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India or Nepal

Sun 23 Feb, 2014 7:38 pm

My girlfriend and I are thinking of a trip. It's very early in the planning stages at present, but doing some "trekking" in the Indian Himalaya or the Nepal Himalaya are options. In India the areas that appeal are Darjeeling/Sikkim area and/or Ladakh area (although I'd be open to other areas). In Nepal I don't really know - I'm interested in the some of the classics like Annapurna circuit and Everest Base Camp but not so interested in the crowds.

According to Lonely Planet trekking in India is like trekking in Nepal in the 60s or 70s.

I'd be interested to hear people's thoughts on pros and cons of each option. We're flexible in terms of when we'll go - it seems trekking season for most areas is Sep - Nov although other times are possible (and less busy)

Some initial thoughts are:
India
- Cheaper to fly to (Air Asia to Calcutta return for around $600 or $700)
- Cheaper day to day expenses
- Less crowded hikes
- Perhaps less infrastructure for trekkers, i.e. not really any "teahouse" trekking. This is both a pro and a con depending on how you look at it
- Sounds like you need to take/rent tent, stove etc.
- Perhaps a better destination to do some other sightseeing as well as trekking - like a couple of weeks exploring Rajahstan.

Nepal
- Easier to organise independent walks, walking village to village and staying in teahouse accommodation
- Busier
- Must be good to be so popular!
- Don't have to take a tent, stove etc

Cheers,

Drew

Re: India or Nepal

Mon 24 Feb, 2014 9:05 pm

Drew wrote:- Cheaper to fly to (Air Asia to Calcutta return for around $600 or $700)


Can't really comment on anything else, but Calcutta is quite a long way from anywhere you'll be trekking, so you'll have to factor extra transport into your funds...

Re: India or Nepal

Mon 24 Feb, 2014 9:27 pm

Heya Drew,

Sounds like a great holiday you have lined up! I spent 6 weeks in Nepal, and have typed out a couple of notes on my experiences there on the link below. If I were to go back in that direction, I would probably try to get to Meghalaya, as it looks beautiful and not as filthy as most of India and Nepal + there is a super cool packrafter there (Kynnah Shyllong on youtube). As for what I have heard, Sikkim definitely sounds harder to organise than the popular hikes in Nepal, though may be very rewarding. Nepal also has a huge number of hikes off of the beaten track, I did a couple of multi day hikes and didn't come across any other travelers. Either way you will not regret seeing the Himalayas!!!

http://adventuresandtinkerings.blogspot ... ng-in.html

Have fun!!

Jeremy.

Re: India or Nepal

Tue 25 Feb, 2014 4:46 pm

nickthetasmaniac wrote:
Drew wrote:- Cheaper to fly to (Air Asia to Calcutta return for around $600 or $700)


Can't really comment on anything else, but Calcutta is quite a long way from anywhere you'll be trekking, so you'll have to factor extra transport into your funds...


Just based on a quick look at a map Calcutta is actually reasonably close to Darjeeling/Sikkim (one of the areas I'd be considering trekking). If I were to go to Ladakh to trek then Delhi would be a better place to fly in to. Either way, an Air Asia flight to Calcutta followed by a cheap internal flight would possibly be a good option.

Thanks Jeremy, I'll check out your blog!

Re: India or Nepal

Tue 25 Feb, 2014 6:57 pm

I walked the three passes trek in April last year, I certainly wouldn't recommend to walk solely the EBC trek but doing base camp as a side trip on the three passes was pretty good, it just happens that base camp is the low light of the trek. The other valleys are really nice and overall the trek is great. Once above Tingboche you leave most of the crowds behind, its certainly not a wilderness expedition but it wasn't unbearably busy (and im not much of a people person). There are a fair few galleries and trip reports on this site of the 3 passes

Re: India or Nepal

Wed 26 Feb, 2014 7:46 am

Kanchenjunga region is amazing if you have a month free. North and south base camps, fly K to Biratnagar, bus or private van to start walk Basantapur.
The extra walking to Dobhan is worth that starting point.
After the typical circuit route to Pangpema and Tseram, we walked the valley out south right down to Medibung.
Then a bus ride from HELL down to Birtamod and adjacent Bhadrapur airport for the flight back to K.
Most of it now can be teahouse stays, with base camps tenting.
Hard Rock Treks in K are a great company to organise a guide and porters (if you require), they know the region very well.
Tenzie is a great guide, takes you on little used tracks that even local don't use much :)

Re: India or Nepal

Wed 26 Feb, 2014 5:56 pm

I was on the Dhaulaghiri side of Nepal in October and only saw 2 other groups in the 2 weeks it took to get to our base camp.

Some pics here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/radson/sets/72157637889280843/

Re: India or Nepal

Thu 26 Mar, 2015 11:10 pm

I am going back to India to do more high altitude trekking when I can manage it. I can do without the crowds that are said to flock to Nepal. I have yet to visit Nepal.PM me for more about my Indian trekking experience. I have posted stuff on this forum about my trek in Himachal Pradesh.

India or Nepal

Fri 27 Mar, 2015 2:05 pm

"Crowds" are a relative thing and it's silly getting fixated on them. If you choose the easier treks then naturally there will be more trekkers.
Now that half the Annapurna Circuit is serviced by road I really feel it has lost much of its appeal. And this is definitely where much of the backpacker "crowd" goes.
I've been to Annapurna, Dhaualgiri, Kangchenjunga but I definitely feel that Everest is the most impressive region to visit. Particularly if you walk in on the classic route from Jiri. A visit to Gokyo and a crossing of the Cho La before Kala Pattar and EBC rounds out a nice trek if you're not ready to tackle the three passes.

Re: India or Nepal

Fri 10 Apr, 2015 4:21 pm

I hadn't realised that this thread had continued long after my trip was decided upon! We ended up going to Nepal and doing 3 Passes (trip report here viewtopic.php?f=43&t=18789). It was awesome. Maybe India on a future trip! But I'll be pretty tempted to go back to Nepal...

Re: India or Nepal

Mon 13 Apr, 2015 10:45 pm

India all the way. I have spend a few seasons in both and much prefer India due to the lack of restrictions and the smaller number of hikers on the trails.

Re: India or Nepal

Sun 19 Apr, 2015 11:18 am

Heaps of remote trekking to be had in far northern India - Zanskar, Spiti/Lahaul, Nubra valley and surrounding areas are all epic of scenery and largely devoid of people (although it is India so you never know when someone will pop up out of nowhere ...). The Ladakh area is also culturally interesting and well worth a look!

Re: India or Nepal

Tue 21 Apr, 2015 8:36 pm

While Pakistan is unstable what with nobody really running place and the Taliban are on the loose, the trekking in the far north of Pak. is top notch. Pak. was once part of India.

Re: India or Nepal

Thu 04 Jan, 2018 1:45 pm

paidal_chalne_vala wrote:While Pakistan is unstable what with nobody really running place and the Taliban are on the loose, the trekking in the far north of Pak. is top notch. Pak. was once part of India.


Yes Northern Pakistan up around Sost continue on the Karakoram Hwy(the views alone driving this Hwy are worth the effort.Rated best high altitude hwy in the world.The road from Nth India into Xinjiang are spectacular but I believe that is closed at present) over to Xinjiang , China great hiking around Karakul lake to the base camp at Muzatagh Ata. Nepal good but it ain't a patch on Nth Pakistan and the mountain ranges of Xinjiang.
Last edited by Lost on Fri 05 Jan, 2018 6:45 am, edited 1 time in total.

Re: India or Nepal

Thu 04 Jan, 2018 5:49 pm

I am going back to the Indian Himalaya this year. I speak Hindi , read and write Hindi and Urdu ,so India is the one for me.
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