Pre Trip
- Lukla
- Sherpa Brewer Khumbu Kolsch beer
- Weather
- April. Avg daytime max 73F. 10 days of rain
- Monsoon season is from late May to Sept. Delivers 80% of rain
- Festivals
- Thamel
- Main E/W road is Tridevi Marg. This intersects with the main N/S roads of Amrit Marg, Thamel Marg, Chaksibari Marg, Paknajol Marg (western boundary)
- Food
- K-Too. Place for good steak
- Forest & Plate. Imaginative vegetarian
- Zonghua Restaurant. Authentic banquet style Chinese.
- Yangling Restaurant or Momo Hut. Momos
- Bars
- Tom & Jerry Pub. Pool table, live music, 2-for-1 happy hour (5PM - 8PM)
- Sam's Bar. Walls with messages from travelers. Popcorn with your drinks
- Shops
- Amria Craft. All purpose souvenir shop
- Blue moon. Lathe made wood jars
- Seti Devi Handcraft. Brassware
- Paper Bark. Hand made paper
- Tsem Rinpoche. Carved small low tables.
- Nature Knit and Sunil Cashmere. Premium fabric
- Trekkers Pharmacy. Meds and Diamox tablets.
- 2 North Face stores.
- Sonam Gear, Sherpa, Kaemp8848. Gear shops
- Hi-Himal, Shonas Alpine Rentals. Locally produced gear.
- Hotels
- Hotel Khangsar $
- Kathmandu Garden House $
- Thamel Eco Resort $$
- International Guest House $$
Customs
- Greet using namaste and hand gesture
- Take your shoes off before entering a private home, temple, or monastery. Some may be off limits, so ask before entering
- When drinking from a communal jug or bottle, pour the water straight into your mouth w/o touching the sides.
- Nepalis don't really wear shorts in public.
- Drive on the left side.
- Laid back and not usually on time.
Words
- namaste. Used as an everyday greeting and goodbye. It should be accompanied by the gesture of holding your hands in prayer position at your chest
- khe gharne (kay gar-nay). 'What to do?'. The standard culture response when faced with conditions beyond your control
- chaina (chai-na). Means 'no' in many situations.
- chiso biyar (chee-so bee-ya). Cold beer
- tashi delek (ta-shee de-ley). Standard greeting in Tibetan-speaking areas. Blessings and good luck
- bistari bistari (bee-star-ee). Slowly slowly
- mitho cha (mi-tho cha). Delicious. Use whenever you taste home cooked food.
- ha jur. Yes
- hoi na. No
Food
- Common pricing
- Cup of chiya (tea). 15-30Rs
- Nepali set meal. 400-850Rs
- Tourist restaurant. 800-1800Rs
- Plate of chow mein. 200-400Rs
- Lunchtime burger or sandwich. 300-600Rs
- 650mL beer. 550-850Rs
- Many restaurants offer free top-ups of rice, soup, and veggies.
- Daal Bhaat Tarkari. Lentil soup, rice, veggies. Doesn't always come with cutlery. Mix the starch with the soup using the right hand, making small balls which are pushed into the mouth with the thumb. Might be served with papad (crispy fried lentil flour pancake). Ask for some dahi (yoghurt or curd) on the side to aid with digestion. 400-850Rs
- Momos
- Like a wonton or gyoza
- Might want to poke a hole to drain out any hot liquid before biting into
- Steamed, fried, or kothey (steamed, then fried)
- Will need about 10 for a meal
- Look for gidi fry (brain fritters), ti-syah (fried spinal bone marrow), swan-puka (lung filled with batter)
- Sandekho. - Spicy salad of potatoes, peanuts with chillies, onions, spices.
- Badel Tareko. - Newari dish of fried wild boar.
- Gundruk. - Sour soup with the namesake dried fermented vegetables.
- Juju dhau. - Creamy thick yoghurt made from buffalo milk
- Yak steak. - The classic post trek meal
- Choyla. - Roasted diced buffalo meat heavily spiced and eaten with beaten rice
- Sandekho. - Cold, spiced chicken, potato, or peanuts
- Sekuwa. - Barbecued meat skewers.
- Sel roti. - Fried rice-bread rings
- Shabhaley. - Tibetan fried meat pasties
- Sukuti. - Dried, spiced, jerky-like meat
- Mithai. - Indian-style sweets
- Dhido. - Thick buckwheat meal
Money
- As of Mar 2, 2025. 1USD = 140 Nepali Rupee (RS)
- Haggling is the norm. Offer 60% of stated price.
- Pathao. Uber like app. Will probably need someone who speaks Nepali.
- Tipping is uncommon (except for porters and guides), but restaurants and hotels charge 13% VAT and 10% service tax
Health
- Nepal officially asks all visitors to have travel insurance.
- Only mandatory vaccine is for yellow fever if you are coming from an affected area.
- Need proof of COVID vaccine to get visa on arrival
- Malaria is rare in the mountains, but present in the Terai. Dengue fever is a bigger issue. No prevention. Just avoid being bitten by mosquitos
- Stomach bugs are common. Avoid unpurified water, ice, ice cream, and uncooked dishes.
- Watch out for rabies from feral dogs, cats, and monkeys.
- Healthcare is poor in Nepal. Avoid government hospitals. Kathmandu and Pokhara have reliable private clinics. Nepal International Clinic
- Emergency number 100/102 (police/ambulance)
Lore
Beyuls. Hidden paradise valleys whose locations will only be revealed at very specific moments in time when the world is under great threat from war, famine, and plague. Both a physical and spiritual place. Can only be accessed by a true and spiritually pure Buddhist after overcoming extreme hardship. Their locations are normally revealed through secret scrolls which are themselves hidden in caves, behind waterfalls, and in the walls of the temples. There are said to be 108 hidden throughout the Himalaya. The Tsum Valley, Thame Valley, and Rolwaling Valley are beyuls
Yeti. Could be just mistaken encounters with a bear
and, perhaps, a distant memory of the orangutans that lived in the Himalayan forest until 10,000 years ago, or even the Gigantopithecus a huge Asian ape that went extinct 350,000 years ago. Part spirit, part flesh. The smaller one lives in the dense forest. The larger and far more aggressive one lives higher up, closer to the tree line and enjoys nothing more than snacking on yaks.
To escape a male yeti, run uphill through dense scrub and its enormous penis will get caught up in the bushes and force it to stop the chase. To escape a female yeti, run downhill and the weight of her huge breasts will cause her to fall over face first.
Yarsagumba. A fungus that slowly kills and mummifies the larva of the ghost moth. This happens only a few short weeks in very particular Himalayan pastures between 4000 and 5000m, just before the arrival of the monsoon. It is used in traditional Chinese medicine as a general cure. Some western outlets have claimed it as a natural Viagra. It's recent surge in popularity has made it worth more than gold at times
Itenerary
Day 0 : Kathmandu
Day 1 : Kathmandu -> Lukla -> Phakding
Day 2 : Phakding -> Namche Bazaar
Day 3 : Namche Bazaar
Day 4 : Namche -> Dole
Day 5 : Dole -> Machhermo
Day 6 : Machhermo -> Gokyo
Day 7 : Gokyo Ri
Day 8 : Gokyo -> Thangnak
Day 9 : Thangnak -> Dzongla via Cho La Pass
Day 10 : Dzongla -> Lobuche
Day 11 : Lobuche -> Everest Base Camp -> Gorak Shep
Day 12 : Kala Patthar viewpoint -> Pheriche
Day 13 : Pheriche -> Namche Bazaar
Day 14 : Namche Bazaar -> Lukla
Day 15 : Lukla -> Kathmandu