Trekking

Kathmandu is a city in the country of Nepal in Asia’s Himalayas. The city of Kathmandu is above sea level, at an average elevation of  4,344 feet (1,324 metres), so while Kathmandu is at altitude, its elevation is not great enough to cause altitude sickness. However, your body should be starting to acclimatise very slowly …

If I told you travel in Nepal with kids was easy, I’d be lying. Nepal has been the most challenging place we’ve ever taken the children, and that includes India, but it’s been worth it many times over. They got sick less in India and didn’t have to hike up any mountains.  So here for you, …

Your packing list for the EBC trek will depend a lot on you, the time of year you are completing the EBC trek, and how much luggage you plan to take. Trekkers carrying their own gear will likely pack lite, those taking porters will pack far more. Below we have our EBC packing list to …

Lukla airport clings to the mountainside high in the Himalayas of Nepal. Many trekkers heading to Everest Base Camp will begin and end their trek on the short sloping runway at Lukla. In this post, we share some facts, images, photos, and video of Lukla airport Nepal. We’ve spent days in Lukla waiting for flights …

If I told you travel in Nepal with kids was easy, I’d be lying. Nepal has been the most challenging place we’ve ever taken the children, and that includes India, but it’s been worth it many times over. They got sick less in India and didn’t have to hike up any mountains.  So here for you, …

The Everest Base Camp Trek or EBC Trek in Nepal. What Difficulties with trekkers face? How difficult is the trek or hike, and what hidden difficulties exist besides the altitude and distance walked? We got back from Everest yesterday. It’s been an amazing 3 weeks, ( yes, 21 days, not 14) and it’s been tough, …

Have you heard that Nepalese food isn’t so great? I have. Luckily I’ve been to Nepal many times, so I can tell you it’s not true. Back when Chef and I trekked the Annapurna Circuit we enjoyed discovering Nepalese food, and on our second trip, trekking the Everest Region with kids, we were eating new …

Namche Bazaar Nepal or Namche Bazar is a town that most trekkers pass through on the Everest Base Camp trek. Namche Bazaar is a real hub and important acclimatisation stop for trekkers and it’s grown from a market town to a tourist destination in itself. It’s a wonderful town, I love everything about it. I’d …

So here’s the thing, Tibet is way, way high. Crazy high. Everyone knows that to trek in the Himalayas you’ll have altitude issues and probably need to take diamox and have acclimatisation days and such like, but before we set off to Tibet last week I hadn’t actually thought much about the altitude of the …

My kids researched  altitude sickness and tried to answer that question ” What is Altitude Sickness?” by creating a blog post. We’re off to Everest Base Camp again soon and this was a little “school” project for them. I studied physiology in university, so I’ve got a reasonable handle on this but I thought the …

It may surprise you to know that you don’t need to be Ironman fit (as I am) to trek in the Himalayas. You won’t want to be a couch potato either, but the average person should do fine up there with no training needed. My wife has been up twice, at 52 and in her …

Trekking watches have made huge advances in the last 5 years. With the invention and continued improvement of GPS based watches they are now more accessible to more people. You can still get great trekking watches without GPS capabilities and I’ve listed a few favourites below but for me the best trekking watchs should have …

Head torches are a must for many types of travel, hiking, camping, running, trekking, fishing, and daily life. Situations will pop up that require the need for not just a phone torch but a good head torch. Sure, most phones these days have built-in flashlights, but they won’t do the job in a lot of …

I posted already about the various ways of getting to and from Lukla from Kathmandu, Nepal. Flying into Lukla isn’t the only way to start your Everest region or Everest Base Camp trek, there are various bus, jeep and walk options. We feel that flying is the best way to go based on our experience, …

On our return trek from Tengboche Monastery, we took a different route to Namche Bazaar to take in some important locations and stunning Himalayan viewpoints. A major highlight for us was being granted admission to the ancient Khumjung monastery and being allowed to see a fascinating sacred relic kept under lock and key. The yeti …

A few days ago somebody on social media asked me what my favorite, all time, travel memory was. Without hesitation I told the lady-of-travel that it was the time I trekked to Tengboche Monastery with my son, then 11 years old. I added a footnote, that I doubted he would agree. I was curious though …

What trekking gear do you really need for Nepal? What should you pack for Nepal? Trekking gear companies tell you to buy x, y and z before you even think of setting foot in Nepal or the Himalayas for fear of death. I’m here to be more realistic. You don’t need everything they try to …

I’ve posted already about how much we loved the experience of trekking in Nepal’s Everest region, so don’t take what I’m about to say the wrong way. Just because I was scared half to death regularly and frequently by the scariest of scary bridges (and the odd path with precipitous drops, mud slides and general precariousness) …

You can get from Kathmandu to Lukla on flights (helicopter or small plane), bus, jeep, you can walk, or use some combination of these methods. This post is about your options for getting from Kathmandu to Lukla, as well as the experience of those Kathmandu/Lukla flights landing at Lukla Airport. We have also walked to …

If you follow our Facebook page and Instagram feed you’ll know that we’ve been trekking around the Everest region, with kids age 9 and 11, for the last 12 days and that pre-kids we did some other treks in the Himalayas. It’s an incredible experience, a top highlight not only of the last 3 years of …

In 2001, pre-kids, Chef and I took on the Annapurna Circuit Trek in Nepal, it’s considered one of the best treks in the world. It’s a high altitude trek, reaching 5416m at the Thorong La, the highest pass. It’s long, it takes around three weeks to complete and it’s cold, in February, which was when …