The information that we provide is for UK passport holders. A passport with 6 months remaining validity at the end of your stay is generally required, and you should have at least 2 blank pages for each country that you visit.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you have the correct travel documents and visas for your holiday. Please ensure that you check for the latest advice before travel. For the most up to date information on entry requirements, please visit the UK Government website.

Visa Nepal

All nationalities require a visa. The visa process is partly automated and the fee is $30 for 15 days, $50 for 30 days, $125 for 90 days. The visa is FREE for children under 10 years. The visa allows multiple re-entry. Payment must be made in cash and USD, GBP or Euros are accepted.

Part of this on-arrival visa process involves filling in a ‘Tourist Visa Application Form’ and you can simplify the procedure at Kathmandu Airport by filling this form in online (within 15 days of travelling) at this link. This generates a receipt which you present (hard copy or saved on your phone) on arrival. This should allow you to go straight to the cashier to pay for your visa and has the potential to save you time in the visa queue.

Whilst these are not now needed for the visa process, we recommend that you travel with at least 2 spare passport photographs.

TREKKING PERMITS – WHAT DO WE NEED FROM YOU ?

For treks in the Everest region – EBL, EVL, EHW, ELL - we need your passport details and we need you to take with you to Nepal 2 passport photographs. You will hand these over to your local leader on Day 1.

For treks in the Annapurna region – ASL, ACL, UAT, ANL and for the Gosainkund and Langtang Trek - GLT – we need your passport details and we need to send through to Nepal ahead of your departure a scan of a passport-style photograph of yourself. Please send this to us once your holiday is guaranteed.

For these Conservation Area treks and other treks requiring Special Permits – KAN, DLG, NAP – we need to send through to Nepal ahead of your departure a scan of a passport-style photograph of yourself and a scan of the information pages of your passport. Please send these to us once your holiday is guaranteed. On arrival in Kathmandu you will still be required to provide your passport (with your visa) for presentation at the Nepal Tourism Board. Your passport will be returned to you by your tour leader at dinner.

For those trips requiring Climbing Permits – MER, IPC, CTL, YAR - we need to send to Nepal ahead of your departure, a scan of a passport-style photograph of yourself and a scan of the information pages of your passport. Please send these to us once your holiday is guaranteed. On arrival in Kathmandu, for YAR and for CTL, you will still be required to provide your passport (with your visa) for presentation at the Nepal Tourism Board. Your passport will be returned to you by your tour leader at dinner.

Vaccinations

You should contact your doctor or travel clinic to check whether you require any specific vaccinations or other preventive measures. You should be up to date with routine courses and boosters as recommended in the UK e.g. diphtheria-tetanus-polio and measles-mumps-rubella, along with hepatitis A and typhoid.

Malarial prophylaxis is not usually required for trips in the mountains, however if you are visiting rural and remote low lying areas then they might be necessary.

On holidays to more remote areas you should also have a dentist check up. A good online resource is Travel Health Pro.

The unit of currency in Nepal is the Nepalese Rupee.

It makes a lot of sense to spend some time before coming on a trekking or climbing trip getting some additional exercise. The fitter you are, after all, the more enjoyable you will find the experience. This is a demanding trek and you need to be aerobically fit and also comfortable with walking up to 8 hours on some days, and possibly for 10 hours or more on the summit day. The best preparation for this trip is regular hiking in mountain or hill country. If this is not possible, we suggest that you adopt a weekly exercise regime and gradually increase your work rate as you get nearer to departure. Running, cycling and swimming are also good for developing better stamina. Whatever your preparation, before departure, we suggest that you try to fit in a number of long walks in hilly country. For this trip it is also essential that you gain some experience walking on moderately angled snow slopes wearing crampons. No technical mountaineering experience is required and clients will be instructed in the basic techniques of glacier walking and fixed line climbing prior to the ascent.

October and November are ideal for trekking in Nepal, being generally neither too hot in the foothills nor too cold in the higher elevations. These post-monsoon months also tend to offer the clearest skies and the most settled weather. Daytime temperatures are likely to range from approximately 25ºC in Kathmandu to approximately 14ºC at 3000 metres and approximately 3ºC at 5000m. The ‘real feel’ temperature in the middle of the day will be much warmer than this. At night in the rarefied air the temperatures plummet. You can expect to experience overnight temperatures below freezing once above approximately 4200 metres and at the high camp on Lobuche the night time temperatures may drop as low as –10º or -15ºC. Extended periods of rain or snow are very unlikely outside of the monsoon period but short lived storms can and do occur. It is very important that you are equipped and prepared for potentially very low temperatures.

As a reputable tour operator, KE supports the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's ‘Travel Aware’ campaign to enable British citizens to prepare for their journeys overseas. The 'Travel Aware' website provides a single, authoritative source of advice for all kinds of travellers and we recommend that before travel, all KE clients visit the official UK Government website at travelaware.campaign.gov.uk and read the FCDO Travel Advice for their chosen destination. North Americans can also check out the U.S. Department of State website: www.travel.state.gov for essential travel advice and tips.

KE treat the safety and security of all clients as the most important aspect of any trip we organise. We would not run any trip that we did not consider reasonably safe.  Should the FCDO advise against travel for any reason, we will contact everyone booked to travel to discuss the situation.  We receive regular updates directly from the FCDO and are in constant touch with our contacts on the ground.  If you have any questions about government travel advice, please call our office.

KE do not encourage the use of single use plastic items. We are ensuring that our agents all over the world are working together to reduce the problem and educate those around them. We are leading by example in our KE office by reducing our plastic use.

• Trekking and Climbing in Nepal. Steve Razzetti.

• Kathmandu and the Kingdom of Nepal. Prakash Raj.

• Adventure Treks Nepal. Bill O’Connor.

Gokyo 1:50,000 Nepa Maps

These days the best trekking maps are published in Nepal. Nepa are one of the oldest established publishing houses in Kathmandu. This map covers the whole route from Lukla at a reasonable scale. Relief shading and spot heights give visual representation of the terrain and contours are drawn at 40m. intervals. Villages, monasteries, passes and peaks are indicated and latitude/longitude markings are shown. Note: All clients will be given a free trekking map in Kathmandu before the start of their trek.

It is an essential condition of joining a holiday with KE Adventure Travel that you have a valid travel insurance policy to cover the cost of medical treatment and to protect the value of your holiday in the event of cancellation.  When taking out insurance please ensure the policy you choose covers you for the activities and altitude included in your itinerary.

For appropriate insurance cover we recommend Campbell Irvine Direct.  Please go to our Travel Insurance page for further information and to get a quote.

The following checklist should help you with your packing. Use your own experience and judgement to determine what to bring with you but please ensure you have all of the mandatory items. As a general rule, you should always try to keep the weight of your equipment to a minimum. Please make sure you have read the section on baggage allowance in the trip notes.

You must bring the following items:

• Hiking boots

• Mountaineering boots - see ‘Mountaineering Equipment’

• Snow gaiters

• Good quality and fully waterproof (Gore-Tex or similar) overtrousers

• Good quality and fully waterproof (Gore-Tex or similar) mountain jacket with hood

• Fleece jacket

• Duvet jacket (down or man-made fibre)*

• Down trousers/pants (optional)

• Sunhat

• Warm hat and thermal balaclava

• Good quality wrap-around sunglasses or glacier glasses

• Ski goggles (optional)

• Thin gloves

• Warm and insulating gloves or mittens

• Daypack minimum 40 litres

• Headtorch and spare batteries

• Sun protection (including total bloc for lips, nose etc.)

• Water bottles 1 Litre (x2) (we encourage re-filling water bottles rather than single use plastic)

• Water purification tablets

• Dry bags(s) for daypack/kit bag contents (to ensure they keep dry)

• Sleeping bag comfort rated down to minus 20 C*

• Sleeping bag liner

• Basic First Aid Kit including: A broad spectrum antibiotic, antiseptic cream, throat lozenges, diarrhoea treatment (Imodium), painkillers, plasters (band-aids) and blister treatment, and re-hydration salts (Dioralite).

Mountaineering Equipment:

• Mountaineering double boots - see below

• Ice axe *

• Crampons (that fit your boots!)*

• Mountaineering or climbing harness*

• 2 x Karabiners (screwgate)**

• Ascender or Jumar (provided)

• Descender (rappelling device) **

• Prussik loop **

• Climbing helmet*

Packing checklist:

• Trekking trousers

• Baselayer shirts

• Baselayer leggings

• T-shirts or similar

• Washbag and toiletries

• Antibacterial handwash

• Toilet paper (you can also buy this in the lodges)

• Small trek towel

• Small padlock (to lock your kit bag)

• Travel clothes

• Trekking poles (recommended)

• Scarf or buff

• Trainers for camp use

• Pee bottle

• Swimwear (for the hotel pool in Kathmandu)

• Insect repellant – (DEET)

• Camera

• Penknife (remember to pack all sharp objects in hold baggage)

• Basic repair kit (gaffer tape, sewing thread and needle etc)

Notes

*FREE sleeping bag, down jacket and climbing gear hire is included in your KE holiday booking on request.

Equipment hire: Please make all requests at least 4 weeks prior to the trip departure date. Items marked ** are provided with hire of a harness and not available for individual hire. All equipment is issued in Kathmandu. Please remember to allow room in your kit bag for these items during travel to the start of your trek. During the trek your mountaineering equipment including double-boots will be carried separately in communal equipment bags.

Crampon hire: We provide Grivel G12 Crampons which are classic 12 point crampons designed for general mountaineering. They are fully adjustable and essentially, one size fits all. However if you have boots bigger than size 11 (46) you will need to purchase and take with you Grivel extender bars. Or take your own crampons.

Cultural sensitivity: The Nepalese are still traditional and conservative in the way they dress. Therefore to avoid embarrassment on both sides we recommend that you respect this and do not wear revealing clothing or sleeveless tops while visiting Nepal. Shorts are acceptable, but they should reach to just above the knee and be modest and for women it is preferable to wear trousers or a long skirt.

Camping mattress: For the 2 nights camping on Mera Peak, foam type camping mattresses are provided. You may wish to bring your own Thermarest-type mattress for extra comfort, but this is optional.

Mountaineering Boots: Climbing at altitudes of up to 6500 metres, the temperatures can be very cold (as low as minus 30 degrees centigrade). Standard mountaineering boots are not suitable for these cold, high altitude conditions. Specialist double boots with insulated inners are the best to keep your feet warm at altitude in these extremely low temperatures. Examples of suitable boots are Scarpa Phantom 6000, Boreal G1 Lite, Mammut Nordwand, and La Sportiva G2 Evo. These boots are also designed to take step-in crampons, quickly and efficiently. This combination of double mountaineering boots and step-in crampons is by far the most sensible option when considering a mountaineering peak up to 6500 metres. You must make sure that you are suitably equipped for these extremely low temperatures.

Gear Advisor

• PHD specialise in cold weather equipment, from the world’s lightest right up to the most protective for Everest or the Poles. It’s a large range. So to help you choose what you need to keep you warm, PHD have listed the gear that is appropriate for this expedition. Click on this link: http://www.phdesigns.co.uk/gearadviser/destination.php?destinations_id=12

• Needle Sports is the English Lake District's foremost specialist climbing shop supplying mountaineering, rock, ice, alpine and expedition equipment worldwide. Internationally recognised as among the very best of the UK's top technical climbing gear retailers. They have a good range of equipment appropriate for this trip and offer knowledgeable advice both on their website and in store.