Meal and Accommodation

Accommodations in Kathmandu

In Kathmandu, you will accommodate in a hotel. We use different hotels depending on availability. The two preferred hotels are:

Hotel Vaishali: Located in the heart of Thamel, this hotel is ideal for walking the bustling streets of Kathmandu. The spacious rooms all have a bathroom, air conditioning, and Wi-Fi. A fully equipped and active dining room is available for all meals, and the breakfast buffet offers a wide choice of foods. The hotel offers currency exchange, laundry services, and luggage storage.

Sampada Garden: Located just 20 minutes on foot from Thamel and Durbar Square, this hotel is convenient for exploring Kathmandu. The rooms have all the necessary comforts for your stay: air conditioning, bathroom, and Wi-Fi. Breakfasts are served as a generous buffet. The hotel provides currency exchange, laundry services, and luggage storage.

Trekking Lodged (Tea Houses)

In Nepal, lodges or “tea houses” provide trekkers with food and overnight accommodations. Typically the lodges have private rooms with two single beds, a common living/dining room, and a kitchen. The accommodations and comfort levels often decrease with altitude; wall insulation for heat and noise may leave much to be desired. Only the common room has a fireplace for heat, so in most seasons and at a higher altitudes, a good sleeping bag is essential.

Most lodges have low-voltage electricity for LED lighting, but power for recharging batteries and for entertainment systems is unreliable. Trekkers should carry extra batteries and a powerpack, or have a solar charger to recharge cameras, cell phones, GPS watches, and headlamps. Recharging your power pack may cost 100 to 600 NRP depending on the lodge location and resources. Many lodges on the classic routes offer a slow internet connection via 3G/4G Wi-Fi for 200 to 600 NRP.

Toilets are basic and often located outside the lodge. Typically cold water showers are available, but these can be improved when augmented with a bucket of hot water purchased for 200 to 300 NPR. To prevent the deforestation of Nepal, we suggest that hot water be purchased only if warmed by solar panels or gas. A bottle of hot water also is useful in warming a cold bed at night.

Foods During the Trek

In Nepal, the national dish is “dal bhat,” meaning lentil rice. Invariably, white rice is accompanied by a lentil soup and a side dish of seasoned local vegetables, and tea. Unlimited portions are served. Nepalese usually have two meals of dal bhat daily. As described below, a trekker’s diet will have much more variation than dal bhat, and you will be offered a variety of side dishes and other choices to augment this basic meal. To bring you a greater variation and the best presentation in your meals, your guide will coordinate your meals with the lodge and trekking cooks. Your guide will also verify that proper sanitation is maintained in the food preparation.

Breakfast: Your Nepalese day starts with morning tea. You will have a choice of Tibetan bread, toast, chapati or pancakes, eggs (omelet, scrambled or hard-boiled), and muesli or porridge.

Lunch: Depending on the location you may receive either a cold picnic lunch or a hot meal. The hot meal consists of stir-fried rice, pasta, potatoes, or curry with assorted vegetables.

Snack: Upon arrival at the evening camp or lodge around 4 to 5 pm, you will be offered a snack of cookies and tea. If you have a preferred snack, please bring it. You may be able to purchase a limited range of energy bars, dried fruits, nuts, Snickers Bars, and chocolate in Nepal.

Dinner: Usually served at 6:30 to 7 pm, dinner consists of a soup or a starter, a hot dish of dal bhat, pasta or potatoes with cooked vegetables, and a dessert.

Drinks: At each meal, encourage every trekker to drink two cups of tea or coffee as our guest. During other times, staying hydrated with water is an important personal responsibility. At some lodges, additional drinks are available but will be at your expense. Refer to the section on “Water” for more information.

Hard Days: On the day we cross a pass or have an exceptionally long distance to travel, we may skip breakfast and leave at or before dawn. If so, it is important to carry energy-intensive snack foods to help you maintain stamina.

Special Diets: If you follow a specific diet, have dietary restrictions, or have specific allergies, please tell us when you register for your trek. Our guide teams will do their best to meet your request but have a variety of local constraints that make it difficult to guarantee your food requirements. It is very important that you consume sufficient food to maintain your energy levels. You may anticipate this by bringing a variety of high-calorie foods for your personal consumption to substitute for the local foods that are not acceptable for your diet.