Yes, we’ll organise a porter to carry your backpack. We include this cost in your quote, so you don’t have to pay extra providing your backpack is not overweight (please see below).
Trekking Nepal is challenging and even harder if you’re carrying your own backpack. It’s much easier for you to put one foot in front of the other and enjoy the stunning scenery, if you’ve only got a day pack to worry about! (That is unless you’re very fit and you’re used to strenuous hiking with a backpack).
There are many porters in Nepal. It’s the way most including our Managing Director Krishna start their careers in the very popular Nepal trekking industry. We carefully select each of our porters in Nepal (many are from Krishna’s extended family) and we ensure they’re safely up to the task. We also include porter insurance in our quotes, to protect our porters in the event of an accident or emergency.
How Much Weight Can my Porter Carry?
The recommended weight for porters to safely carry is 25kg and we assign one porter between two people (unless you pay to have an extra porter). When you think about it, 25kg is already a very heavy load to carry, especially when you’re trekking in the Himalaya! Therefore we ask that you make sure your backpack weighs no more than 12-13kg.
We’ve trekked in Nepal many times and we think you can easily take what you need and be within 13kg. Especially when you can also carry things in your own day pack. If you’re not sure about what to take on the trek, take a look at our tried and tested packing list.
You don’t have to take everything with you. It’s always possible to leave some things (including a clean change of clothes) at your hotel or at our office in Kathmandu – just ask us.
As part of our responsible trekking policy, it’s our priority to be fair to our porters and to compensate them for carrying heavier loads. So, please note that if your backpack weighs more than 13kg, we will charge you extra and this money will be paid directly to your porter.
Extra Charges to Pay if Your Backpack is Overweight
We will weigh your backpack before your trek starts. If it weighs more than 13kg (or 25kg if you’ve paid to have your own porter), we will charge you $1.50 per extra kilo per day. So, if you have an extra 3 kilos and you are trekking for 10 days, we will charge you an extra $45, which will be paid in cash directly to your porter.
If you would like to know about the cost to have one porter for yourself (to carry up to 25kg), just let us know. We’ll happily provide a revised quote. This could work out much cheaper depending on how much you plan to take with you. And it helps us ensure our porters are carrying safe loads.
Essentials to Keep With You
You still need to carry a day pack, as there are some essentials you need to keep with you including:
- Water.
- Water purification tablets.
- Hand sanitiser.
- Toilet roll.
- A snack to give you a boost when you need it!
- An extra layer of warm clothing.
- Rain jacket if there’s a risk of rain – your guide will let you know.
- A hat (warm hat if it’s cold, sun hat if it’s sunny and hot!).
- Sunglasses (all year round) – the glare from the snow in winter can be quite literally blinding.
- Sunscreen (all year round).
- Any fragile items – see ‘note about fragile items’ in our Packing List.
- Camera to snap all those incredible mountain views!
Each morning, pack these essentials in your day pack and put everything else in your backpack.
Please note that often your porters will walk ahead of the group, so you may not have access to the contents of your backpack, until you arrive at your destination.