Annapurna Circuit hike to health and happiness, Nepal

Planet

Plastics: re-filling water bottles to avoid unnecessary plastic waste. I have a UV pen that you’ll be allowed to use, alternatively, Travel Straw are a company who have invested in water bottles with added technology which makes unsafe water safe to drink.

Picking up litter – we encourage you to carry a bag to pick up litter, Nepal has a litter problem but it is still the most beautiful country I’ve ever been to.
The accommodation uses solar panels for heating water and electricity. This means the lights and power chargers only start working at a certain time in the evening to conserve electricity. Respect their desire to preserve electricity and turn lights out and take short showers. The veg will be from their gardens and is mostly organic.

We avoid taking internal flights on this trip for two reasons: firstly, when the weather is bad they are unreliable, and as we would be taking them to get back to Kathmandu to get our flight home, this could be a problem. Secondly, we have increased our carbon footprint flying to this magical land and getting a 6/7 hour bus to reduce even more of a carbon imprint in a positive step. Spending a long trip of 3 week here and cutting air travel elsewhere would be ideal.

We use Octopus Energy in our London office, which sources all electricity from renewable sources

People

Nepal has different social customs to us is the West. It is important to respect the local culture, dress and act modestly, and always seek permission before taking photographs. Women should have their legs and shoulders covered and men should wear full-length trousers and tops with long sleeves.

We get TIMS and Permits to enter the Annapurna region, funds from which go towards restoring and conserving this area of extreme natural beauty, as well as keeping the paths strong and safe to allow for continued tourism in the area.

We will visit a monastery in Upper Pisang where a small donation is welcome and goes towards sustaining the monastery and the monks practicing there.

We use a fairly paid Nepali guide and porters. Raman, our guide, is from the neighboring Manalu mountain range, you’ll learn from his about the local culture in Nepal.

The accommodation we stay in is mostly locally owned family run guesthouses, employing people within the village. .

Choosing to adventure in Nepal provides invaluable economic input into the local economy.