Nepal banned solo trek in Himalaya region.

09th Mar 2023

Nepal banned solo trek in Himalaya region.

Nepal has made it Mandatory for all tourists who trek in the Himalayas region in Nepal to hire local assistance guide or porter form the registered trekking or expeditions company, the rules will come into effective from the beginning of April 1 2023.

“Every year, some 11 to 14 trekkers go missing, mostly FITs (Free Independent Trekkers), and this is serious,” president of the Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal told The Kathmandu Post. Also, it will help to ensure a safe trekking experience while allowing to keep track of the trekkers and provide rescue services in case of any emergency situations. Therefore, on solo treks, tourists often get lost and might face insecurities. To mitigate that government of Nepal have come to the decision to ban solo treks.

Along with the new regulation will help promote Nepal as a safe destination for tourists at a time when international media are questioning the safety of foreigners in Nepal as well as would benefit both trekkers and the tourism industry as well as local people-guide and porters, whose livelihoods have been affected by the slowdown in the tourism caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Nepal several trekking routes are in the remote areas without roads and communication facilities, so in case of an emergency, it takes several hours to day to rescue trekking in these areas due to the challenging terrain and lack of infrastructure. Previously, tourist were allowed to trek solo without local assistance guide or porter. However, this roles ban does not apply to the popular Everest region.