Wild Frontiers

Flight Information

There are no direct flights to Kathmandu from London. There are several routing options with the simplest being via Delhi with Jet Airways which takes around 12hrs, while options via the Middle East with Qatar Airways take around 12:30hrs via Doha or 16hrs via Abu Dhabi with Etihad.

Useful Tips

• When in Kathmandu if you with to visit The Monkey Temple (Swayambhunath) then do so very early in the morning to avoid crowds and get the clearest views. Also be prepared to climb some stairs!

• At altitude batteries lose their life quickly because of the cold, try wrapping them in socks before bed.

• Pack plenty of sun-cream and be sure to protect your ears, the sun is pretty powerful up high and also reflects of the mountain tops.

• Find a place to drink Tongba " the local millet-beer. It’s pretty strange but truly unique!

• Spend a sunny afternoon on a rooftop in one of Thamel’s many restaurants and watch the mayhem below.

• Most bars close around 11 or 12 at night but the big hotels will usually stay open if you wish to stay out a little later " the Casino in the Yak and Yeti hotel is usually an entertaining place to visit!

Recommended Reading

If you want to read up on your destination we recommend a variety of guidebooks such as Odyssey Guides, The Rough Guide and Footprint Guides. All these publications have good general information as well as more specific country information that will help orientate you in the areas you visit.

Good books and maps of Nepal are available at Stanfords in Covent Garden, London or online at www.stanfords.co.uk

Relevant Reading:
For general books about Nepali life, Touching My Father’s Soul, by Jamling Norgay is a fascinating account by the son of the first Nepali to summit Mount Everest and how it affected both lives of father and son, while no visit to Nepal is complete without reading Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer, the chilling tale of the disaster that struck Everest in 1996.

Other general books are Himalaya, by Michael Palin, Chris Bonington’s Everest, and something you could easily pick up in Kathmandu is The Ascent of Rum Doodle, a brilliantly quirky and entertaining book by W.E Bowman.

Away from Everest, The Snow Leopard, by Peter Matthiessen which tells of his journey of discovery while following the route taken by biologist Georges Schaller who went searching for the Snow Leopard.

The Film Himalaya, by Eric Valli is also an excellent insight into the Dolpo region that Wild Frontiers visits, if you can get your hands on it. Another slightly different option is the Photo-book by Robin Boustead called The Great Himalayan Trail.

When To Go

The prime trekking seasons are March " May and September " November when the views are generally clear and there is little rain. It will be cold at night and mid twenties during the day. These are also the busiest times however. Kathmandu will be hottest in the build up to the monsoon which usually starts in June but has come late in the last few years and stretched into August. November " February can be a good time to trek in terms of avoiding others but expect some snow and the only time you are likely to get views is at the crack of dawn.

Packing List

Below is a list of general items you might take with you on a Wild Frontiers trip to Nepal. With your booking confirmation you will receive a packing list specific to your tour, so please treat this as a general guideline only.

Luggage:
It is best to use a soft bag - rucksack/hold-all/duffel bag - so it can be transported and stored more easily.
On all our trips a small daypack is practical for keeping general items (e.g. camera, books, wallets etc.) at hand when your main pack is out of reach. It is also handy for day trips and excursions.

Clothing:
In general you should bring clothes you feel comfortable with but since most trips to Nepal involve trekking the key here will be “layers” as temperatures will vary drastically throughout the day. Be aware that cotton is comfortable when dry but synthetic fibre garments dry infinitely quicker than clothes containing cotton.
• 4 x Light merino shirts or T-shirts, short sleeved and long with wicking properties
• 1 x Lightweight jumpers or sweatshirts
• Good quality fleece or warm jumper
• 2/3 pairs of lightweight cotton trousers. If preferred, women can wear sensible dresses and skirts
• Socks, thick ones for walking as well as light weight ones for evenings etc.
• Down jacket or equivalent warm jacket that is not too heavy/large to carry.
• Set of thermal top and bottoms.
• Warm hat and gloves
• Set of waterproofs
• Sun hat or cap
• Pair of comfortable hiking boots with good ankle support/protection.
• Pair of recreational shoes (adventure sandals, trainers or pumps) for the evenings.

Equipment:
The following is useful extra equipment for your trip:
• Good quality 3-4 season sleeping bag
• Sleeping bag liner (cotton or silk)
• Travel towel, travel soap and toiletries
• Trekking poles
• Blow-up thermarest roll mat if you have one. But if you don’t have one, we will provide adequate mats.
• Torch (LED head-torch keeps your hands free)
• A bandanna or large handkerchief is useful for dusty tracks
• Pair of good quality polarised sunglasses
• Water bottle or camel pack
• Plug adapter (see ‘Electricity’ section)

Personal First Aid Kit:
While we do carry a large medical kit on all our group tours we would advise that you take some of the basics with you. This should include:
• Any prescription medication required (please inform the tour leader at your pre-departure meeting about these)
• Antibacterial dry hand wash
• Water purification tablets
• Painkillers: paracetamol & ibuprofen
• Rehydration salts (Gastrolyte)
• Malaria Tablets (if necessary)
• Travel motion-sickness tablets if required (e.g. natural ginger tablets)
• Diarrhoea remedies
• Antihistamines
• Cold/flu decongestants
• Insect bite cream
• Laxatives
• Plasters/Bandage/Steri-Strips/Blister pads
• Sunscreen (30+ factor)
• Moisturiser/after sun cream/lip balm
• Contact lenses and solution if required
• Tweezers
(A kit with most of this in is available at www.nomadtravel.co.uk

Optional Extras:
• Ear plugs (if sharing a room / camping)
• Alarm clock
• 3-4 plastic carrier bags are very useful for dirty washing, dirty shoes and rubbish
• Binoculars
• Small packs of tissues/wet wipes
• Money belt or secure pouch for money and passport etc.
• Eye patches if light affects your sleep
• Sewing kit/scissors
• Writing materials
• Spare batteries/camera memory cards
• Swiss Army knife
NB: If you wear glasses, it is advisable to bring a spare pair since opticians are rare. If you wear contact lenses you may find that climatic changes and dust can create visual irritation.

Hand Luggage:
Although it is very rare that luggage goes missing on flights, it has been known to happen and so it’s a good idea to carry a spare top, toothbrush, wash kit, underwear and any other essentials in your hand luggage so that you can at least freshen up while waiting for your bags to catch you up.

Practical Information

Time:
Nepal is 5:45hrs ahead of GMT.
A useful website to check the time zone differences is www.worldtimezone.com

Food and Alcohol:
The staple diet of most Nepali’s is Dal Bhat and Tarkari (lentils, rice and curried vegetables). The food does though differ from one culture to another. In Kathmandu there is a plethora of cuisine available from bordering cultures to international dishes. On the trek our camp guides will endeavour to provide as much variety as they can.
Alcohol is readily available in Kathmandu while in the villages the locals drink Rakshi (rice wine) or Chang (milky rice beer) which are both fairly potent. They also drink a warm, millet-based beer called Tongba which is a must try " although best drunk after the monsoon season is over when there is more water about and the quality of it is higher.

Electricity:
Those bringing video & digital cameras that require battery chargers should also bring a two-pin, continental style adapter. In most hotels you can charge from the mains using a travel adaptor plug, in some areas power will be unreliable so be sure to have spare batteries.

Money:
In Nepal the unit of currency is the Nepalese Rupee.
To check out the latest exchange rate for the places that you are visiting you can go to www.oanda.com
A few points to help you plan:
• Payments are mainly made in cash.
• Travellers cheques are difficult to exchange as they rely on banks being open.
• If using ATM machines, be sure to notify your bank before you travel. Access to these in Kathmandu is feasible but they are notoriously unreliable.
• Most major currencies are available to exchange.

Language & Religion:
The major language in Nepal is Nepali with many minority languages such as Maithili, Bhojpuri and Tharu. Nepali has its roots in Sanskrit and is written in Devanagari script. In Nepal Shiva is regarded as the guardian deity of the country and logically the overwhelming majority in Nepal follow Hinduism. Understandably it is home to supposedly the largest Shiva temple in the world. In the Dolpo regions there will be those who follow Bon Po " one of the oldest religions in the world " while the rest will be Buddhist.

Cultural Sensitivity:
At Wild Frontiers we are very aware of the ethical impact tourism can have on ancient cultures. We realise that taking a group of tourists through such a region can have a negative impact on the lives of those who live there and on all our tours we therefore go to great lengths to minimise the negative and accentuate the positive…after all, there are also many good things that the tourist can bring.

To help this process we ask that our clients do not hand out pens or sweets to children. As one sign in Egypt emphatically put it, ‘Please don't make beggars out of our children!' No matter how well intentioned, in our opinion the dolling out of free gifts fosters a ‘beggar mentality' that is ultimately extremely destructive to a society. In addition we do not condone giving out money to beggars or ‘students'.

However, we also realise that we are exceptionally privileged to be travelling in areas where most of the people have far less than us and that the desire to ‘help' can be very powerful. As a result we ask that you refer to your trip dossier for information on the Wild Frontiers Foundation which supports specific projects in the areas where we travel.

Photography:
Please remember, we are guests in the countries through which we travel and we may sometimes inadvertently cause offence by taking photographs without first asking permission.

Also many countries have very strict rules about taking photos of army, police or any official personnel; restrictions apply at borders, bridges and any government building. Please exercise care in this regard as the penalty may be to have your film and/or camera confiscated.