The Annapurna Circuit is a pretty well traveled trekking route and though it takes you to some pretty remote places that may require evacuation by donkey and helicopter if shit goes bad and sport the sort of accommodations and culinary options that will have you wishing for a tuna steak and some wet wipes by the second week, its pretty touristy and easy enough to travel without a guide. That being said, I’d highly recommend getting one. It’s worth the money.
We started out simply looking for a porter to carry one of our packs mostly because Ford was being a little bitch after breaking an ankle yachting and tearing up some knee ligaments skiing (“man up, you got another leg” I said, but then she briskly reminded me that she was actually a girl and “Ford” was just a pseudonym she got dibs on by offering me sexual favors and promptly proceeded to shove said other leg… well you get the picture) oh and I was being lazy.
So we got to Pokhara, went to every single sporting goods store on the strip along Lake Side, realized they all sold the same bootleg shit gear made in China and that neither the brand or the volume size marked on the outside of a pack had anything remotely to do with reality or physics based on Euclidean geometry as we know it and bought the biggest lack we could find for $40. We then proceeded to fill it to the brim with both of our stuff. Somehow at the end of the procedure I was still carrying my own 75 liter pack weighing in at 30 lbs and we ended up leaving Ford’s full 65 liter pack and my day pack with out hotel in Pokhara for storage. But I digress.
So following some recommendations or recommendations we hired a porter to carry our newly purchased pack. Some of the established agencies will offer you guides who generally refuse to carry a load but speak english and know the route for about $25 a day and porters who barely speak English and barely know where they are going for about $15. We got incredibly lucky with a Porter/Guide who ended up costing us $17 a day. Not only did he carry our enormous pack with gusto, often out running us with our comparatively measly loads an resting under a shady tree along the way waiting for us to catch up but he proved to be an experienced guide, having been in the game for over 13 years and gone over the Throng La pass close to 100 times. He was extremely knowledgeable about the routes (something vital when you realize that no single accurate map or guidebook exists and the trail options change constantly due to road construction, landslides and varying degrees of trail maintenance or lack thereof), the flora, fauna and farming methods employed, the various lodges and their quality of lodging and cuisine. He was superbly friendly and helpful, knowing when to hangout with us and when to hang back and give us some space, he served as a personal waiter taking our orders and bringing us food wherever we we went and on several occasions even served as our personal chef. He was great.
Hell he even picked a mean merijuana harvest along the way (which is harder than it sounds given that most of the plants hadn’t bloomed yet) and slaughtered a chicken at one of the guest houses we stayed at.
If you’re looking for a good reliable guide, porter or both in Nepal, we’d be happy to recommend ours. Just email me at arthur@havetowelwilltravel.com.
(I’d like to add a side not here and assuage my Jewish guilt through Catholic confession and say though I experienced pangs of guilt every time I loaded up our porter/guides pack. That being said it was a featherweight compared to what we saw porters carrying on the trail. What some of the more commercial trekking outfits due to the porters on the large org sized treks just seems inhumane. One porter often ends up carrying the equivalent of two large packs and then some roped together and attached to a band on their forehead which is the locals preferred method of load carrying.)
Guides like ours generally only work a few treks a year and earn somewhere between $1,000 and $2,000 a year. Though that’s more than the average Nepali earns in a year, it still makes for a very hard life. We loved our guide and tipped him 60%. If your guide or porter works hard to do his job and make you happy, do your best to reward them accordingly. Give what you can just don’t forget to put things in prospective. An extra $10 might not make it or break it for you but it might make a huge difference for your guide or porter. Oh and please don’t forget to treat your guide/porter with dignity and respect.
Here’s another tip. Chances are you probably haven’t done much laundry by hand in freezing cold water while squatting over a hose in your day. The good news is, your guide will have plenty of free time while you lick your wounds from the days hike. Try to agree ahead of time with your porter/guide that he will be doing your laundry. Just make sure you also agree on how often and how. (Ex. No rubbing on stone, rubbing by hand only, run with soap, rub stains and high stain areas, rinse 4 times, rinse each peace individually under running water, hang to dry and clip.) Keep in mind that unless you discuss things ahead of time he might not consider how often you want clean clothes “reasonable” and you may not quite consider what he calls “clean” reasonable either.
Always interview your guide or porter before you agree to hire them. Don’t feel bad saying you’ll get back to them after the interview rather than making a rush decision. You’ll be spending several weeks with this person. You want to make sure you’re comfortable.
Here are some questions to ask your guide/porter or agency (and preferable answers):
Does the guide have appropriate clothes and foot ware for the trek?(Keep in mind that it gets quite cold and there may be snow on the ground. That being said, your guide will likely put your $500 Goretex boots to shame by insisting on running up the path in a $12 pair of sneakers. Do make sure they are experienced enough to know that it gets quite cold at elevation and they have enough warm clothes.)
[if working with an agency] Does the agency provide insurance for the guide in case of injury, sickness or death during the trek?
How many times has the guide done this trek before? (Make sure to ask about any and all optional side treks you might want to do, even if you’re not yet sure if you’re going to do them.)
Will the guide be drinking during the trek? (We’ve heard of some guides who get excessively drunk on the trek. We let out guy drink and smoke in moderation when we were already on the trek but its best that you determine beforehand that the general policy is no drinking.)
Who will choose the guest houses where you spend the night? (You want the guide to make recommendations. In our experience they were usually good. But you want to make sure that its clear upfront that you get final say.)
Who will be responsible for the guide’s/porter’s food and accommodations? (Its preferable that the food and accommodations be included in the price you arrange and be the guide’s/porter’s own responsibility. From what we saw the guides and porters generally get to stay and eat for free or at substantial discount wherever you stay and eat.)