The 10 best camping treks in Nepal

It is still possible to get away from the crowded trekking trails in Nepal by selecting a camping trek that travels into a remote region of the country. 

The Mountain Company has many years of experience in organising camping treks in Nepal and I have personally led many of these so have firsthand knowledge of the trails.

Camping treks are more expensive due to a larger number of trek crew such as cooks to prepare the meals and porters to carry group kit like tents. There is also a requirement for additional trekking permits such as in Restricted Areas and for mountaineering peaks. Whereas treks in the Everest and Annapurna regions will be less expensive due to the food and accommodation being provided by a teahouse lodge.

Our choice of the 10 best camping treks in Nepal are listed below.  You can click on the links through to The Mountain Company website for the photos, itinerary Google maps, YouTube videos and other practical information. 

#1 Upper Dolpo to Jomsom GHT

#2 Dhaulagiri Circuit

                

#3 Kanchenjunga Circuit

#4 Kanchenjunga BC to Makalu BC GHT

#5 Naar to Upper Mustang GHT

#6 Lamjung Himal

#7 Ganesh Himal

#8 Mera Peak Expedition

#9 Makalu to Everest GHT

#10 Saribung Expedition

Please get in contact with us if you are interested in joining one of these groups or would like any further information.

Trek on!

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk

The Great Himalaya Trail

Photo: Mount Makalu seen from GHT

The latest trekking news from the Himalaya is the exciting development of The Great Himalaya Trail ("GHT"). This is a trekking route that crosses Nepal starting near Kanchenjunga in the East and continuing to Humla on the Tibetan border in the West. The future plan is to extend the route across other countries in Himalaya going from Bhutan to Pakistan!

GHT takes the highest feasible route along the spine of the Himalaya, this involves very challenging trekking as well as several mountaineering sections over technical passes (eg Sherpani Col near Makalu). Completing the Nepal section of GHT would take over 5 months of non stop trekking. As far as I am aware no-one has yet completed GHT in one push instead trekkers like Robin Bousted (author of the excellent The Great Himalaya Trail- A Pictorial Guide) have completed the route in a number of sections.

The development of GHT has been encouraged by a several NGOs operating in Nepal such as ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development) and SNV (Dutch Development Organisation. They see the long term advantages of encouraging trekkers to visit regions of Nepal other than Annapurna, Everest and Langtang. By getting away from the busier trails trekkers following The Great Himalaya Trail will bring income to remote and poor communities.

For further information on GHT I suggest taking a look at this website:

www.greathimalayatrail.com

You might be interested to hear that The Mountain Company has several treks that explore sections of GHT such as our Upper Dolpo to Jomsom trek in May 2010 and our Makalu BC to Everest in April 2011. We also have plans in the future to explore other areas along GHT so please get in touch if interested in joining one of our groups.

Roland Hunter

www.themountaincompany.co.uk