Nepal

Within the Kingdom of trekking
In Nepal, the word "trekking" takes on a meaning of its own. Imagine a small mountainous kingdom, where the population moves exclusively on foot.... Staged landscapes of great diversity open before your eyes: rice plantations, canyons, villages, beautiful forests, glacial loneliness and prestigious summits.
On your way, you will meet the people of Nepal. Their many demonstrations of religious life (prayers mills, walls covered with prayers, flags, monasteries...) give rhythm to their life. For centuries, peasants, schoolboys and monks have traveled these very busy routes that lead up to the last inhabited villages.
Impassioned by culture, or strong desires to climb mythical summits, this trekking sanctuary reserves many surprises for you!

• The broadest choice of voyages, which allow you to approach all facets of Nepal.
• The Yak & Yeti, five star deluxe hotel in Kathmandu.
• Proactive and innovative, thanks to our exclusive partnership with the first Nepalese Trekking agency.
• Safety on the terrain: hyperbaric chamber and satellite telephones for trekking peaks and expeditions.
• Entrance to the monuments and monasteries of Kathmandu valley included in the price for all of our trips.
• Guaranteed departures with 4 participants.

Nepal is subjected to a monsoon mode which influences the choice of the trekking zones according to the seasons:

• Spring, from March to the end of May, is ideal for witnessing the vegetation explosion, in particular, the rhododendrons, situated around the Annapurnas, near the Everest base camp. A clear sky generally in the morning and frequent storms at the end of the day;
• Summer, from June to the end of September, very suitable for discovering the Mustang and Dolpo areas, the only parts of Nepal that are safe from monsoon;
• Autumn, from mid-October to mid-December, optimal trekking and expedition conditions, in all mountain ranges. Beautiful weather in general, colder in altitude approaching winter (possibility of snow).
• Winter, from mid-December to the end of February, dry cold, clear skies, a lot of sunshine... many advantages without tourist crowds.

Population	29 million split in many different ethnic groups
Surface	56,837 square miles
Capital	Kathmandu
Main cities	Pokhara, Biratnagar
Summits	Everest: 29,035 feet    Annapurna I: 26,545 feet
Official language	Nepali, but also Hindi and many dialects
Religions	Hinduism (86,5%), Buddhism (7,7%), Muslim (3,8%), minorities
Head of the country	King Gyanendra Shah
Political Status	Interim government
Time shift	http://www.worldtimezone.com/utc/utc+0500.html

 

The currency is the Nepalese Rupee (NPR).
We advise you to carry American dollars in small increments that you can exchange at your arrival in the airport, or in the big hotels. There are ATM machines in Kathmandu.

As an organizer of worldwide trips, Mountain World Travel is concerned for our guest's safety and security. We always keep ourselves up to date with current travel warnings and always consider the government safety advisories, while organizing and preparing our different trips.
Please double check on the official government website regarding each country's warnings.
Us Government Travel Advices

The success of Mountain World Travel in Nepal is closely related to our common history with the Nepalese Thamserku Trekking agency. Today, it is a very famous agency, founded in 1989 by Sonam Sherpa's family. All starts in Nepal in 1985 when two mountain guides, Philippe Allibert, and Jean-Luc Poulat, successively climbed to Everest base camp. Then in 1987, at Lukla's airport, Tendi Sherpa met Jef Tripard, high mountain guide and cofounder of Allibert-Mountain World Travel; so began this beautiful adventure.

Born to a modest family from a Khumbu valley village, Tendi and his two brothers, Tashi and Sonam Sherpa had the chance to be provided with an education. After the three of them worked as Sirdars, they decided to start their own agency in Katmandu: Thamserku Trekking.

With them, in 1989, the company, Allibert-Mountain World Travel integrates and, Simone Allibert, establishes the first guest satisfaction survey with the goal of providing the best customer service in Adventure Travel. Since 1992, due to the competence of local professionals, Nepalese guides lead groups on treks, except for some of the more committed treks and expeditions, which are still led by high mountain professional guides (UIAGM-IFMGA).

Today, it is Sonam who specifically works with Mountain World Travel and continues to invest himself in the permanent improvement of the circuits, the guides' training and the local teams' working conditions.

For a long time, we have been involving ourselves, responsibly in Nepal. Here are, some of our actions in this country:

• 1996: rebuilding the Pangboche school in Nepal (with Solidarity Nepalese Children).
• 2002 to 2004: sending full mountaineering outfits or trekking shoes to equip the carriers (with the help of the French Ski schools and Salomon, the outdoor equipment company).
• 2003: participation in cleaning the Dhaulagiri base camp (Nepal).
• Since 2005, working to improve working conditions for the carriers, we set up two actions aiming to sensitize and better involve the Sirdars, the people truly responsible for these carriers.
• Organizing a training course for the Sirdars ensuring that they provide for good working conditions for the carriers at the beginning of the trekking season.
• Follow up on with carriers regarding their working conditions through a survey that is distributed to all Mountain World Travel trekkers to Nepal.
  
  This feedback encourages the Sirdars to pay more attention to the carriers, by equipping them better and by controlling their loads.
  
  In addition, at the request of the "Altitude Sherpas", a 7 day technical training course was implemented in May 2006 by Bruno Douillet, Mountain World Travel, high mountain guide-trainer, in order to reinforce the Sherpas competence in the use of mountaineering techniques, improving safety and the quality of our trekking peaks and expedition trips in Nepal

Learning some key words will enable you to gain the respect of your interlocutors, and to make for a more pleasant exchange with the Nepalese. Therefore do not hesitate to make the effort to use the following expressions:

Hello and goodbye: namaste (joined hands and a tilt of the head rather than a handshake)
Yes: Ho - Not: hoïna

"Dhanyabaad", which could be interpreted as a "thank you", is not a word adapted to thank in the everyday life. It is used in an exceptional situation, like as an acknowledgment of sincere politeness.

Few polite expressions are used in Nepal. People act more with gestures of respect, for example when you meet a Nepalese with whom you wish to engage a conversation: join hands and tilt your head.

You can ask your guide to teach you some other common words; your voyage will only be richer by your attempting to speak the local language!
And then smile, it is often the best means of having good contacts!

• Wear long and roomy clothing, covering knees and shoulders, downtown and in the villages.
• Avoid contact with certain body parts (caressing a child's head, shaking a woman's hand).
• Couples, be discrete in your signs of affection
• While having picnics on the ground, please, don't make the mistake of walking over food
• Fire is holy and home is a pure place; never throw waste in either place.
• Remove shoes when entering a place of worship or even a residence.
• Circumvent temples and monuments from the left (cosmic direction).
• It is customary to donate a few rupees in visited sanctuaries and temples.

Advice of Sonam, founder of our Nepalese agency:

• Never distribute money, candy or pens, especially to children, in order to not encourage to beg. It is preferable to offer gifts to associations, schools, community clinic or other recognized organizations.
• Do not distribute any kind of medication which could be misused for lack of knowledge.
• Before entering a residence, wait to be invited in.
• Ask permission before taking a picture.

How to render yourself comprehensible in Nepal?
Except for the carriers, our local team speaks English. In any situation, your English-speaking guide will be there to help you to communicate. Also do not forget to learn some key words!

Is there a risk for tourists traveling to Nepal?
No! The situation in Nepal has improved considerably since spring 2006. Before this ultimate rebellion, certain areas of the Kingdom had to be avoided, but the principal trekking zones (Annapurnas, Everest) have always remained completely safe. Henceforth in all of the Kingdom provinces,life returned to its normal course again, and the King Gyanendra Shah's renouncement of his exercise of full power is a very good omen for the future. Of course, in dialogue with our local partner, we maintain our vigilance in order to guarantee an exemplary level of safety for you.

Can I bring back all of the souvenirs that I want?
Acquiring authentic religious objects and/or ancient objects of art is strictly regulated. But at all of the shops, you will find very beautiful reproductions at reasonable prices: Thangkas (religious paintings), statues of Buddha and Tibetan carpets, deserve your interest. The Tibetan retailers do not haggle much (maximum 10%). The Nepalese or Cachemiris people (they are numerous)practice higher prices but one can attempt to get off 30% by bargaining!

Electrical plugs
US electrical devices are not compatible with Nepalese electrical plugs.
We recommend that you carry an adapter, because the plugs are 220/230 volts.

From the Teraï plains to the Himalayan Mountains, the landscapes are staged from 300 feet to more than 26,000 feet high and thus present an impressive variety. The adapted vegetation to each environment is the reflection of this staging: from luxuriant jungles to the environment of altitude, while passing through acacias forests, magnolias or odorous rhododendrons.

Cultures, in particular rice plantations, strongly mark these landscapes.
In the mountains, you will find many birds, stags, monkeys, bears... and perhaps the famous snow leopard (even the Yeti! maybe...).

We count on you to leave perfectly clean the natural areas that you pass through, including your camping area: a carrier transports a barrel in which all non-organics waste (plastic, cans) is stored and brought back to Kathmandu.
Separate your waste: do not to leave behind those very polluting items such as batteries, etc... but, instead, bring them back home with you, as there is no recycling for this type of material on the spot.

Advice from of Sonam, our partner in Nepal:

• In order to avoid useless waste, treat water with purifying tablets, instead of buying plastic bottles.
• Do away with campfires, destructor,and wood consuming, because deforestation is an ecological and economic drama in Nepal.
• At stop offs, avoid staining the sources, rivers or welling with hygienic products (soap,etc).