Upper Dolpo Trek

• Nepal visa Fee 
• International airfare to and from Kathmandu & Pokhara.
• Extra Hotel nights and Meals in Kathmandu & Pokhara
• Guided sightseeing tour, entrance fees in Kathmandu
• Any sort of Personal expenses, Alcoholic beverages, bottled mineral water, soft drinks and snack foods during trek and in Kathmandu
• Any personal medical or evacuation expenses. Strongly recommend International Travel insurance which included Helicopter rescues.
• Extra cost occurred due to Force Majeure or unexpected events like natural disasters which is beyond of Kaitu Expedition. 
• Personal tips for local support staff which is strongly recommended and highly appreciated. 

A Nepal (multiple-entry) Visa can be obtained on arrival at Kathmandu Airport. The visa fee should be paid in cash in US Dollars or equivalent to Pounds Sterling or Euros The current visa cost is $30 for a 15-day visa $50 for a 30-day visa  $125 for 90 days.

However, to avoid the long queues at Immigration, it's best if you pre-apply the online Nepal Visa Form: https://nepaliport.immigration.gov.np/on-arrival/IO01

Also, your passport needs to be valid for at least six (6) months after your journey ends and should have a minimum of one (1) blank visa page for entry and exit stamps.

For your own personal health; it is strongly recommended that travelers are covered against the following diseases; Poliomyelitis (childhood booster), Tetanus (childhood booster), Typhoid (food and water-borne disease), and Hepatitis A (food and water-borne disease). For those undertaking a longer more rural trip to Nepal, other vaccinations may need to be considered including Hepatitis B, Rabies, Japanese B, and Meningitis. There are seasonal outbreaks of dengue fever / Malaria, especially in the southeast of Nepal, but cases have been reported across much of the country. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available for Dengue, and therefore the best form of prevention is to avoid being bitten.

Most of our trips to Nepal go to high altitudes, where there is a risk of being affected by Acute Mountain Sickness. Our itineraries are designed to enable everyone to acclimatize to these altitudes, but you should be aware that it is still possible for you to be affected.

Approximately $500 (or Euros, Pounds, etc) changed into local currency, should be allowed for miscellaneous expenses including porter and trek crew tips, drinks, snacks etc.

Credit/Debit Cards are functional, we suggest you carry at least two different credit cards, such as Visa and Mastercard, so you have a backup if one of your cards is not accepted or lost. Access to ATMs is available in Kathmandu but is limited to none in rural areas. Contact your bank and credit card companies to let them know where and when you’ll be traveling, as well as confirm any foreign transaction fees.

When carrying cash, try to travel only with recently issued currency in smaller denominations; wrinkled or torn bills are not accepted. Only exchange currency at authorized outlets such as currency exchanges, ATMs or hotels and save receipts as they may be required for exit. 

Our multi-days adventure trek involves going to 5000m elevation. During the trip, you will be spending at least one night above 4000 meters and/or trekking to 5000 meters or above. This is not something that you should worry about; the human body is quite capable of adapting to a very wide range of altitudes, but we must follow some simple rules to acclimatize successfully. 

The Upper Dolpo trek can be categorized as one of the strenuous level treks. Trekkers must be physically and mentally fit as days can involve 6/8 hours of walking in remote and rugged terrain. Altitudes are generally more or less than 4000 meters with a Passes crossing above 5000m. The terrain will often be rugged and some walks may be exploratory, venturing far off the beaten track. Weather conditions may be harsh sometimes, and you must be comfortable trekking in adverse weather conditions. Remote areas are sometimes unpredictable and itineraries may be altered. To get the most out of your adventure you must be flexible, positive, and eager to take on all the challenges that arise.

We suggest up to one hour of strenuous exercise each day, interspersed with a relatively demanding bushwalk at the weekend. The best exercise for trekking is bushwalking involving relatively steep ascents and descents; multi-day walks are ideal preparation for our challenging adventures.

Booking confirmation must be done 30 days before arrival date in Kathmandu. A non-refundable 30% advance payment must be made after signing the Service Agreement between the two parties 30 days before the trip date. A confidential health questionnaire/Booking Form will be required from each individual before starting the trek. We recommend that each participant seeks pre-travel health advice from their GP or recognized travel clinic Clients must provide a Medical Report signed by a physician stating otherwise healthy and fit. 

During the trek, you will be staying at tented camps, where we provide spacious 2-person tents (foam mattresses are also provided), a dining tent complete with table and chairs where you will eat your meals and relax, a kitchen tent in which the Kitchen crew will cook your meals and one (or more usually two) toilet tents. Your local crew will set up the camp each evening and take it down again in the morning.

An experienced Cook and a team of Kitchen assistants accompany our camping holidays. Breakfasts will include porridge or cereals or Tibetan bread and eggs on alternate days, with tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. Lunches are generally prepared on the trail and can include cooked or tinned vegetables, rice, chips, freshly made Tibetan bread, as well as tinned tuna, meats, or cheese (alternate days). On occasion, this can be augmented by noodle soup. Dinners always start with soup, followed by a locally inspired main course such as rice, dal, and spicy vegetables, or a more international dish like pasta with tomato sauce or pizza and chips. Dessert can be tinned fruit with custard or rice pudding or cake with custard.

The emphasis is on providing a high-carbohydrate and largely vegetarian diet, which we have found to be easily digestible at high altitudes. During this trek, there will be very few opportunities to purchase snacks and drinks from simple shops and tea houses. All meals while on the trek and also while staying in hotels in Kathmandu and in Nepalgunj are included in the trip price.

As for water; boiled water will be provided in your individual bottles. Additionally, you should take purification tablets or a filter bottle (such as a Water-To-Go bottle) to treat your water. 

We strongly recommend you have a valid Travel + Medical insurance policy to cover the cost of medical treatment, and emergency helicopter evacuation and to protect the value of your holiday in the event of cancellation. When taking out insurance please ensure the policy you choose covers you for the activities and altitude included in your itinerary.

Your main item of luggage should be a sturdy kit bag, duffle bag, or similar which will be carried during the trek by porters and should weigh no more than 15kg. You should also take on your holiday a daypack of approximately 40 liters capacity. For all STOL flights in Nepal, the normal allowance for holding baggage AND hand baggage combined is 15kg. Please be aware that you will have to pay any charges for excess personal baggage above this allowance at check-in, and that excess baggage may have to be flown separately. It is possible to leave items not required on the trek at the hotel in Kathmandu. For your international flights, please check the baggage allowance with your airline.

Tipping is the accepted way of saying thank you for good service. As a guideline, we recommend that each group member contribute around $300 to these tips. At the end of their trek, many people also like to donate various items of equipment to the porters and trek staff. Boots, gloves, hats, scarves and even socks are always warmly received by the porters, whilst technical clothing and equipment such as head torches and trekking poles are highly prized by the Sherpa team. Your tour leader will make arrangements for a fair distribution (possibly by raffle) amongst the trek crew.

We believe in delivering the highest standard of client care before and after the completion of the trip. A team of dedicated and experienced Guide, helpers, and porters will support you during the trek.

Our view is that the best time to do this trek is during May. This gives you the best chance of crossing the high passes. It is also possible to do this trek in September into October. In most years the conditions on the passes are fine in the Autumn season. In some years there are early winter snows in October due to a cyclonic depression. If there is early snow this makes travel impossible for the pack animals.

This trek will have a wide range of temperatures depending on the season, altitude and time of day. During the first couple of days, it can be quite hot with temperatures up to 25 Celsius. The coldest temperatures will be in Sangda Phedi at an altitude of 5,100m. Overnight lows here can get down to around -12 Celsius.

Please remember that in any mountain area, the weather is never wholly predictable and you should be prepared and equipped to deal with any differences in weather beyond the conditions described above.

A Group member may then cancel their participation on the following basis: 

• Cancellation outside of 45 days will result in the loss of the trip deposit.
• Cancellation made within 30 days of the trip commencement date, we reserve the right to retain 30% of the balance payment fee.
• Cancellation within 15 days of the departure date, a cancellation fee of 50% of the trip cost applies. 
• Cancellation within 7 days of the departure date, a cancellation fee of 100% of the trip cost applies.

We strongly recommend you take out a proper Insurance policy if you wish to be covered against flight or trip cancellation due to medical or personal reasons.