How to hire a guide and porter in Nepal

Excited to have a life-time memorable experience while trekking in Nepal? You must be wondering about exploring the mighty Himalayas. The mighty Himalayas, fast-flowing rivers, glacial lakes, scenic view of diverse landscapes and stone trails passing through a densely populated forest in Nepal has got something to offer for every single soul.

Whether you are doing your trek alone or with friends and family professional guides will make your trip easy and a lot memorable. Would you like to carry all your necessaries and backpacks yourself? It will not be a good idea to let your backpack drag you back. Let porter share your load and you enjoy the trekking. Guides and porters will make your overall trek experience remarkable.

If you have already decided to hire a guide and porter in Nepal, this article has adequate information on how to and where to hire them.

Eagle Eye Trek offers guide and porter hiring services. We are a government authorized travel agency with a wide range of licensed guides and experienced porters. Also, we have years of experience providing the best trekking guides and porter for fellow travelers.

Types of Trekking Guide in Nepal

Basically, you can find four types of guides in Nepal. Each of them have different qualifications, skills and work experience. You can choose to hire them if your requirements are matched.

1. Licensed Guide

Licensed Guides in Nepal are well trained for guiding a trek and recognized by the government. They are fluent in English and other languages and have great communication skills. They should have full insurance whether they are working independently or with a trekking agency.

They have well knowledge of cultural tourism and make visitors feel welcome. They help foreign visitors discover and appreciate the cultural heritage of Nepal. They can be hired for $25-30 per day on average.

2. Guide Cum Porter

Porter Cum Guide carries your gear as well as equipment and guides you through the trails too. He/she may or may not be fluent in English but know basic communication in English. They have quite good experience in trekking and guiding. You can hire a porter cum guide for 20-25 dollars per day on average. Their wages are significantly less than a professional guide and feasible for trekking alone.

3. Porter Cum Guide

Porter cum guide carries minimal gears and equipment. He plans for your trek and leads you through your trail. He is decent at speaking and has good communication skills. He will cost less than a professional guide for you. You can hire a porter cum guide for 20-25$ per day on average.

Non – Licensed Guide

Non-licensed guide may be able to lead you through the trail and guide you on the entire trek. However, h/she can not pass any checkpoints or have trek permits. Nepal Government does not allow any person to guide a trekker without a license. There are good chances that non-licensed guide has no insurance covered. Thereafter, we recommend you not to hire a non licensed guide.

Five reasons to hire guide and porter

Most of the popular treks in Nepal like Everest Region Base Camp Trek and Annapurna Base Camp Trek can be done independently. However, a guided trek will help you get the most out of the trek. You will get to know everything you want to know about the trails. Topography, culture, and lifestyle of the people that you will encounter on your trek makes your trek a lifetime memorable. Basically, a guided trek will help you enhance your trekking experience. There are several benefits of hiring a guide and porter.

Navigation and Itineraries

A professional guide is very qualified and well trained. One of his primary jobs is to navigate through the routes and safeguard you on the entire trek. He will lead you through the convenient and friendly-trails, minding your safety concern and take you to your destination. There are chances of missing important sites or points in an unguided trek. However, guides are far more familiar with the trails as they have already completed the trails multiple times. There are no chances of losing your track or getting lost on a guided trek.

A professional guide will be responsible for planning and acting on your travel itineraries. He will brief you through your itinerary of the day and arrange your daily activities on your trek. If you wish to customize your trip and add a few extra days for an extended trip, you are supposed to consult with your guide. H/She is very less likely to deny unless there is a solid reason or potential threat. They will guide you through your problems and answer your questions.

Advance Booking & Logistics

Being helpful is one of the core personality traits of a professional guide. He will pre-book and arrange your travel, accommodation, required paperwork and other necessary things for you.

A professional guide is very familiar with the route and settlements along the way. He will choose the best hotels/tea houses on the trail to make sure you are most comfortable. Guides often maintain a good relationship with hotels, tea houses. He will manage paperwork like trek permits, tickets and provide required details in required places.

Communicate with Locals

A local licensed guide can speak English (or your preferred language) fluently. If you want to communicate with locals, they will help you as a translator. You will get a chance to understand the locals, their culture and their lifestyle.

Cultural Experiences

Nepal is a culturally diverse country. You will experience the cultural transition throughout the trail. H/She is knowledgeable about the local environment, culture, tradition, and values. This helps you learn the norms as well as values in the local society and dive deep into their culture and traditions.

High Support to Local Economy

Tourism is booming day by day in Nepal. One of the contributing factors in the Nepalese economy is tourism. You are contributing indirectly to the betterment of the local economy and youths if you are hiring a guide on your trek. The prices they charge you for their services are very reasonable. On a side note, you are providing an opportunity for employment to these youths in their homeland.

Gain local expertise

A guided trek will definitely help you gain expertise in local cultures and experience. You stay informed about the way of living of the local people, their day to day activities, their problems, and hardships. A guide will help you get a deeper knowledge of the arts, history, literature, and cultures of the region. This adds up on your overall trek experience and makes you trekking more interesting.

How to Hire a Guide for Everest Region Trek?

Whether you wish to hire a guide for Everest Base Camp Trek or trek to the Everest region independently, the choice is yours. We offer guide and porter hiring services at a very reasonable price.

If you are traveling independently and want to hire a guide straight after arriving at Lukla, you have to search for them in local tea houses, lodges or trek permit checkpoints. Consulting with the guest house/lodges owner is the other way of finding a trekking guide or a porter in Lukla. They may have a good link with a licensed guide and porter and can arrange them for you in case of need.

Or,

Leave that headache with us, we will arrange the guide for you.

Hiring a guide can be done in Kathmandu. There are several national and international agencies that offer professional and experienced guides for trekking in Nepal. You can contact them and ask them to manage the guide.

You can hire a guide directly once you reach Kathmandu.

Before choosing your trek guide and porter, make sure you stay informed about the communication skill, experience, and managerial skill of your trekking guide and porter. One of the big advantages of hiring a guide and porter from local agencies in Kathmandu is, you can communicate and get to know about your companions. As you are spending weeks in the mountains with your guide and porter, you are ought to choose among the best for yourself.

Although some tour companies have their staff(porters) on the trek gateways like Lukla, Hiring a guide and porter on the gateways has its own benefits and drawbacks. You are not obliged to pay airfare and other costs for your guide and porter if you hire them from Lukla, the gateway of Everest Base Camp Trek.

However, you would not be able to figure out if your requirement matches with these travel companions. You might not be able to figure out if your guide or porter has good communication skills, personal character, and overall suitability of your companion for yourself. So, hiring a guide and porter through local travel agencies and personally interviewing or getting to know your guide and porter before your trek is recommended.

How to Hire a Guide for Annapurna Region Trek?

If you are looking forward to hiring a guide for Annapurna Base Camp Trek, you have to search through to arrange them for your trek. You can consult with us as we offer a guide and porter hiring services at a very reasonable price. We can arrange a guide from Kathmandu or Pokhara as per your necessity.

Else, If you are traveling independently and want to hire a guide straight after arriving at Pokhara, you have to search for them in major tourist hubs like lakeside of Pokhara. Consulting with the guest house/lodges owner is the best way of finding a trekking guide or a porter in Pokhara. They may have a good link with a licensed guide and porter and can arrange them for you in case of need.

How to hire Guide and Porter for Manaslu Region Trek?

Manaslu Circuit Trek is one of the remote places and least crowded trekking in Nepal. Travelers from outside the country require permits to enter the Manaslu Conservation Area. Nepal government allows trekking to this conserved area with a special permit and a trekking guide is strictly required.

You can hire a guide and a porter in Kathmandu through a registered trek company like us. They will arrange qualified and experienced trekking guide and enthusiastic porters for you. They provide guides and porters covering their full insurance which is a plus point.

You can also hire a guide and porter that are working independently. This way, there are chances you can negotiate the service charges and get to know them well before the trek. Hiring an independent trekking guide or a porter will cost you slightly less but you have to make sure you have a professional guide and porter hired, not a newbie. Thamel is the major tourist hub in Kathmandu with lots of hotels and lodges for tourists. You can probably find a guide or porter for your trek in the Thamel area. Or, contact us we have professional guides.

How to Hire a Guide and Porter for Langtang Region Trek?

Langtang region trek is one of the prominent short trekking in Nepal. Langtang valley is located close to the north of the capital city. You can hire a guide and porter in Kathmandu. Eagle Eye Trek has been offering trained, government licensed and enthusiastic guides and porters. Guide and porter we provide are covered with full insurance and they are well trained for first aid and emergency situations. There are several trekking agencies in Kathmandu that offer guide and porter hiring services.

You can hire a trekking guide and a porter from Dhunche or Syafrubensi, which are the starting point of the trek. You can find independent guides and porters awaiting their clients. You can talk about the deal and check them if they are suitable for you. Make sure a porter and a guide you are hiring are government licensed.

Cost of hiring a guide and porter in Nepal

A professional tour and trekking  guide rate in Nepal is $25-30 per day. A professional guide charges you a slightly more than your porter. They are licensed by the government, well trained for handling traveler guests and helping them get enough out of the trek. A porter can be hired on the gateway of the trek or directly in Kathmandu. A porter will carry near to 25 kgs of your equipment, clothing or backpack. You can hire a porter for 15-20$ per day on average.

Eagle Eye Trek has been providing a guide and porter hiring services for a long time. We provide qualified guides and enthusiastic porters at a very reasonable price.

A professional guide hired from Eagle Eye Trek will cost you around $25 per day. This charge includes all government taxes, food, accommodation, salary, gears and insurance of the guide. If you hire a guide with us, you have to pay 40$/person as service charge.

A porter hired from Eagle Eye Trek will cost you 20$ per day. This charge includes all government taxes, food, accommodation, salary, gears and insurance of the porter. The porter provided by the agency is honest as well as enthusiastic.

This amount is a rough estimation and you may find guide and porter hiring service on less than this cost ranges also. The pay scale increases with the skill and experience of a guide and porter. You should hire a skilled, credible, responsible and experienced guide to get the best out of your trek. we assure that our guides and porters are not less paid for their work.

Note: Tipping a guide is your choice. If you are satisfied with them, they expect $100-150 for a guide and $50-100 per person.

FAQ’s

1. Do we have to pay Guide/Porter?

You are not obliged to pay for the extra expenses of your guide or a porter. Besides their daily earnings, which is usually discussed before the trip, you don’t have to pay any expenses from your guide or a porter.

However, at the end of the trip, it is customary to provide guides and porters with tips. You can tip as much as you wish to based on the performance of the guide or porter. Remember, the tip is not mandatory. You can cut it off if you are not satisfied with the service provided by a guide or a porter.

If you wish to hire a guide through a tour agency, you are not required to pay for your guide or a porter personally. A tour company like Eagle Eye Trek can arrange a professional guide or a porter for you. A certain amount of commission is expected to be charged by a tour company. A guide and porter are provided with insurance if you hire them through tour agencies.

2. How do we find guide and porter in Lukla?

Finding a trekking guide or porter in Lukla is fairly easy. You can search for them in local tea houses, lodges or trek permit checkpoints. Consulting with the guest house/lodges owner is the other way of finding a trekking guide or a porter in Lukla. They may have a good link with a licensed guide and porter and can arrange them for you in case of need.

Or,

Leave that headache with us, we will arrange the guide and porter for you from Lukla.

Most of the trekking agencies have their staff based in Lukla. You can contact such companies beforehand or on arrival at Lukla. They will charge a fair amount of service charge and arrange a qualified guide and experienced porter for you.

3. How much guide/porter carry?

A professional guide would not carry your backpacks and belongings. H/She is responsible for guiding you through the trails and ensuring your safety on the entire trek. There are other well-described jobs and responsibilities of a trekking guide. However, you should not expect your guide to carry your trek-loads.

A single porter will carry 20-25kgs of your belongings and equipment. He would be grateful to you if you manage to keep your load to be less than that.

4. Do we need to pay for guide/porter accommodation and food?

You are not required to pay for the accommodation, food, travel or any other cost for the guide and the porter. All these things are included in the wages you provide them on a daily basis. If you hire a guide or a porter through a trekking agency, they will cover all the required expenses like food, accommodation, salary, insurance, and equipment for a guide and a porter.

5. Is there any salary to guide and porter?

If you wish to hire a guide and porter through a tour company, you are expected to pay the deal amount in advance. It covers all food, accommodation, salary, insurance, and equipment for a guide and a porter.

If you wish to hire an independent guide or a porter on the way to trek, you can pay the discussed amount after the completion of the trek or as per the deal. You can negotiate the wages with a guide and porter if you are hiring them independently.

6. How much to tip guides and porters in Nepal?

It is customary to provide guides and porters with tips after the completion of the trek. You can tip as much as you wish to based on the performance of the guide or porter. Remember, the tip is not mandatory. You are not bound to pay tips if you are not satisfied with the service provided by a guide or a porter. For a seven-day trip, it is fair enough to pay the amount equal to a daily wage of a tour guide or porter.

7. As a woman is it safe to trek in Nepal?

All of the trekking routes in Nepal are safe for women to travel. You can travel solo or with a partner in almost all trekking routes in Nepal. However, a guided trek is recommended for a solo female traveler in remote place treks like Manaslu Circuit Trek and Kanchenjunga Trek. High altitude treks are not suggested to do alone as there is a potential threat of altitude sickness or other diseases. Some female traveller might prefer trekking with a female guide because they are most comfortable with it. You can also hire a female tour guide in Nepal from a local trekking agency like us. As a woman, you can travel freely without any worries. A few of the safety precautions on your mind and you are all set for your adventure.