This is a camping trek, so pack for tents and cold nights: a warm sleeping bag, down jacket, waterproof layers and boots that grip. Your operator provides tents, mats, food and cooks, and porters carry the camp.
How the camp works
A cook crew prepares breakfast, a packed or hot lunch and dinner in a kitchen tent. Sleeping tents, mats and a dining tent are provided. Toilets are usually a small tent with a pit.
Food
Expect porridge, eggs, bread, rice, dal, vegetables, noodles, soup and tea. Vegetarian meals are easy to arrange. Bring snacks you like, because appetite drops at altitude.
Sleeping system
A sleeping bag rated to about minus 10 degrees, a liner, a warm hat and a hot-water bottle. Bring a thermal base layer for sleeping.
Clothing
Quick-drying trousers and shirts for the lower forest, a fleece, a down jacket, a rain shell and trousers, warm gloves and a hat, and several pairs of wool socks.
Footwear and poles
Waterproof boots with good grip, broken in before the trip. Trekking poles help on steep, loose ground and on river crossings.
Small essentials
Headlamp with spare batteries, sunglasses, sun cream, water bottles and purification tablets, a power bank, a personal first-aid kit, blister plasters and any regular medicine.
Weight
Keep your main bag light so porters can carry it. A daypack of 25 to 35 litres with a rain cover holds what you need during the day.
Packing list at a glance
Sleeping bag, liner, down jacket, fleece, thermal base layer, rain shell and trousers, two pairs of trekking trousers, three shirts, warm hat, sun hat, gloves, sunglasses, headlamp, poles, boots, camp shoes, socks, power bank, water bottles, tablets, sunscreen, lip balm, first-aid kit, a few snacks and a dry bag for electronics.
What to leave in Pokhara
Jeans, cotton, valuables and anything you will not need on the trail. Hotels in Pokhara store bags for guests. Carry only what you will use.
Water and hygiene
Camps use boiled or treated water. Carry two litres, refill from the crew and add a purification tablet if you use stream water. Use hand gel before meals. Stomach problems spoil a short trek.
Sleeping well in a tent
Eat a warm meal, drink a hot drink, use the toilet before bed and wear dry layers. A hot-water bottle in the sleeping bag helps. Keep a headlamp and your boots near the door.
Tipping and crew
The crew works long days in the cold. Agree with your operator how tips are handled, and carry cash for it. Treat porters and cooks with respect and make sure they have warm clothing.
Plan it
