Well the adventure in the roads less travelled which will take you to one of the most fabulous and beautiful life changing experience in wilderness of Manaslu trek circuit. The place will captivate you from day 1 of your trek. Manaslu is the eighth highest mountain in the world, with a height of 8163m located at Midwestern part of Nepal. The area of Manaslu region provides breathtaking views of major other peaks of the regions. Such as Himalchuli (7893m), Ngadichuli (7871m), Shringi (7178m) and various other snow-covered giants. The area is rich in various deep forest and wildlife. Red pandas, snow leopards, black bears, musk deer, blue sheep, and Himalayan tahr and the rhododendron forests.
The trek cost ranges vary with the traveler’s preference. In this part of blog we try to give detailed and try to breakdown the amount and the factor affecting the price and price range of various operator offering the trekking.
Ways to Trek
- Booking an organized trekking through an agency can be very good option as this is the safest and easiest way to complete the trek as the agency will take all your responsibility. This is the best option for the people who are alone and somehow not confident for trekking alone. The best part of booking with agency as they customize the itinerary according to preference and requirement.
- The next thing, it you find booking package from an agency is and expensive then simply hiring a local trekking guide can be cheaper way. One can simply go the local agency and get help and assistance to organize the trek. Finding guide and porter in Kathmandu in not difficult but one must be aware about some scams.
- If you are planning solo trek then you are responsible for all your requirements in order to complete the trek. Booking an accommodation to flight ticket can be hectic during the peak season and you have to do it in advance.
Factor affecting cost of trek.
Following are some factor affecting the cost of trek.
Visa Cost
Every international tourist excluding Indians, are required to get a visa for their entry in Nepal. For most of the countries, the visa can be taken on arrival at the international airport, however it is advised to check the availability of visa. It would be better to fill up the application form online before your arrival to Nepal. The visa cost for entering Nepal is as follows:
- For 15 days multiple entry visa – $30
- For 30 days multiple entry visa – $50
- For 90 days multiple entry visa – $125
Trekking Permit Cost
For trekking in Manaslu you will be needing few permits where you will be needing Manaslu Restricted Area Permit (MRAP), Manaslu Conservation Area Permit (MCAP), Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP) whereas $100 for first 7 days and additional $15 for each day between September and November. December to August the permit cost $75 for 7 days and additional $10 for each day. The cost of permit differs in different seasons.
Cost in Kathmandu before trek.
On arrival to Kathmandu, the cost or expenses depends upon your choice and preference. The budget hotel cost you around $15-$20 whereas $450-$500 for five star hotels. The popular tourist Thamel has to offer a lot where as the city also have few UNESCO world heritage site. Few extra expenses can occur with entry in such places and you will be needing a guides as well. The guides also charge some amount for their service.
Transportation
International flight cost are always excluded from the trip that has been organized by an agency. The public vehicle or private jeep. The nine hours approx. bus ride or jeep ride will take you place called Maccha khola. The 142 km ride will cost you $18-24 whereas the rates of private vehicle may vary depending on choice of vehicle.
Accommodation on Trekking
Accommodation in trek are usually tea house and few guest house. Mostly tea houses have basic facility and some place do not have a Wi-Fi as well. Most places offer authentic Himalayan lifestyle and breathtaking views. The basic room in the teahouses usually have two beds, pillow, blanket and an attached bathroom (except few). Every teahouses have a large dining hall where trekkers eat, relax and chat with other fellow trekkers. The dining is well warmed up and heated by a fireplace which is placed in the center of the dining room.
Following are some extra (optional) service charges during your accommodation.
- Internet
Internet services may not be free at every teahouses. It is very common in the mountain region to charge Wi-Fi service from $2 to $5 per hour even though the service is very slow to fast depending on the place (as in location not guesthouse) where you be staying.
- Battery Charging
Battery charging cost are usually charged on hourly basis as electricity is not available around the region. It may cost around $2 to $6 per hour and charging a power bank may cost up to $10.
- Hot Shower
Hot shower are not free in most of the tea houses. It may cost around $2 to $6 for a hot shower depending on the altitude you are at.
Foods during the trek
The food are highly influenced by Tibetan culture. Dumpling, chow-mein, noodles, soups (veg and non- veg) and of course Dal Bhat. However yak meat, yak butter, milk and some seasonal vegetable and some other foods. The breakfast option on the trek includes omelets, Tibetan breads, cornflakes, muesli etc. and others.
When you trek to higher altitude, you may not find it everywhere but eggs and breads are common on the trails. Lastly low altitude region provides variety of option on food and high altitude region has less variety as supplies in such area is difficult.
Guides and Porters
It is always advised to have Guide and Porters while trekking as it can enhance yours experiences of trekking as guide will provide information on and around the trekking. The language can create some barrier as taking guide along with you can avoid communication barriers and porters will be carrying your weight and you can walk freely on the trail and avoid sickness and tiredness during the trek.
The average cost of guide per day ranges from $30-$50 depending on the experience, qualification and language they speak. Porter charges may range from $20-$30 and will be carrying up to 20 kg of your luggage. However make sure to meet the guide before trek and get along with them and is insured for the trek.
Travel Insurance
Insurance or medical insurance are required to travel anywhere, but Nepal which has special features during travelling such as avalanches, sudden changes in weather patterns, alpine trekking trails, high Himalayan passes, high altitude trekking and alpine disease. When traveling to Nepal, choose a policy that covers ambulances and emergency return, including helicopter evacuation. With travel insurance, you can cover most of the risks of trekking in Nepal.
The policy helps you recover from an emergency medical evacuation in the event of lost luggage or travel cancellation. Lately Nepal is only accepting visitors, having travel insurance. And very important, Get insurance to cover the cost of rescue helicopters from the mountains in the event of a serious accident or altitude sickness.
Trekking Equipment Cost
It is essential to have a proper gears and equipment required for trek. The cost for beginners’ equipment can cost you around $200-$500. The equipment or the items that you will be needing are water and wind proof jackets, quality boots, trekking poles, waterproof gloves and others.
Value Added Tax (VAT)
A general consumption of tax that is applied on every product and services. The government of Nepal charges 13% VAT to all the trek operators and are included in trek package cost.
Which company to choose?
Well, there are a lot of company available nationally and internationally who are offering the services and trekkers are in big dilemma in order to choose a company that operates trek. The companies growing like mushrooms and with plenty of option and the variety of service that they offer as a result trekkers are in a dilemma in order to choose a company. Following are some variety of company you get during your search.
International luxury trek operator
Most of the times people often thinks that if they pay more they will get better services. For every trek there is international luxury trek operator and price they offer is excessive. Surprisingly, they have good success rates with standard safety. Any way they are charging way too much for trekkers and the price ranges from $4000-$6000 per person. Such operators are specialize in other destination worldwide as the might provide excellent service and facility but the culture and authenticity part will be missed. Trekkers usually don’t come in order to only sleep in mountain beds.
International budget trek operator
There are many budget trek operator selling their package but this comes to be expensive at the end as this operators hire some local third part organizations and pay around 15% of their profit of the trip cost. Also such operator hire local cheapest operator. They provide the cheapest service and cheapest accommodation. Their cost ranges from $1300-$1500 per person during both peak and off season. The basic services such as foods during the trek, airport pick up and drop, bottled waters etc. are not even provided.
Cheap trek operators
Even though they offer very less amount such operators unsafe and are not qualified. If you want your vacation to be cozy, stress free, safe and want to have good experience avoid using such operators. As we all know we all want to save money but that doesn’t mean risking up life and enjoy stressful vacation.
Online Travel Agents
Online Travel Agents are the middle person or say a deal maker who charges certain percent of your package trip on each booking. They receive certain amount as a cut. They offer very low prices for the trek package by reducing certain services for the trek. Also they hire some local third party local operators. The amount they offer may be less and they do not have proper information about the place as well. A lot of risk may arise during the trip so, it is always important to have a responsible tour operator who have good experience and knowledge about particular region.
Local Operators
Due to the rise in tourism industry in Nepal, a lot of local operators have popped up like mushroom at Kathmandu. Most of these local operators are registered and some of them are not. These local operators do not have fixed prices and offers. As there are many local operators, a huge competition is going on between them. This forces them to research the market, potential resources and the market prices as well. They provide customized itineraries for their clients as per their requirement and preferences. As they have to compete with other local operators, their services are good with safety management.
Why with us ??
Why should anyone choose any thing? Because of service, right? And yes we provide you quality service, everybody says that but here at Global Holidays Adventure the experience that one could get with us is irreplaceable as we offer hassle free service with the experience in this part of world from a decade ago with high success rate in every trek, climb and tour package that we offer. We are legal company that has been in the business for a quite long period of time. Having an experience from decade ago we provide you an experienced local guides. They are the one who resides in that particular region and knows the place locally and the amount of effort and the places they will take you as they are happy to serve you. One will have the great experience that s/he will cherish lifelong.
We are very conscious regarding environment and your health and safety as well. Wherever we go we put our optimum effort not to cause any harm to mother earth. However our responsible potters are will take care of all your belongings causing no harm. Well prioritizing your health and safety, our wisely designed itinerary ensuring proper number of acclimatization days will help you to stay in condition in order to get to the point of your desire. We also act fast if your health condition is in trouble either calling helicopter in order to send you to well facilitated hospital or nearby health post.
All our guides are friendly and they give personal attention to everyone in the trip regarding their health condition and push you accordingly respecting your strengths while recognizing your freedom or space.
Lastly, we provide an amazing and well experienced human resource required for a trip where all your needs are fulfilled. If you have a desire to become the most that one can be, we will put maximum efforts to fulfill that desire respecting your strength and with proper safety of a person and their property. Some treks just requires a pair of shoes whereas some other requires an entire team of professionals, that’s why Global Holiday Adventure provides high quality service and a wisely designed itinerary providing enough acclimatization days ensuring proper health condition of climbers.