourage the use of single use plastic items. We are ensuring that our agents all over the world are working together to reduce the problem and educate those around them. We are leading by example in our KE office by reducing our plastic use.

• Trekking and Climbing in Nepal. Steve Razzetti. New Holland

• Annapurna, a trekkers guide – Kev Reynolds, Cicerone

• Trekking in Nepal. Stephen Bezruchka

• Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya. Stan Armington

• Kathmandu and the Kingdom of Nepal. Prakash Raj

• Insight Guide to Nepal

Annapurna Adventure Trekking Map - 1:125,000

Nowadays the best maps of Nepal tend to be produced in Nepal. This map is a collaboration between the Nepal publishers ‘Nepa’ and National Geographic. It covers the whole of the Annapurnas plus Pokhara. This is an excellent map, although the scale at 1:125,000 does not provide quite enough detail. 

It is an essential condition of joining a holiday with KE Adventure Travel that you have a valid travel insurance policy to cover the cost of medical treatment and to protect the value of your holiday in the event of cancellation.  When taking out insurance please ensure the policy you choose covers you for the activities and altitude included in your itinerary.

For appropriate insurance cover we recommend Campbell Irvine Direct.  Please go to our Travel Insurance page for further information and to get a quote.

The following checklist should help you with your packing. As a general rule, you should always try to keep the weight of your equipment to a minimum. The packed weight of your kit bag while trekking should be no more than 15 kgs.

You must bring the following items:

• Hiking boots
• Trekking trousers
  
• Baselayer shirts
• Casual shirt and/or T-shirts
• Fleece jacket or warm jumper
• Waterproof jacket
• Sunglasses
• Water purification tablets
• Headtorch and spare batteries
• Sun protection (including total bloc for lips, nose etc.)
• Washbag and toiletries
• Antibacterial handwash
• Toilet paper (you can also buy this in the lodges)
• Small padlock (to lock your kit bag)
• Small daypack 20-25 litres
• Basic First Aid Kit including plasters, blister treatment, aspirin etc.

The following items are optional:

• Shorts
• Swimwear (for hotel pools)
• Travel clothes
• Trekking poles - see note below
• Warm (down) jacket - see note below
• Camera
  
• Pen-knife (remember to pack sharp objects in hold baggage)
• Repair kit – (eg. needle, thread, duct tape)
• Reusable cloth bag for shopping (to avoid plastic bags)

Notes

You do not need a sleeping bag. Bedding is provided at the lodges.

Before setting off on trek the lodge company - Mountain Lodges of Nepal - will provide some items of gear including a trekking pole, water bottle, rain poncho, hat and scarf. The first 3 of these items you will be required to return at the end of the trip. The hat and scarf you can keep as souvenirs. Additionally, in your room at each of the lodges, you will find other items of gear including down jackets (one size only – large or extra large) which you can use during your stay at that lodge.

The Nepalese can still be traditional and conservative in the way they dress. Therefore, to avoid embarrassment on both sides, we recommend that you respect this and do not wear revealing clothing or sleeveless tops while visiting Nepal. Shorts are acceptable, but they should reach to just above the knee and be modest and for women it is preferable to wear trousers or a long skirt.

Many of the equipment items listed above are available from Cotswold Outdoor - our 'Official Recommended Outdoor Retailer'. When you book a holiday with KE you will receive a 12.5% discount with Cotswold Outdoor, Snow+Rock and Runners Need. The discount code can be downloaded from your MyKE account and you can use this code at the checkout, either in store or online.