Hiring a Guide in Nepal

Hiring a Guide in Nepal to make your journey enjoyable and burden-free of any hassles, it is recommended to hire a guide while trekking in Nepal. This blog gives ideas and tips to hire a professional trekking guide in Nepal.

Nepal has become a popular destination for trekking, sightseeing, and adventurous activities. Trekking is preferred by most visitors, as trekking involves long walks along with nature’s beauty and experience the culture and festivals of the Nepalese society. As each of the activities can be equally enjoyable, adventurous and safe, hiring a trekking guide in Nepal, can be of great assistance.

Trekking in Nepal is safe and well known among global trekking enthusiasts. The developing tourism infrastructure, availability of hotels and lodges, wide mobile network coverage, internet and the people of Nepal, have their efforts to make the country safe for travel.

However, hiring a professional trekking guide in Nepal is highly recommended for most treks in Nepal as most of the treks are remote and may not offer familiar conditions for all. Even an experienced trekker or hiker would require assistance to ensure they get the overall experience of trekking in Nepal. After all, safety and security are always a top priority to enjoying any arduous journey. Read our Nepal Trekking Guide.

Now, let’s get into how to hire a guide in Nepal.

How to Hire a Trekking Guide in Nepal?

There are a few ways to find and hire a professional trekking guide in Nepal. You can find yourself a guide through trekking agencies or hire local independent guides as well. When you book a trekking package through any trekking agency, a guide will be included as well. The trekking agency will also make arrangements for both guides, and porters if needed. If you hire your guide in Kathmandu through the trekking agencies, you will have to bear the travel expenses of your guide. For instance, if you have booked for Everest Panorama View Trek, then you will have to bear all the expenses of your guide including the flight tickets to Lukla.

Hiring Independent Trekking Guide in Nepal

Now talking about local independent trekking in Nepal guides, you can find them on the trails of your trek or the places you start your trek. You can easily track down some of the most experienced local independent guides. For instance, Lukla for the Everest Region Trek, and Pokhara for the Annapurna Region Treks. You can search for such guides on the internet. You can book an independent local guide based on experience, specialization, gender, location, and various other aspects. Even if you are not considering buying a trekking package, there are travel agencies in Nepal like us, which offer guides or porter services without a package.

Before you hire a local independent guide make sure that they are a registered guide of TAAN, which is an umbrella association of trekking agencies in Nepal. Also, verify if their documents are legitimate or not. At the end of the day, you just need the right guide for your long adjourned journey.

The Cost of Hiring a Professional Trekking Guide in Nepal

Well, the cost of hiring a professional trekking guide varies between guides and trekking agencies as well. The agencies around Nepal charge different rates for hiring their professional trekking guides. It also depends on how long your trekking itinerary is and the trekking routes. You don’t need to worry about the cost of hiring a trekking guide in Nepal if you have already booked yourself a trekking package. Generally, the trekking package in Nepal includes the cost of a trekking guide in Nepal which consists of the following:

1. Daily Wages
2. Daily Meals / Accommodation
3. Insurance
4. Trekking Equipment for the Guide

Check our blog: The Costs of Trekking in Nepal for more info.

If you have done your research and decided to hire a local independent guide then here’s what you need to know. The average cost of hiring a guide in Nepal ranges from $20-$60 per day. The various factors that affect the cost include experience, skill, knowledge, size of your group and trekking area. Apart from cost, tipping the guide based on the services they provided is highly recommended but totally up to you.

 

Why should I hire a guide while trekking in Nepal?

Trekking in Nepal offers you nature and landscape but in addition to that, you also get a cultural experience. So, a guide is especially needed when you need to understand the culture, communicate with the local people and to make sure that you enjoy the trip to the fullest. You will learn a few local Nepali Languages after interacting with the locals. If you trek at the perfect time then, you will get to experience Nepali festivals and rituals.

You are not just hiring a guide but a trekking buddy, a friend, a listener, and someone that helps you in an emergency. Your guide will help you personalize your trip and make it best suited for you throughout the trek. Your trekking guide will also handle most of the logistics of your treks including advanced bookings of your hotel rooms. They will even make sure to wake you up, so you wouldn’t miss astounding views of nature (mountains, sunrise).

People come to Nepal for a memorable experience and enjoyment of nature, culture and people. So, to make your journey enjoyable and safe it is recommended to hire a guide while trekking in Nepal.