General Info.

Most the information you need is in these pages until individual dates and teams are confirmed. If you have specific queries, please contact us through the enquiries address. We are happy to send out draft itineraries, kit lists and links.

Cost: This is a bespoke trip for Girlguiding, so there is no like-for-like comparison. To give a level playing field for all, the trek cost is pretty much all-inclusive and costed on a non-profit basis.

It includes return flights, local transfers, internal flights, comprehensive insurance, all accommodation, food by our own cook team, permits, taxes, water, trek fees, local professional guides, Sherpas, environmental costs, porter tips, carbon offset, facilitations, the costs for volunteer UK group leader and unpaid Didit team, emergency backup and sat comms, etc. You will just need personal spending money for shopping and any preference food/drinks, your UK travel costs and an advance issue Nepal tourist visa. 

Most commercial Nepal treks exclude the majority of these extra or hidden costs in their pricing. For the purposes of these Girlguiding treks, the hidden extras have been included from the outset so everyone is clear what the 'real' cost is. Food, water, backup resources and hygiene are of paramount importance to us. The standard of accommodation, food preparation, backup and emergency facilities is set at its local highest to limit risks - and maximise the opportunity for all 100 Members to get as far as they can towards their goal. 

Accommodation: All twin sharing, no camping on these trips. Single supplement may be available at +£350.

On Trek we will stay in best available lodges (example pictured). These are generally the eco type run by ESL and have dry, warm rooms with single beds, full bedding and normally an en suite shower room with solar heated water.

We will eat and brief together in the lodge dining rooms and take our own cook team to select and prepare all food to western hygiene standards. The accommodation standard is very good at the lower elevations, but a bit simpler the higher we trek into the mountains. However, all our lodges give a relatively warm and comfortable night's sleep; limiting risks of insomnia, altitude problems and the Khumbu Cough commonly associated with tourist schedule camping treks.

In Thamel, Kathmandu, we are staying at the legendary Hotel Shanker - a former Nepali Maharaja's palace with old-world cultural heritage, lush gardens and a pool. With our group sizes, it is only a few pounds more than a basic trekker lodge - and very welcome base to rest or explore from after a long haul flight or two weeks in the mountains!

Climate and weather: This is a mountain and alpine trek through the cloud base, so you need to be prepared for all weathers. The Spring treks are generally crisper and drier and with  higher chance of seeing snow and feeling chilly at days' end. The September treks are lusher and quieter but have slightly higher chance of rain causing disruption. In all cases the mornings and early pm are generally fine and clear and this is when we do most our trekking. If progress is good and steady, we should be at our destination accommodation by mid afternoon on most days. The climate is changing more noticeably in Himalaya than at our sea level home. You might be trekking in 25'c sunlight in the day, but trudging through snow at -15'c when we leave at 4am for our summit push the next day. Within a generation from now, it is notably thought that many of these routes may become impassable from increasing temperatures melting the glaciers.

Insurance: Category One Endlseigh Extreme Activity group policy: Click here for more info.

Itinerary and distances covered: The A-B distance on a map from Lukla to Everest base camp could be walked in a long day on level ground. But this is a case of going up and down and around. A lot. It is not unusual to start a day by descending 300m and then climbing 600m, but only covering 350m straight-line distance. Generally, trek days will include 5-6 hours of walking.

A typical day will start around 7am with breakfast and briefing, then a couple of hours walking, then tea and rest, then an hour and a half walking, then lunch, then a couple of hours walking, tea break, an hours walk to destination, tea, rest, supper, early night. There are some days that will start very early and some that will finish late - depending on group progress and climatatic or transport influences. 

Training: Training is about general health and fitness; getting used to long periods of up and down terrain walking and in particular building up leg and joint fitness. There are no formal training walks planned by the Didit team or Girlguiding at this stage, but it is likely that each trek group's members will wish to meet up and share training and bonding once groups are confirmed.