How to choose a trekking company in Nepal, and the checks that take ten minutes

Industry & Tourism Since April 2023 most Nepal treks need a licensed guide from a registered agency. The checks to run before you pay a deposit, and the scams they… By Anjali Shrestha · Jul 22, 2026 Read the full story

Ask a Nepal trekking company for its Department of Tourism licence number and its TAAN membership number, then check both yourself before you pay a deposit. That takes about ten minutes, and since April 2023 it matters more than it used to: on most of Nepal's… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

Why the company matters more since 2023

Because on most routes you can no longer trek without one. The 2023 rule followed a rise in solo trekkers getting into trouble — altitude sickness, disorientation in bad weather, simple falls — in places with no phone signal and a day's walk to the nearest… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

The licence chain, link by link

A legitimate company is proven by five documents from five different authorities, and every one of them can be checked. None is exotic; the system exists precisely so a first-time visitor can tell a real operator from a website with good photography. The last… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

The seven questions to ask before you pay

Ask these in writing, and treat a vague answer to any of them as your answer. A real operator replies to all seven without being chased. Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

What a fair price looks like

A legal package has a wage-and-insurance floor built into it, so a quote 30—40 percent below everyone else's is cutting something. Usually it is an unlicensed freelancer working under a registered company's name, or an uninsured porter carrying an illegal… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

The 2026 fake-rescue case, and what it taught

In March 2026 Kathmandu District Court charged 32 people — agency owners, helicopter operators and hospital staff among them — over an alleged $19.69 million scheme billing foreign insurers for evacuations that were not medically necessary. Investigators… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

Rescue readiness is the question that separates operators

What decides whether a bad day ends safely is whether the rescue paperwork is already on file before you leave Kathmandu. When an avalanche hit climbers on Yalung Ri in Dolakha on 3 November 2025, killing seven, a guide on the mountain said rescue clearance… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

The scams worth knowing

The most common one borrows a real company's name. Freelance "guides" who approach you in Thamel or Pokhara sometimes claim to work for a registered agency; confirm directly with the company, never with the person offering the deal. The others are variations… Travel Himalaya Nepal · News Read the full story

Everest Base Camp Trek — 14 Days

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