Responsible tourism in the Annapurna Circuit

Righting wrongs for porters’ rights

Like the mountains themselves, Nepal’s porters have an air of invincibility – almost-superhuman athletes able to carry huge loads for hours on end in little more than flip-flops and a T-shirt, over some of the world’s toughest terrain. And yet porters are in fact very human and very vulnerable; usually poor farmers from more lowland areas, who have taken on this back-breaking work as a means to support their families – and will not necessarily always be accustomed to life at high-altitude in harsh mountain conditions.

Local people in the villages surrounding the Annapurna Circuit are dependent on the revenue brought in by trekkers – through teahouses, selling handicrafts and work as porters and guides. However, just because many poor Nepalese from rural areas are desperate to work to support their families it doesn’t mean they should be forced to do so at great risk to themselves, and for as little remuneration as possible.

Porters are four-times more likely to suffer an accident on a trek than the trekkers themselves and working conditions for porters in Nepal are among some of the most difficult and dangerous in the world – with multiple days spent at extreme high-altitude, in changeable weather and across challenging terrain. The Trekking Agents Association of Nepal and the Labour Union of Nepal have recommendations for porters’ pay – to which any responsible tour operator should adhere – but treating porters fairly in the Annapurna goes beyond simply paying them a fair wage. It means ensuring they are fully-equipped, fed – and insured – for the trek they will be undertaking on behalf of their clients. Half of those who perished in the 2014 disaster on the Thorong La pass were Nepali porters, cooks and guides, and reports from the scene described many as lacking warm, waterproof coats or boots – which most can’t afford to buy – instead freezing to death in casual clothes, flip-flops or trainers.

It is imperative that porters, guides and trekking staff are insured by the employing tour operator for medical emergencies, helicopter evacuations and even – as was unfortunately the case in 2014 – death. In a country with no social security, no disability benefits, if a porter is injured and unable to work, their family, quite simply, goes hungry.

A new road through the Annapurna

And no, we’re not talking figuratively here. Over the last decade there has been considerable investment into the construction of new roads linking the remote villages in the Annapurna region. There is now vehicle access as far as Manang in the east, and Muktinath – just after the Thorong La pass in the west.

While trekking purists bemoan the loss of isolation that was once the Annapurna’s calling card – and a proliferation of dust from the trucks and jeeps traversing the gravel – we need to be circumspect about the new roads. Should we, as tourists, lament something that could have a hugely beneficial impact on previously cut-off communities? Certainly the roads offer more reliable, quicker – and cheaper – access to goods, services and medical care.

There is a worry that the new roads will destroy some of the trekking tourism on which the newly-connected villages depend – however that in itself depends on hikers’ attitudes. The Annapurna Circuit remains one of the most beautiful treks in the world – albeit changed from its original state 10 years ago – and new trails have been way marked to take trekkers off the dusty roads and to retain that ultimately irresistible feeling of remoteness and isolation. And with so many here reliant on the trekking industry the region’s residents need us to embrace the ‘new’ Annapurna and not simply look back at its past glory.

Andrew Appleyard, from out leading Nepal trekking specialists Exodus Travels highlights one of the benefits the roads bring to local communities: “When you come across the roads you see quite a few school children using them – rather than a maybe 8km or 10km walk to school they can now travel by vehicle.”