Nepal is one of the top destination for trekking in the world and is the country where commercial trekking was pioneered back in the early 1960s. There are lots of trekking region in Nepal. Among them Everest and Annapurna are two popular regions while other popular trekking regions are in the Langtang and Kanchanjunga regions. The most challenging is the Great Himalayan Trails, an extensive trail system that covers Nepal from Humla and Darchula in the west to Kanchenjunga in the east. No other part of world has trekking trails like the diversity of trekking trails in Nepal. In fact, the lowest point in Nepal is 59 m above sea-level in the Tarai region while the highest point is Everest, 8,848 m above sea-level, the two points being only 200 kilometres apart as the crow flies. Trekkers need permits and other documentation for trekking. It can be obtained from appropriate office or trekking agents at Kathmandu.
Trekking in Nepal today is completely different from that of the 1960s. In all the main trekking areas, the National Parks and Conservation Areas lodges have been established where trekkers can find accommodation, food and meet other trekkers and locals along the way. A majority of the trails are well maintained and in many cases are sign-posted.
These days there are different facilities at accommodation in trekking trails. There are different types of trekking depending upon difficulty and time span.
Nepal has six distinct and diverse vegetation zones ranging from Tropical below a 1,000 m through Sub-tropical 100m – 200m, Lower Temperate 1,700 m – 2,700 m, Upper Temperate 2,400 m – 3,000 m, Sub-alpine 3,000 m – 4,000 m and Alpine 4,000 m to the snowline, above the snowline it is a Himalaya tundra like wilderness. The higher altitudes are home to the elusive Snow leopard, Himalayan Thar, Musk deer and other rare species.
You should have a Guide while going for trekking in Nepal. Its compulsory and without guide you are not allowed to go for trekking because you would not know the cultural and physical diversity at trails also you may not know how will be weather condition at trekking trails. You should do proper paper work before going for trekking.
Here in Nepal trekking can be done any time of year. There are different routes where trekking can be done according to season. some routes along the Great Himalaya Trails lie in the rain shadow, a dry area on the leeward side of a mountain namely Mustang to the north of Annapurna and Manaslu, Dolpo to the north of Dhaulagiri and the far west of Nepal to the north of Saipal Himal. Post monsoon the weather tends to be clearer. Winter is good but colder with shorter days and spring can be affected by seasonal rain and snow storms. Summer is short and is quickly followed by the monsoons. Monsoon treks are usually in the dry Manang and Mustang areas. Southern areas of Nepal have high level of precipitation.
