Responsible Trekking in Nepal: Porters, Plastic, Water and Trail Etiquette

• Licensed guideRequired on most routes since 1 Apr 2023 (not enforced in the Khumbu)
• Everest region plasticSingle-use plastic ban since 1 Jan 2020
• Porter loadAbout 30 kg maximum (porter-welfare guidance)
• Drinking waterNever drink untreated tap or stream water. Refill and purify
• Everest climbersMust carry poop bags above base camp (since 2024)
• Stupas and mani wallsWalk clockwise, keep them on your right
• Quieter seasonsWinter for low treks, monsoon for rain-shadow treks

Looking at the environmental condition right now, it should be our first responsibility as travelers/trekkers to ensure our joy and experience are not coming at the cost of environmental degradation of any kind. That being the first priority, responsible trekking suggests trekkers focus on preventing cultural damage and try not to bring in bad influences.

The fact that the news of the Himalayas and other tourist attractions getting polluted increases by the day should get us out of our comfort zone to prevent it and, if possible, even reverse it. With a little self-awareness, and rules that are actually followed, it should not take long to see real change.

How to Trek Responsibly in Nepal

One can find numerous articles all over the internet that talk about ethical trekking in Nepal, providing all the information needed, like choosing the ideal tour operator that prioritizes your goals of being a responsible trekker, uplifting the lifestyle of the locals residing at the places you visit, how negative influences can be kept out, and so on. Here is our take and some suggestions for you as to how it can be done easily and sustainably.

Is Responsible Trekking in Nepal Important?

People worldwide who love traveling are almost sure to have Nepal on their travel list. Although it is good for Nepal’s economy and helps in its development, it shouldn’t be news that an increasing number of people also means an increase in possible damages and bad influences they could bring with them.

Before, when only professionals with experience and knowledge on how not to cause any sort of harm to the environment and other aspects were the ones traveling, their impacts were not concerning but as destinations like Everest Base Camp, Annapurna Base camp, etc. are getting more popular, people with even little to no experience and knowledge of responsible trekking are raising issues like deterioration of natural vegetations, mistreating guides and porters, crowding trails, bringing in bad cultural influences and so on. To avoid all these problems and ensure everything is being taken care of while we enjoy traveling and gathering thrilling experiences, as they say, “ leave nothing but footprints,” everybody should be aware of responsible trekking.

Is It Still Ethical to Trek in Nepal?

Well, it sure is!

Tourism is one of Nepal’s biggest sources of foreign currency and mountain jobs, so it shapes the economy of whole valleys, so it shouldn't be considered to completely stop trekking and travel to the Himalayas and other popular destinations. It is not good to just look at the negative effects as it also has its own good effects like improving the living standards of the locals, spreading awareness, giving locals exposure to the different lifestyles around the globe, etc.

Therefore, the solution is not to avoid trekking to these destinations at all but to encourage safe, responsible, and ethical trekking that benefits all the aspects involved, namely: trekkers, the environment, trails, and the locals.

What to Check Before You Book a Trek

Trek with a company that takes responsible trekking seriously

Increasing numbers of travel agencies all around have resulted in agencies that don’t care about the harmful impacts and don’t take any actions to prevent the exploitation of the environment. You should try and find local travel agencies that have a sustainable and responsible mindset and live by the values that include preventing the negative impacts of trekking.

Here are a few questions to add to your list for making the right decision:

1. Does the agency make sure locals are being benefitted from the visit?

2. Does it support and stand for the empowerment of children, women, and other dominated groups?

3. Do they participate in activities that minimize pollution?

4. Do they avoid animal cruelty, such as elephant rides and animals kept for entertainment?

5. Are they actively working on protecting and promoting the local culture and traditions?

Make sure you travel with a company with experience and a good reputation for promoting responsible trekking like Swotah Travel and Adventures.

Trek With a Licensed Local Guide

Since 1 April 2023, foreign trekkers need a licensed guide on most routes inside Nepal’s national parks and conservation areas. The Everest region is the main exception, because the local municipality has not enforced the rule, and restricted areas such as Manaslu, Upper Mustang and Dolpo always need one. A local guide keeps you safer at altitude. The money also stays in the hill villages where guides come from. Our guide to whether solo trekking is banned in Nepal covers the rule region by region.

Try Trekking in the Off-Season

During the autumn season, which falls from September to November, and the spring season (March to May), there is a huge flow of tourists to Nepal as it is the most favorable time for trekking because of the clear skies and weather favorable for outdoor activities.

The off-season is winter (December to February) and the monsoon (June to August). Lower treks such as Poon Hill stay pleasant in winter. Rain-shadow areas such as Upper Mustang and Dolpo get little monsoon rain, so they are good summer choices.

Not to forget, being off-season doesn’t mean they have lesser good experience to offer you. It might simply just mean they aren’t widely practiced. Traveling during the off-season has its own pros, like less crowded trails, easy-to-find hotel rooms, you might get discounts in teahouses and hotels, you might be helping porters and guides to meet their day-to-day needs when they don’t have many tourists to assist, easy to remain secure, cheaper services, etc.

Choose Less-Crowded Trails

Famous trekking trails of Nepal are in their worst condition due to unmanaged waste products, the strain on available resources to meet the needs of trekkers, the destruction of natural vegetation, and so on.

Choosing lesser-known trails such as Mohare Danda, Mardi Himal, Upper Dolpo or Kanchenjunga gives the popular trails a break and time to recover, and it brings visitors to valleys that rarely see them. With that being said, all the trails will equally profit, which leads to a better quality of life for the locals if the tourist flow gets balanced in all famous and off-beaten trails.

Carry a Reusable Water Bottle and Purify Your Water

Plastic bottles carried into the mountains are almost never recycled. Most get burned or dumped near villages, so carry a bottle you can refill instead of buying water in plastic. In the Annapurna region, ACAP has set up safe drinking water stations where you pay a little to refill. A travel guide lists them at Landruk, Ghandruk, Jhinu and Chhomrong on the Annapurna Base Camp route, and there are refill points on the Annapurna Circuit too, so ask at your lodge which ones are running. Village taps and streams are a different story. They are not safe to drink untreated, even where locals drink from them, so use a filter, a UV pen or purification tablets, or buy boiled water from your teahouse.

Cut Down on Plastic

In the Everest region there are restrictions. The Khumbu Pasang Lhamu rural municipality banned most single-use plastic from 1 January 2020, including plastic thinner than 30 microns and drinks sold in plastic bottles. Elsewhere there is no blanket ban, but we are all familiar with the problems plastic causes. So reduce the plastic you use, to begin with. When you do use it, carry it out and dispose of it properly. It won’t harm you to pick up the plastic you see here and there and clean the trail even if it is not yours, as it only makes our environment cleaner.

In the Khumbu, the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee runs the trails’ waste system. Through its Carry Me Back scheme with Sagarmatha Next, trekkers carry a small bag of sorted waste, about 1 kg, from Namche-area collection points down to Lukla for the flight out. If your lodge offers one, take it.

Use Toilets and Carry Out Your Toilet Paper

Never excrete in open places. Make sure you are using a toilet where your excretion is being managed properly to ensure you are not polluting and harming the biodiversity of the place you visit. On a teahouse trek there is a toilet at every lodge and at most lunch stops. If you are caught out between villages, go well away from streams and the trail, and pack your used toilet paper out in a sealed bag. Climbers on Everest and Lhotse have had to carry their own waste down in poop bags since the 2024 season, so trekkers can manage a bag of paper.

Use Eco-Friendly Toiletries

Using eco-friendly toiletries includes a compostable toothbrush, plastic-free toothpaste, shampoo bars, toxin-free wipes, natural washcloths, natural deodorant, etc. By doing this, you are contributing to preserving the mountains and nature.

Treat Your Porters Fairly

Never forget porters are human beings, too, and they carry your load to meet their needs. Be kind to them, and always ensure they are not overworked, underpaid, and feel appreciated. There are numerous stories of porters not being fed, not getting to sleep nicely, being made to carry way heavier loads than they are supposed to, not getting medical attention, etc. Never feel okay being part of stories like this that can harm your dignity as well as the porter’s well-being. Also, avoid hiring underage porters. One way to know your porters are being treated fairly is to check whether the trekking company follows the guidelines of the International Porter Protection Group (IPPG). These cover fair loads, warm clothing and footwear, shelter at night, food, and medical care and rescue if a porter falls ill.

Porter-welfare groups put the maximum load at around 30 kg. On Swotah’s Everest Base Camp Trek, one porter carries for two trekkers, about 20 kg, so pack light. Our packing guide shows how.

Porter Loads in Nepal: Guidance vs Reality

Gold shows loads reported by Nepali Times on freight porters. Trekking porters working for a responsible company should never carry this much.

If You Ride an Animal, Make Sure It Is Well Treated

Certain trails in Nepal are difficult to complete on your feet entirely, so if you need to take animals, then be human enough not to overload the animal you are riding and ensure they are not being treated cruelly by the operators. On a safari, skip the elephant ride. Our piece on the unethical side of elephant rides explains why, and Swotah’s Chitwan Jungle Safari uses jeep drives, canoes and walks instead.

Respect Local Culture and Tradition

Nepal has vivid cultures and traditions of a wide range of diversity of people’s ethnicity. While you travel around, you should never disrespect their cultural practices or act like a threat to them. Make sure to ask your guide tons of questions to be familiar with what you need to do to not go against the cultural, traditional, and religious practices and beliefs while being respectful of their boundaries, like taking off your shoes before entering the temple, dressing modestly, speaking politely, etc.

A few rules come up on almost every trek. Walk clockwise around stupas, chortens and mani walls, keeping them on your right. Don’t touch people on the head or point your feet at an altar. Some temples are closed to non-Hindus, including the main courtyard of Pashupatinath, so check before you walk in. Keep public affection low-key, and ask before you enter a monastery prayer hall during a puja.

Learn a Few Words of the Local Language

Expanding your language knowledge is never a bad thing plus, when you visit places, if you learn the basics of their language, like saying hello, “Namaste,” thank you, “Dhanyabad,” etc., it shows your gratitude towards them and makes them feel appreciated. In Sherpa and Tamang villages, Nepali works everywhere, but locals love hearing their own language. Nepal has 124 mother tongues, so ask your guide for the local greeting.

Pay Fair Prices

When you bargain with local vendors and small businesses, remember that most of them do it for basic needs and not for luxury, so bargain within reason and never underpay anyone. This helps to better the quality of life of the locals, one of the prime focuses of responsible trekking.

Ask Before You Take Photographs

Nepal is a beautiful, diverse country with lots of monumental, historical, religious, and architectural attractions which you would want to capture, but don’t forget some places are restricted from being photographed. Respect those restrictions, and don’t try to take pictures of things you are not supposed to. Also, be careful and ask for consent before photographing people and sadhus (holy men). Many sadhus expect a small tip for a photo. At cremation ghats such as Arya Ghat in Pashupatinath, don’t photograph grieving families up close. Flying a drone needs registration with the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal and permission from the national park, so leave it at home unless you have both. Responsible travel helps you to understand the concept of these rules and restrictions better.

Responsible Trekking Checklist for Nepal

Trek Responsibly With Swotah

All Swotah guides are licensed, trained and first-aid certified. If you ask, we try to match your guide to what you want, such as experience, language, gender or age. These quieter treks spread trekking money to villages that see few visitors. The "From" price is the cheapest upcoming group departure.

Swotah can arrange any of these as a private trip. Read more about our work with local communities on our commitment page.

Responsible Trekking in Nepal: FAQs

Even if responsible trekking might look like a lot of work, remember it makes you a civilized human being and preserves mother nature. Feel free to add something we might have missed and give your opinion on responsible and ethical trekking.