What to Pack for a Nepal Trek: A Measured Gear List

Most packing lists are interchangeable — the same thirty items whether you are walking a warm ridge or a glacier. This one is built from what we actually measured on the two treks we have walked, so every choice traces to a real condition on a real trail: the day that hurts people, the nights that get genuinely cold, and the forest that gets wet. Where a recommendation is general gear knowledge rather than our own measurement, we say so.

Watch: how Kak Yaa packs

Kak Yaa, who supports Malaysian groups on these routes, is filming a walk-through of exactly how she packs — the order things go in, what she carries versus what the porter takes, and the pieces she’s learned to leave at home. It lands here soon; the written list below stands on its own until it does.

Start here: pack for the descent, not the summit

Every brochure sells the climb. Our GPS files say the trek is hardest on the way down. On Annapurna Base Camp the biggest single day is day five — 15.24 km and 2,086 m of descent, 7.2 hours moving — followed the next morning by a 719 m stone-step climb on tired legs, a sustained 32% grade. That last stretch is where Kak Yaa, who supports groups on the route, sees 80–90% of trekkers cramp: calves, quads, adductors. It is not the people who struggled going up, and it is unpredictable.

That single measured fact reorders the whole list. The gear that protects a descent — trekking poles, broken-in footwear, and a pack light enough not to hammer your knees — moves to the top. Everything else supports it.

• Trekking poles. The highest-value item on this list. Used properly on the way down, they shift load off the knees and quads on exactly the descents that hurt people. Take a pair — collapsible, adjustable, with baskets — and practise the downhill technique before you go. (This one is our measured read, not a general tip.)
• Footwear that is already broken in. Boots or trail runners both work; broken-in is the non-negotiable. New footwear on a two-kilometre descent is how people lose toenails and skin. Most take supportive mid- or high-cut boots for the uneven stone; strong, well-trained walkers use trail runners. Whatever you pick, put fifty-plus kilometres on them at home first.
• A pack you can keep light. If a porter carries your duffel, keep your own load to 5–8 kg. Lighter legs on the descent are the cheapest injury insurance there is.

The layering system

Above roughly 4,000 m the nights get genuinely cold — that is first-hand from our early-November Everest trek, recorded by Nashriq. Down low, the forest is mild and, in the shoulder of the seasons, wet. No single garment covers that range; a layering system does, and you add and shed it all day. The short version:

• Base layer — merino or synthetic, next to skin, moves sweat off you. Never cotton — wet cotton chills you and doesn’t dry.
• Insulating mid-layer — a fleece or light synthetic for moving in the cold.
• Insulation (down or synthetic) — the warm layer you pull on the moment you stop, and for cold mornings and evenings. A hooded down jacket (600+ fill) is the classic choice; rent one cheaply in Nepal if you’ll use it once.
• Waterproof shell — jacket and, ideally, trousers. On the wet lower forest this is not a maybe. Breathable, with a hood.

Exactly what to wear, in what order, and the few pieces you can’t skip is its own guide: the cold-weather layering guide. Add a warm hat, sun hat, liner and insulated gloves, and a buff.

The sleep system

You sleep cold and high. On Everest Base Camp our track sleeps as high as 5,160 m at Gorakshep, with four nights above 4,000 m; Annapurna Base Camp tops out at 4,131 m. Teahouses hand out blankets, but up high, once nights drop below freezing, they are not enough on their own.

• Sleeping bag — a comfort rating around −10 °C covers autumn and spring. Go warmer (around −18 °C) for winter. Down packs smaller for the weight; synthetic is cheaper and handles damp better. This is a classic rent-in-Nepal item.
• Liner — adds a few degrees, keeps the bag clean, and is worth its tiny weight.
• Earplugs and an eye mask — teahouse walls are thin and dawn starts are early.

The pack: what you carry vs what a porter carries

Most trekkers on these routes walk with a porter carrying a shared duffel and a daypack on their own back. Ohana, whose trip we measured, contracts a licensed guide and porters for the trail. That split shapes what you buy:

• Daypack (30–40 L) — what stays with you: 2–3 L of water, the layers you shed during the day, snacks, camera, sun kit, valuables, documents. A hip belt matters. Target 5–8 kg loaded.
• Duffel (chosen to a weight limit) — the porter’s load, holding your sleep system, spare clothes and bulk. Agencies cap porter loads (commonly around 10–15 kg shared between two trekkers) — pack to respect it.
• Dry bags or liners — keep the sleep system and spare clothes dry inside the duffel; a pack rain cover for the daypack.

Carrying everything yourself is fine on these non-technical trails if you train for it — expect 12–15 kg and, again, feel it most on the descent.

Water, sun and altitude

• Water — carry 2–3 L and drink steadily; hydration is part of handling altitude (the medical side is in the altitude guide). Treat trail water with purification tablets, a filter or a UV pen rather than buying bottled — it is cheaper, and it keeps single-use plastic off the mountain. Two bottles or a bladder plus one bottle.
• Sun — UV is fierce at altitude and brutal on snow near the top. Category 3–4 sunglasses (glacier-style up high), high-SPF sunscreen and an SPF lip balm are not optional above the treeline.
• The cold-and-altitude combination is what makes these treks serious, not the terrain. No gear fixes altitude — only a slow ascent does — but staying warm, fed and hydrated is how you give your body its best chance. See the altitude guide before you go.

Health kit and documents

• A small first-aid kit — blister care (this is the big one, given the descent), painkillers, any personal medication, rehydration salts, tape, plasters. Diamox for altitude is a conversation to have with a doctor before you travel, covered in the altitude guide.
• Documents and money — your permits (the permits guide covers which and how much), passport, printed insurance details that explicitly cover trekking to your trek’s altitude and helicopter evacuation, and enough cash in rupees — ATMs stop at the trailhead, and teahouses are cash-only up high.
• Power — a power bank; charging gets scarce and paid the higher you go. A headtorch (essential for the pre-dawn Kala Patthar start on EBC), spare batteries.

What to leave at home

Over-packing is the most common mistake, and — fittingly — it costs you most on the descent. Leave:

• Cotton anything — base layers, jeans, heavy tees. It holds sweat and chills you.
• More than two to three days of clothing. You re-wear layers; you can pay for laundry lower down.
• Heavy camera kit you won’t actually use, and duplicate gadgets.
• Technical climbing gear. These treks don’t need ropes, harnesses or crampons in the main seasons.

Seasonal adjustments

The base list is for the two prime windows, autumn (roughly Oct–Nov) and spring (Mar–Apr). Adjust for:

• Winter (Dec–Feb): a warmer bag (around −18 °C), heavier insulation, and micro-spikes for icy, shaded sections up high. Some higher teahouses close.
• Monsoon / shoulder (wet): lean harder on the waterproof shell and dry bags, and add leech protection (gaiters, repellent) on the lower forest trails.

A packing checklist

Tick it off as you pack — your progress saves on this device, and Print gives you a clean paper copy for the trail (there’s no signal up in the mountains).

How we know this

The parts that are measured are ours: the descent load and the day it lands (from our GPS files — the full breakdown is in the ABC difficulty guide and itinerary), the sleeping altitudes (from the EBC and ABC tracks), and the cold above 4,000 m (first-hand from our early-November Everest trek). The 80–90% cramp figure is Kak Yaa’s, an experienced hiker who supports groups on the route, and attributed to her. The gear specifications, ratings and the buy-or-rent-in-Nepal notes are sourced general knowledge, not something we hold a receipt for — treat temperature ratings as a starting point and check current advice for your dates. This is planning information, not medical or safety advice.

Related: The cold-weather layering guide · How to train for the cold · Altitude & acclimatisation · Permits & the guide rule · Which Nepal trek is right for you?