Our packs were very light for our 2013 Everest Base Camp Independent trek. My pack was 5.5 kilos and the trainer’s was 6 kilos. For the 2015 Everest Base Camp Independent  trek the porter carried 15 kilos which was our combined gear plus we both carried day packs weighing 2 or 3 kilos.

My Packing List

• Last updated 11 January 2020

Arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport

• Passport and visa – Visa on entry if you don’t mind standing in a queue. Getting a visa processed at Tribhuvan International Airport wasn’t too bad, but we have not been through this process in peak trekking season.There were photo machines there in 2018, in case you did not have a passport photo.
• Passport photos – for your Visa
• Nepalese rupees – including some small notes for arrival are helpful

Clothes for Kathmandu

Lighter clothes including sandals for Kathmandu – the weather was warmer, check the Kathmandu weather for when you are there. On our first trip we travelled to subtropical Chitwan as well as in the Khumbu, so we needed light clothes for the area. We trekked in September/October and November/December.

Trekking Equipment

• Back pack
• Day packs
• Padlocks for suitcase and backpack
• 2 Waterproof stuff packs. Great for organising your stuff and for keeping them dry
• Packing cubes (not critical but makes packing easier)
• Trekking poles
• Down sleeping bag
• Silk sleeping bag liner – I didn’t take this on our second trek

Trekking Gear

• Boots and extra laces – broken in by all the training you should do
• Socks, woollen
• Plastic clogs (or thongs) – for showers and using shared toilets at night
• Warm jacket with a hood
• Waterproof jacket with a hood – for the wind and rain
• Pants, long trekking 2 pairs
• Long sleeve tee-shirts, merino wool, 2
• Long sleeve polo neck tee-shirt, merino wool
• Long leggings, merino wool, 2
• Fleecy zip up wind-cheater – purchased in Namche Bazaar
• Tee-shirts, one merino wool and one polyester running type
• Underwear – 2 sport bras and 5 pairs of wool knickers
• Handkerchiefs – just a few
• A WHISTLE – I had forgotten to write this for six years! I have a whistle attached to the inside of my jacket. I also have one that is incorporated into the chest strap of my Osprey pack.

Finding Your Way

• A Guide or Porter/Guide
• Map – purchased in Kathmandu
• Small Torch – for night toilet trips and night time in room. Rooms normally have only one single light bulb
• Small batteries, 2 dozen for the torches
• Guide Book – we bought Trekking in Nepal Everest by Partha S. Banerjee a Milestone Himalayan Series bought in Melbourne.

Recording the Journey

• Camera and charger – Canon G16
• Two prong adapter
• Notebook, very light and a pens
• Mobile phone for camera (and charger)

Keeping in Contact

• Mobile phone for Facebook
• An extra mobile phone purchased in Kathmandu with a Nepalese SIM card for cheap calls home and in Kathmandu and in the Khumbu area.

First Aid Kit

• Water purification tablets
• Band aids and bandages
• Medicine (personal)
• Medicine – broad spectrum antibiotics, something for dysentery
• Travelan – I am a big fan of this as a precaution for diarrhoea
• General pain killers
• Something for stomach aches
• Something for diarrhoea if you get it

All of the above where packed in zip lock containers. Tablets were removed from packaging and only one side of the card box taken with the instructions.

Keep Sun Safe and Hydrated

• Lip balm – buy your favourite from home
• Sunscreen
• Hat for the sun – which the trainer hates but it squashes down to nothing
• Water purification tablets
• Sunglasses
• Prescription glasses
• 2 Water bottles, plastic –
• We plan to purchase a steri- pen if we trek a fourth time. They are worth the investment and would pay for themselves, especially for two people.

Toiletries

• Shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, comb
• Sports towel
• Baby wipes
• Hand sanitizer, small bottle
• Toilet paper and tissues
• A double layer of gauze (sewn together) to use as a towel to wipe off excess water because it dries quickly.

Keeping Warm

• Beanie type wool hat. Also a “head sock” which I wore under the woollen beanie.
• Headband, fleece
• Neck-warmer, fleece
• Gloves, 3, leather, woollen and cotton. I plan to invest in really good gloves before our next trek.
• Buffs, 2 – purchased in Namche Bazaar
• Thai Silk scarf, long – I found these scarves to be quite warm

Fix it Kit

• Ziplock bags
• Super glue (to fix boots etc)
• Rubber bands
• Sticky tape
• Plumbers tape – small amount not the whole roll
• String
• Swiss Army knife
• Sewing kit – make up one of your own is best
• Plastic bags – always good to take

Miscellaneous

Museli bars and a few chocolate bars.

What’s with the yellow wig? It wasn’t on MY packing list. It was a stowaway.

Plastic clogs (you could take thongs) – for showering, shared toilets etc – I used my plastic clogs in the evening in the lodge. They easily accommodated thick socks and being able to change out of your boots at the end of the day is a must. The clogs are not Crocs as they are too heavy. These were cheap $6 Australian dollars bought at Woolworths. The only pair in my size were the green ones.

What NOT TO take

• Hair dryer – most rooms don’t have power points
• MP3 player – it’s too dangerous to listen to music on the trail you have to be listening out for yak bells and its just another thing to keep charged
• An extra pair of walking shoes are on some trekking lists. I used my green clogs when we arrived at our lodge
• A novel to read – I was always too exhausted to read
• Liniment – we didn’t need it because we had trained a lot. If you haven’t trained much, liniment is a good idea
• Cream for rashes – definitely

New on the list for Trek 3 in 2018

 A mirror – or an app on my phone but a mirror is easier

Make a packing list in advance.

We weighed everything and cut off excess weight where we could.
We took our packs in the suitcase to Nepal and left the suitcase in Kathmandu with the clothes we had worn.