In Nepal, what your local guide will do

In Nepal, having a knowledgeable guide is crucial, especially while traveling at a high altitude. Continue reading to find out more about the advantages of hiring locals, discover what to anticipate, and get to know some of the best trekking and tour guides in the nation.

Travel with a Guide in Nepal

Whether you’re trekking through the mountains, touring the city, going on a wildlife safari through the jungle, or rafting down a rapid river in Nepal, guides are in charge of making sure you have a safe and enjoyable trip. However, a lot of tourists might not be aware of how a guide can make or break your trip.

There are several benefits to hiring a guide over traveling or trekking alone in Nepal, from safety to social and cultural advantages. Even if you like autonomous travel, hiring a guide doesn’t always entail joining a group tour (unless that’s what you’re searching for); guides can enhance particular experiences on your own personalized journey, whether it be mountain biking, trekking, or cultural immersion.

Why use a native guide?

• Obtain local knowledge

Your tour guide has a plethora of information and experience to impart, whether it be in the form of personal anecdotes or help identifying local flora and wildlife. A local guide can translate talks, knows the ins and outs of historical sites and trekking paths (even those that aren’t well-marked), and is essential for helping you become friends with the locals, whether they be Sherpa, Newar, Gurung, or one of Nepal’s numerous ethnic groups.

• Encourage the local economy

By hiring a guide, you’re creating a job, and when local guides are adequately paid, they frequently give back to their communities, fostering the general development of the nation.

• Travel in Comfort & Safety

You can genuinely enjoy your trip when you have the reassurance that someone is watching out for your interests and is always one step ahead. In Nepal, where you walk in areas with high passes and safety hazards necessitating expert decision-making and potential evacuation, native guides are extremely crucial for trekking.

Additionally, you’ll make a lifelong buddy in Nepal!

Types of Guides in Nepal

There are culture and tour guides, trekking, yoga-trekking, peak-climbing, birdwatching, safari, rafting, kayaking, paragliding guides/instructors, and mountain biking guides in Nepal. There are different linguistic and subject-matter experts among these guides.

Regardless of the activities you’ll be engaging in together, a fantastic guide ought to possess a few characteristics. Every traveler is made to feel at ease and assured by the ideal guide, who is passionate about what they do and kind to others. They should be knowledgeable about emergency procedures, adaptable and willing to change your itinerary if necessary, ecologically sensitive, and full of interesting anecdotes and knowledge to impart.

Background and Training for a Guide

A government agency known as the National Academy for Tourism and Hotel Management (NATHM) issues licenses to all tour guides. They participate in theoretical and practical training courses led by corresponding tourism and health professionals. Particularly, trekking guides receive training in first aid, altitude sickness, rescue techniques, and other topics.

For tour guides, a bachelor’s degree is the required educational prerequisite; for trekking guides, it is a high school diploma. Before they can submit an application for a guiding license, trekking guides are required to work as porters for at least two years. Every two years, they must also upgrade their first aid education.

Some of our experts and tour operators have greater expectations for their guides and require them to go through yearly (or even more frequent) specialized trainings in anything from outdoor survival techniques to safe travel habits to pre-season refreshers.

The Guide’s Function During Your Trip

A guide’s role during a trip is not just to get travelers from point A to point B, but to make the entire process interesting, enriching, and engaging. As a result, in addition to taking care of ground practicalities like trekking permits, transit, lodging, and meals. Guides must be fully knowledgeable of the areas they are taking travelers to and always have safety at the front and center of their mind. After all, it will be your guide who will be able to alter your route or deal with emergencies if necessary. Your guide serves as a communication link between you and your specialist, giving frequent updates and relaying messages throughout the journey.

Fair Guides’ Pay and Benefits

The Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal [TAAN] and the Workers Union, two lobbies in accord, set the minimum wage for tour guides and porters. Tour operators follow these regulations, and respectable companies frequently pay more than the minimum amount required. Along with group size and hiking region, salary is also influenced by experience, knowledge, and other factors.

Despite some highly skilled and experienced guides getting paid more, the wages are still fairly modest when compared to what western guides earn. Foreign language speakers with international wilderness survival certifications might earn $50 to $100 USD per day. Due to the intense competition, guides are eager to put extra effort and money into their own education.All of our experts are dedicated to giving their guides and porters dignified and equitable working circumstances. This includes non-mandatory benefits like insurance coverage.

How and When to Meet Your Guide

For treks, a briefing is often held the day before your trip starts, where you will meet your guide and a representative from the trekking firm. Your guide will describe the route and address any questions you may have about the journey, and the office representative will provide you a local phone number and other useful information like departure times and where to rent extra equipment.

On the day of your tour, your city guide will normally meet you (and drop you off) at your hotel for sightseeing. You might otherwise meet your guide earlier by your local representative or specialist, depending on how your tour is set up.

Ask your travel expert once you’ve booked your trip if you want to know who your guide is before you arrive in Nepal. Additionally, you can specify unique requirements, such as requesting a female hiking guide or a guide that speaks a specific language.