6 shocking facts you need to know before you go hiking in Nepal

Nepal is a land of unimaginable beauty, stunning landscapes and enchanting views. Each year, thousands of tourists flock to the small Asian country just to catch a glimpse of the almighty Mount Everest. Nepali tourism is booming and provides jobs to more than one million people in this poor country, all of whom are working tirelessly to make our experience unforgettable, but at what cost?
On behalf of Mondiaal FNV (the Dutch international trade union) I talk to employees in the Nepali tourism industry about wages, working overtime, safety and waste management. They share their own experiences and show what they have gained from the trade union so far. Are you ready for six shocking facts that you didn’t already know about hiking in Nepal? I will also explain what you can do to help contribute towards better conditions for those people who make your trip simply unforgettable.

1. Guide pays the price of a cheap tour

When you decide to hire a guide (good decision!), the big question is: how much will it cost? Usually, you pay a guide a set amount per day. The longer the trek, the higher the costs. Before you start looking for the cheapest deal, it’s good to know who is paying the true price of your savings. The range of guides is vast and the competition is fierce. Tour operators fight over customers and lure hikers in with the lowest price. They can only afford to do this by cutting back on the wages of the guides.

The legal minimum wage for a full-time job in Nepal is around € 74 per month. Yet often guides will only receive one third of that price. The guides in Nepal often come from remote mountainous areas and are usually unskilled and uneducated. They are not aware of their rights and therefore agree to taking on jobs for far too little money. In their minds, earning something is always better than earning nothing.

2. Extra days

The popular hiking tours are sold in ready-made packages for a fixed price. The popular Mount Everest Basecamp Trekking trip, for example, is usually a 16-day trek for about € 1200 per person. However, hikers are often slower than expected and therefore need an extra rest day. Some even suffer from altitude sickness and need to add even more rest days to their trip. Of course, your guide can’t just leave you behind because his work is done. Unfortunately, it happens more often than not that guides and porters don’t get paid for those extra days.

3. Four times more accidents

It’s incredible to see Sherpas in flip-flops and worn-out jeans, wearing no sunglasses and with a heavy bag slung over their backs just running up the mountains. What about us? We toil on our ultra-breathable climbing shoes, in comfortable anti-sweat shirts and with our carbon walking sticks. These guys have incredible strength and impressive stamina. But did you know that there are four times as many accidents among carriers than amongst Western hikers? Sherpas are sometimes left behind when they become ill or suffer from physical problems. Much worse; porters are sometimes not allowed to join the helicopter if there is an evacuation due to upcoming bad weather or snow storms. It really happens!

4. Too heavy bags

Unfortunately, there are no official rules for the maximum weight that a Sherpa is allowed to carry. Most companies use their own guidelines. They range from 15 kilos up to 35 kilos per Sherpa. On top of that, he also needs to carry his own bag. There are still many tourists who cut back on their costs by hiring only a single Sherpa when they actually need two. I’ve seen one Sherpa carrying the luggage of as many as four hikers on their own. Believe it or not, a pack of 50 kilos is not unheard of.

5. Accommodation guide and porter

Running a hotel alongside the popular trekking routes is booming business. The majority of residents now have guesthouses or restaurants, with many others working in these small businesses. Of course, these entrepreneurs want to get the most out of their business. This means they use every inch of their property for rooms and facilities that tourists might need. There is often little room left for the guides and porters. Usually, they stay the night in primitive dormitories. Porters are less respected than guides. This can often mean that they are not even allowed to share a dormitory with the guides. The Sherpas don’t get access to the heated spaces and sleep in worn-out tents facing temperatures well below zero.

6. Waste in the mountains

Of course, as a responsible tourist, you never deliberately litter. You collect your empty candy wrappers and plastic bottles in your bag and bin them when you arrive at the next guesthouse. Unfortunately, the chances are that your plastic waste still ends up in nature. In areas like this, there simply isn’t a proper waste collection system available. Plastic waste either ends up in a landfill, in the forest, or it gets burned. So, the more packaging you use along the way, the more garbage will be left in the mountains.

The power of the trade union

Trade unions have been allowed in Nepal since the beginning of the 1990s. In the tourism industry, Unitrav (Union of Trekking Travels and Rafting Workers) is responsible for the rights of guides, porters, hotel and restaurant staff, as well as coaches for white-water rafting. Together, they fight for health insurance, security and minimum rights, such as a life insurance policy for mountaineers. Mondiaal FNV supports the local trade union by sharing knowledge, providing training and financial support. I talked to members of Unitrav about their experience with the trade union and what they have achieved together. This video shows the power of uniting through a trade union.

What can you do?

It is not just the trade unions that are striving to improve working conditions. As a tourist, there is a lot you can do. Here are some tips to get you started:

Ask questions about the wages and working conditions of the guides and porters before you hire a tour operator: Are the employees insured? Is there a maximum weight that the porter is allowed to carry? Are there guidelines for their accommodation? Are the employees provided with good clothes and shoes?
Try to find out whether employees are members of a trade union like Unitrav.
Does the planned trek take longer than expected? Make sure your guide and porter are paid for the extra days. Ask your tour operator how they deal with this. Yes, this means you’ll have to spend some extra bucks. But on the other hand, you’re also using their services longer than what you’ve paid for.
As a hiker, you are responsible for the health and safety of your guide and porter during the trek. Never leave an ill or wounded porter behind. When continuing your trek, make sure someone is with him that knows what’s going on and speaks the same language. Leave enough money to pay for a doctor.
Do not give your Sherpa more to carry than a total amount of 20 kilos.
Never let your guide and porter do the trekking in worn-out shoes or flip-flops. Buy new shoes if necessary.
Prevent snow blindness and give your guide and porter a pair of sunglasses if they do not already have them.
Above the tree line, it is freezing cold. This means your guide and porter need to have a good place to sleep. If you suspect your porter is sleeping outside, ask if you can see his bedroom. When it turns out you are right, you can demand from the owner that your travel companion also sleeps indoors. If they are not complying with you request, leave for the next hotel (there are more than enough to choose from).
Make sure that your guide and porter are provided with food and hot drinks. After all, you paid for it.
Take a refillable bottle and fill it with the local tap water. You can ask the hotel owner for boiled water. When filtering the water yourself, use purification tablets, a chlorine solution or other methods.
Avoid plastic waste. If you really need your energy bars and other sweets, take a small bag with you to collect the waste and bin it when you return to Kathmandu or Pokhara.