Trekking in Nepal travel guide

Bill Truman, an English mountaineer and explorer was the first trekker in Nepal to take on several routes including the Kali Gandaki, Helambu, and two 1930s Everest expeditions, and another notable earlier explorer was Maurice Herzog, who led a French expedition to the Annapurnas in 1950.

It was New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist, Edmund Hillary, however who said: “People do not decide to become extraordinary, they decide to accomplish extraordinary things”, a point he proved alongside Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer, Tenzing Norgay, when they became the first two people to reach the 8,848m summit of Mount Everest on May 29th 1953. Their success opened the rest of the world’s eyes to the scope of possible expeditions in Nepal and by 1964 all fourteen of the Himalaya’s 8,000m giants had been scaled.

In 1965, trekking entered tourism’s conscience; an idea sparked by Colonel Jimmy Roberts, one of the greatest Himalayan mountaineer-explorers of the 20th century and a highly decorated British Army Officer, who introduced the idea of trekking in Nepal as a package that included tents, local guides and cooks. They say if it ain’t broke don’t fix it and, but for a few tweaks and the ever-growing presence of a developing teahouse culture, Roberts’ pioneering formula for teahouse trekking exists today.

Since man has been able to get close to them, the Himalayas have captured the dreams and imaginations of human beings, and they’ve put an end to some too – over 240 people have died attempting to scale Mount Everest alone. Nonetheless, thanks to the sheer beauty of Nepal’s mountains, combined with the palpable sense of mystery and majesty that’s present there, Nepal is widely regarded as the best trekking destination in the world; an accolade that shows little sign of fading.