Why hire a guide & porter in Nepal ?
Why hire a guide & porter while trekking in Nepal?
Nepal is a small south Asian country sandwiched between two giant countries China & India. An ancient country hosting 8 highest mountains above 8000 m out of 14 eight thousand meters' mountains in the world. Nepal have 1310 peaks above 6000 meters in the world. Not only the mountains Nepal is famous for its diverse landscape also. The lowest place of Nepal is Kechankal , Jhapa , 60 m & highest peak is Mt Everest 8848 m , also known as Sagarmatha in Nepali . Nepal is also famous for its culture. It is a country where 81. 19 % people are Hindu, which is highest in terms of percentage, 80.21 % Buddhism, 5.09 % Islam, 3.17 % Kirant & remaining other religions. This is the place where the light of Asia, Gautama the Buddha was born. It is a home to 125 ethnic groups & 123 languages & dialects. It is a 93th largest country in the world by land area & 49th largest by population. As one of the oldest country in the world it has its own calendar called Bikram Sambat. As of current time this is 2081 BS running in Nepal. The economy of Nepal is heavily dependent on agriculture. Remittances or diaspora (earning of Nepalese from working in abroad accounts for 26 % of Nepalese GDP. This is actually not good for the Nepalese economy as Nepalese people using their sweat & labor in the foreign land. Lots of people die like a dog because of low safety in the middle east countries for unskilled labor. As Nepal is situated between two giant manufacturing countries China & India which are the 2nd & 5th largest economies in the world. Nepal can't compete with them on manufacturing. So Nepal should focus on tourism for its major income. Other mountainous countries like France, Italy & Austria hold 100 million, 57.2 million & 30.9 million tourist annually while Nepal is struggling even to get 1 million tourists
These are the major reasons why it is good to hire a guide & porter while trekking in Nepal
1) Safety: As Nepal is a country where there are 100 trekking regions. A lot of places are not accessible by the road & there are not sign boards everywhere. That’s why lot of people go on missing while trekking in Nepal. So hiring a local guide or a porter helps in the safety of trekkers.
2) Supporting local economy: Since Nepal is a poor country having per capita income or average income of just1490 $. So tourism plays a vital role in the economy. Having a guide & porter helps to support the daily income of guide & porter. Most of the guide & porter's earn their livelihood for fooding , lodging , accommodation , children's school fee through the income of trekking job .
3 Know the local culture: Nepal is a multiethnic country. When you do hike or trekking with a guide he/ she can give you detailed information of the local culture in the trekking. The guide knows off the beaten trekking places & routes in the trekking area. So he/ she can take you to the traditional cultural places. For e.g. In the trekking villagers make the local spirit in the traditional way using millet. If you are interested in these types of local things, the guide can take you to that place & you can have live experiences .
4) Itinerary: While trekking in with guide, you can manage itinerary in a flexible way accompanying your preferences, walking speed & health situation.
5) Accommodation & Transportation: Since Nepal is very busy in trekking season, hiring a guide helps to book the room in advance. Some time is very busy & difficult to get even a sharing space in the dining area of tea house of trekking region. So guide can help you in these difficult situations.
6) Tips: Guide can offer you tip on where to eat, what things to enjoy & what things to avoid.
