In just over 1.5 months I will be leading a photo trekking tour in the Khumbu region of Nepal. This area, known outside of Nepal as the Everest region, is special to me and I am excited to be making my fourth trip there this year. Currently I have five guests coming with me and as part of their preparation I have sent out a packing list specific for this trip. I thought the information might be valuable to anyone else planning on trekking this area of Nepal. I will list out the items here below and you can also download the list as a PDF from this link if you like.
The list is just my suggestions of what to bring to stay comfortable on the trail while staying in teahouses which usually supply a sheet and a blanket. Certainly more and less can be brought, but this list is a good place to start. I hope it helps you.
Nepal Photo Trek Packing List
Clothes
o Synthetic or Wool long under wear (base layer – top and bottom)
o Warm Pants
o Fleece Coat or warm sweater
o Hiking, quick dry pants, consider zip-off pants
o Long shorts
o Short sleeved shirts
o Long sleeved shirts
o Water Proof Rain Jacket and Pants (pants optional, a poncho can also suffice)
o Hiking Socks
o Liner Socks if you tend to need them when hiking
o Underwear
o Sleepwear
o Sunglasses (good quality)
o Wide brimmed hat for sun during the day
o Boots or trail shoes
o Sandals/flip flops
o Gloves (thin liners work well but also a pair of thicker/ski gloves for when we are waiting around for the sun)
o Bandana
We will be leaving a bag of clothes in Kathmandu, which is hot this time of year. Bring a smaller duffel (or even laundry bag) and warm weather clothes for Kathmandu, which will be left and waiting for us when we return after the trek.
Personal Items
o Waterbottle
o Sun Block (small bottle)
o Head Lamp/small flashlight
o Day pack
o Waterproof cover for day pack
o Duffel bag for all other items
o Books/reading material
o Writing Journal (optional)
o Small notebook
o Passport
o Copy of Passport
o 2 extra Passport Photos
o Guidebooks/maps (optional, can purchase maps there)
o Credit/Debit cards (ATMs are plentiful in Kathmandu and often better than changing money)
o Cash (cashiers checks can be cashed, but it can be a pain and scarce)
o Cell phone (optional and needs to be capable of accepting a different SIM card)
o Cell Phone Charger
o Travel documents
o Alarm clock
o Watch
o Photos from home to share with locals (include family, location, attractions, etc…)
o Extra batteries (I suggest rechargeable as Nepal has no service to recycle spent batteries)
o Snacks you might be partial to
o SPOT device or other satellite communication device – optional and I will have my own, which I use to mark the end of each day and it will send an email to family back home. This is just a one way device and not a satellite phone.
o iDevice and charger if you need music or distraction, especially while traveling to Nepal
o Water purification – I prefer the Steripen device, but good old iodine works. While not required, I personally prefer to not buy bottled water as much as possible as Nepal has little in the way of recycling.
o Small Binoculars (optional as we have big lenses)
o Sleeping bag (optional)
o Sleeping pad (optional)
o Trekking poles
Toiletries
o Plastic bags for all liquid toiletries (in case of altitude or rough handling induced rupture)
o Deodorant
o Shampoo/Conditioner
o Hairbrush/Comb
o Toothpaste
o Toothbrush
o Dental Floss
o Hand lotion
o Towel (I suggest a quick dry version)
o Razor
o Face lotion
o Chapstick/lipbalm
o Extra eyeglasses/contacts o Contact solution
o Facial soap
o Tweezers & nail clippers o Feminine products
o Emergency toilet paper
o First aid kit including:
o Tiger balm or pain reliever
o Accupressure bracelets or ginger candy for motion sickness (the flight to Lukla is in a small plane and can be bumpy at times)
o Prescription medicines
o Anti-diarrheal
o Mosquito repellent (mainly for Kathmandu)
o Malaria prophylaxes (consult with your doctor as to whether you want to take this)(Personally, I avoid using them as Kathmandu is not a malarial zone, but other parts of Nepal come up on government warnings. We will be high and cold and there are no known malaria outbreaks in the Khumbu Region)
o Antiseptic
o Sunscreen
o Antibiotic cream
o Ace bandage
o Handi-wipes or anti-bacterial gel (optional)
o Safety pins
o Eye drops or flush
o Lip balm
o Band-aids
o Pain killer of choice
o Antibiotics if prescribed
o Cold relief tablets, antihistamine, cough drops
o Earplugs
Standard Camera Gear
(Fill in your own list here to ensure all your vital gear makes it to Nepal) o
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Camera Gear
(options to consider beyond your normal gear)
o Power plug adapter for battery charger (same plugs as India) – Make sure your chargers are ‘international’
o Polarizing filter
o Neutral density filter
o Graduated Neutral Density filter (2 or 3 stop, soft transition)
o Extra lens cap in appropriate sizes
o External harddrive for backup of photos (or laptop)
o Card reader
o Sensor cleaning material if you are comfortable doing this yourself
o Extra batteries – We will have electricity in most locations, but it’s best to have backup o White card
o GPS – Optional, but handy for tagging photo locations
o Small packable umbrella (optional)
While this list seems quite long, a number of the items are optional and others need not take up a large area. You will see me wearing different takes of the same clothes on different days as I prefer not to pack a lot. I typically have three of most major items: pants, shirts, sock and underwear (quickdry for easy washing). Most trips I will pack all my gear into a carry on and a camera bag. On this trip I will likely have another duffel bag along to bring gifts.
While we anticipate the weather to be cooperative, be sure to pack valuable/important items in some type of waterproof bag. Bags will be in our vehicle or in the hotels most of the time, but if you’ve ever watched bags being unloaded from a plane and then sitting in pouring rain for 20 minutes, you know the importance of this precaution. We will be keeping our day packs handy during the day and your overnight duffel might not always be quickly accessible, so plan accordingly.
Weather will be near 50-70F/10-21C during the day and dipping near freezing at night. This is why I mention bringing layers, depending on your comfort with cold.
Here’s the list in PDF format Nepal Photo Trek Packing List