The article highlights all the necessary details about tea house trekking in Nepal. If your next destination is Nepal and you are looking for trekking, tea house trekking is the best to satisfy your cravings.
WHAT IS A TEA HOUSE?
Originally, teahouses were little shops where travelers could stop for a rest and a cup of tea. With time, as more and more visitors came to explore the mountains in Nepal, these teahouses have developed into full-fledged mountain lodges offering food and accommodation to guests at a nominal price.
Teahouses vary slightly from region to region, but most are simple stone and wooden buildings or huts that have a kitchen, a communal eating hall and bathroom area, and a number of basic bedrooms that usually have two single beds and a table. Most tea houses are built specifically for trekkers, but some, in the more remote regions of Nepal, may double as the family’s home.
Most of the tea houses are owned, managed and inhabited by local families. Trekkers love staying at tea houses as it gives them a rare glimpse into the culture and daily lives of the local people in rural Nepal. Teahouse trekking also saves you from having to carry your own camping equipment like tents, sleeping bags, and food at a high altitude.
MEALS IN TEA HOUSE
You’ll find a similar set menu of dal-bhat, momos, pasta, pizza, burger, bakery items and other rice and noodle dishes at almost all the teahouses in Nepal. Some dishes like momos take a lot of time for cook. So, it is wiser to take quickly available and fresh dishes during the day time and momos can be eaten after reaching the destination when you have time to kill. To avoid getting sick during the trek, it’s wise to order whatever is fresh. Most trekkers, guides, and porters opt for dhal bhat – it’s generally consistent, healthy, and readily available wherever you go. A plate of Dal Bhat includes steamed rice, lentil soup, vegetable curry, and sautéed spinach.
Meat is sometimes not available in some of the trekking trails in high elevation and sacred sites. So, depending on your location of trekking, it is good to know the availability of meat and weather to bring or not to bring with you.
The higher you go, the more is the cost of meals.
Note: The variety in meals differs from one trekking trail to another. However basic meals like Dal-bhat, noodles, pasta, momos are available in almost every tea house.
ACCOMMODATION
Expect the rooms to be basic but clean, and to pay slightly more for an attached bathroom. The rooms usually include single sized beds with sheets, pillows and blankets, a bedside table and ceiling light. Your room will come with a thick blanket (feel free to double-up, if it’s cold), which you can use as a second layer over top of your sleeping bag or as your main blanket for the night.
Note: If you’re worried about cleanliness, you can bring sleeping bags or bed liner for your own comfort. It is wise to bring ear plugs as the walls in rooms are thin and sometimes to be free from noise coming. Wood fire heaters are only available in the dining hall.
SHOWERS, TOILETS AND ELECTRICITY
Toilets in the trekking trails are very basic with traditional squat toilets on a shared basis. However, very few tea houses in very few trekking trails offer rooms with en- suite bathrooms and modern toilets. Toilets can sometimes be located outside the teahouse so it is a good idea to bring a head torch while visiting at night.
Note: Toilet paper is a rare commodity in the mountains. So, you may have to bring a few packs of tissue paper before starting the trek. Note that many toilets may be unable to flush paper without clogging so always properly dispose of it after use.
Most trekkers skip on showers during their trek after crossing 4000m, but some teahouses do offer hot bucket showers at a small fee. Hot showers are also available in some of the trekking areas or in the lower elevation with a charge of nominal fee.
Rooms don’t always come with a plug socket but it is usually possible to charge your phone, cameras and other gadgets in the dining hall for a fee of $1-2 per hour.
WIFI
Most of the trekking areas don’t have the facilities of WIFI. For those who need internet facilities, it is best to know whether the destination has WIFI or not. However, trekking is to engage oneself in nature and mountains rather than in the digital world. It is always wise to finish up the tasks which need internet prior to the departure for trekking.
TEAHOUSE MANNERS
If your accommodation and meals are included as part of a package trek, then everything will be taken care of at your teahouse besides personal snacks and drinks, which you usually pay for yourself. In almost all cases, the cost of your room is very affordable (around $5 to $10/night), where the owners make most of their income from the meals and beverages. For this reason, you are expected to eat all your meals at the teahouse at which you’re staying.
Trekking can be a messy business and your shoes will bear most of the brunt of the environment. It is best to leave your hiking boots outside your room and use flip-flops indoors.
THINGS TO KNOW
The popular trails can get pretty busy in peak trekking season (fall and spring) and teahouses in smaller settlements can fill up quickly. So, it is always good to carry a sleeping bag while trekking in peak seasons. Sometimes, due to the crowd in trekking trails and lack of rooms, visitors may need to sleep in the dining area. Therefore a sleeping bag is best in such cases.
MOST POPULAR TEA HOUSE TREK IN NEPAL
| Name of Trek | Grade | Max. Elevation | Highlights |
| Everest Base Camp Trek | Strenuous | 5643m | Majestic view of mountains like Mt. Everest (8848m), Kwangde (6,011m), Thamserku (6,623m), Kangtega (6,782m), Nuptse (7,861m), Lhotse (8,516m), Ama Dablam (6,812m), Cholatse (6440m), Mt. Makalu (8481m) and many more. Sunset from Kalapathhar, known as Everest viewpoint. (5644.5m). Fly into the high altitude Hillary Tenzing Airport at Lukla. (2860m) Visit Sherpa villages and yak herders. Visit Tengboche Monastery with its strong spiritual connection and the surrounding panorama of mountains. (3870m) Be stunned by the chilling beauty of the Khumbu Glacier and Khumbu Icefalls. Pass through Sagarmatha National Park with its unique flora and fauna like pine, hemlock, rhododendron, juniper, pirch, Himalayan monal, blood pheasant, red-billed chough,yellow-billed chough, musk deer, snow leopard, Himalayan black bear and red panda. Himalayan tahrs, langur monkeys, martens and Himalayan wolves Follow the footsteps of Sir Edmund Hillary and many other famous mountaineers. |
| Annapurna Circuit Trek | Strenuous | 5414m | Tilicho lake (4919 meters), the lake situated at the highest altitude in Nepal Thorong La Pass (5416 meters)Cultural and spiritual spot i.e. Muktinath temple. Gurung and Thakali communities, and get a close insight into their everyday activities. The alluring views of Annapurna I (8091m), Annapurna II (7937m), Annapurna III (7555m), Hiunchuli (6441m), Gangapurna (7455m), Nilgiri North (7061m), Dhaulagiri (8167m), Machhapuchhre (6993m) Scenic waterfalls along the way. Deepest gorge, Kaligandaki Gorge, also known as Andha Galchhi |
| Ghorepani Poon Hill Trek | Moderate | 3210m | You will feel lost during the spectacular sunrise/sunset views back-grounded on the chain of Himalayas in the Annapurna region from Poon Hill (3210 meters). Panoramic views of mountains like Annapurna ranges, Dhaulagiri ranges, Machhapuchhre Himal, Hiunchuli, Nilgiri, and Mardi Himal. Annapurna Conservation Area with unique flora and fauna including 1,352 species of plants, 128 wild mammals (recent), 514 birds (recent) , 348 butterflies, 40 reptiles and 23 amphibians. Remarkable hospitality of local people, especially Gurung and Magar community. |
| Langtang Valley Trek (Tamang Heritage Trail) | Strenuous | 5000m | Rhododendron and bamboo forests, alongside thundering waterfalls and stunning snow-capped mountains. Sunrise from the Tserko Ri at 5,000m. Buddhist culture of the Tamangs and the Sherpas, and the ancient monastery of Kyanjin Gompa. The spectacular mountain views on this trek include Dorje Lakpa (6,990m), Langtang Ri (6,370m) and Langtang Lirung (7,245m). Langtang National Park- a pristine countryside with majestic flora and fauna, yak pastures and local cheese factories. Langtang National Park exhibits a high diversity of 14 vegetation types, 18 ecosystem types, ranging from upper tropical forests below 1,000 m (3,300 ft) m altitude to alpine scrub and perennial ice. |
| Manaslu Circuit Trek | Streunuous | 5106m | The region is home to 33 species of mammals including snow leopard, musk deer and Himalayan Tahr. There are over 110 species of birds and three species of reptiles and over 1500-2000 species of flowering plants. Friendly people, rich culture of the region which includes both Nepalese and Tibetan ethnic groups (mostly Sherpas). Larky La Pass (5167 meters), the highest point on the trek. Stunning view of some of the highest peaks in the world- Manaslu (8156m), Himlung Himal (7126m), Nemjung (7140m), Kang Guru (6981m), and Annapurna II (7937m). |
| Makalu Base Camp Trek | Streunuous | 4870m | From base camp the Barun Glacier, the south face of Makalu (8,481m), and a complete panorama of Everest and Lhotse is seen. Makalu Barun National Park, home to more than 3,000 species of flowering plants, 440 species of birds and 75 species of mammals including the snow leopard, red panda, musk dear, wild boar, wild yak and the Himalayan Thar. Tutu La Pass (4,125m) which is now known by the name of Shipton’s Pass. |