Safety & Advisories
Altitude sickness is not one illness but three — AMS, HACE and HAPE. Here is how to tell them apart, the symptoms that signal an emergency, and the…
By Dawa Sherpa · Aug 29, 2026
The single most important thing to understand before any high trek in Nepal is that "altitude sickness" is not one illness — it is three, and two of them can kill you within hours. Most trekkers only ever meet the mild one. But knowing how to tell acute…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
At Everest Base Camp (5,364 m) the air holds roughly half the oxygen it does at sea level. Nothing changes in the oxygen itself — the air is thinner, so each breath delivers less. Your body responds by breathing faster and making more red blood cells, a…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Acute mountain sickness is the mild, common form — and the warning shot. It usually begins 6 to 12 hours after arriving at a new altitude and feels, honestly, like a hangover: a headache, plus some combination of nausea or loss of appetite, fatigue, dizziness…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
High-altitude cerebral edema is AMS that has progressed to swelling of the brain. The symptom that separates it from an ordinary bad headache is unmistakable once you know it: ataxia — loss of coordination. A trekker with HACE cannot walk a straight…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
High-altitude pulmonary edema is fluid collecting in the lungs, and it is the leading cause of altitude death. It can strike without any AMS beforehand. The signs: breathlessness that is out of proportion — gasping at rest, not just on the climb — a dry cough…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
The Wilderness Medical Society's 2024 guidelines come down to four things any trekker can follow: 1. Ascend slowly. Above 3,000 m, do not increase your sleeping altitude by more than about 500 m per night, and take an extra rest day for every 1,000 m gained…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
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