LAURENCE MACKINreviews Nepal, Rough Guides, £15.99
Trekking, or hiking as the more old-fashioned of us like to call it, seems to be creeping in as the new active holiday of choice for those looking for something more active than sitting on a beach. It involves a fraction of the gear of most activity holidays, such as biking, skiing or climbing, and
requires next to no technical know-how (though common sense is a pre-requisite). In general, it can be kinder to the environment than most thrill-seeking trips, you proceed at a pace that lets you really absorb the surrounding areas and cultures, and it brings you into the heart of some of the world’s most spectacular scenery.
Of all the world’s trekking destinations, Nepal is probably top of the mountainous heap, and reading this guide it is easy to see why. It boasts eight of the world’s 10 highest mountains (though the peaks of most of these require a much more technical approach than mere hiking), including the mother of them all, Everest, it has a climate and geography that beggars belief, soaring from subtropical jungle to 8,500m in barely 147,00sq km. This is one of the wildest parts of the world and is relatively new to tourism.
This book packs all the trekking into one chapter, which is sensible given that most of it happens in the area around the Himalayas. For a trip to Nepal, preparation is essential, and this book devotes a substantial amount of space to laying the groundwork, from sections on altitude sickness, a list of gear essentials, and health guidelines. There is a good subsection on the country’s climate – there are staggering changes in seasonal weather in Nepal, so it is crucial to time your visit to coincide with your preferred activities. There are stomach-rumbling entries on Nepal’s food and some travellers might find the authors a little unkind towards Kathmandu. But reading this book, it seems they were keen to get out and begin exploring the mountains, so we’ll forgive them.