Nepal Trek and Trail Run: About Nepal

We strongly encourage you to read the books and material suggested on our RESOURCES page, as well as on Nepal’s Tourism Board website: http://www.welcomenepal.com. It would be impossible, in this limited space, to express or describe to you the enchanting country you will be exploring. The more you learn beforehand, the more you will understand what you are seeing and be able to relate to the people you meet.

Nepal is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of bio-diversity due to its unique geographical position and altitude variation. The elevation of the country ranges from 60 meters above sea level to the highest point on earth, Mt. Everest at 8,848 meters, all within a distance of 150 kilometers resulting in climatic conditions from Sub-tropical to Arctic.

Nepal – occupying only 0.1% of the earth – is home to:
- 2% of all the flowering plants in the world
- 8% of the world's population of birds (more than 848 species)
- 4% of mammals on earth
- 11 of the world's 15 families of butterflies (more than 500 species)
- 600 indigenous plant families
- 319 species of exotic orchids

Language: Nepali is the national language. However, travel-trade people understand and speak English as well.

Religion: Nepal enjoys the distinction of being the only Hindu Kingdom in the world. However, there is a harmonious blending of Hinduism and Buddhism.

The Do’s and Don’ts

A quick guide to respecting the culture of the Nepalese

Do learn at least 5 phrases in Nepali prior to your arrival in Nepal. Your experience will be significantly enhanced by your active participation in their language.
Do not give any items to begging children. This simply encourages them to cut school and continue begging. Any items (including pens, money, candy, and clothing) should not be handed out to children. If you would like to give items, it is best to give pens, money and clothing directly to a school or to the staff on our trek. This will insure that begging is not encouraged and that going to school is.
Always ask before taking photographs. How would you feel if a complete stranger simply walked up to you and took your picture? Try to meet them first. Let them hold or look through your camera, and then politely ask if they will allow you to take their picture. (Learning to ask in Nepali would be great!)
Don’t drink bottled water. You will be provided with boiled water by your staff. The plastic bottles will not decompose in the next millennium and usually end up left as an eyesore on the side of the trail. If you do drink bottled water in Kathmandu, make sure that the bottles are sealed.
Do dispose of trash properly. Use trash bins in the tea houses, carry out all batteries and other waste that cannot be burned by the staff. Burn toilet paper in the woods or pack it out.
Use kerosene fuel. Your trekking staff will be cooking and boiling all water over kerosene stoves. This saves the forests and allows local people to us firewood for their villages.
Use local toilets, when available. When camping outside a village, your staff will dig a hole in the ground and put up a toilet tent. However, when staying in a camp area within the village, please use local toilets. This will save the villages from becoming excrement minefields.
Do not throw anything into the house fire used for cooking. Nepalese believe the household God lives in the hearth.
Always be considerate and use your right hand to shake hands and eat. Nepalis use their left hand for things that are not clean and consider it ‘jutho’ or polluted. They expect the same from you.
Nepalese believe the feet are the most polluted, profane part of the body, and observe the following customs: Accidentally touching someone else with your feet should be apologized for immediately. Don’t step over any portion of another person, food, utensils, books, etc.