Arun Valley Trek

You can obtain the Nepalese visa from Nepalese consulate in your country easily or upon your arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. For that, you require a valid passport with 2 copies of passport size photos. Similarly, A visa for Nepal can be obtained at Nepal India border entry point at Birgunj, Nepalgunj, Kakadvitta, Bhairahawa, Gaddachowki and Kodari on the Nepal China border. A15/30/90 day multiple entries Nepalese visa can be obtained by paying USD 30/50/125 or equivalent foreign currency respectively. For more information, please visit http://www.nepalimmigration.gov.np/page/tourist-visa

We will be at the airport to welcome you upon your arrival to Nepal. We will be carrying the Raj BalaTreks & Expedition placard with your name underneath. From airport you will escorted to your hotel and we help you to check-in.

As vaccination requirements change frequently, we suggest you to consult your doctor at least 2 months prior to the beginning of your trip. We recommend protection against malaria, tetanus, typhoid, hepatitis and polio.

The main health consideration during Arun Valley Trekking is Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). You may experience some mild symptoms initially, such as headache, lethargy, nausea and difficulty sleeping, but these should lessen within a few days. To avoid Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), people take pills called ‘Diamox’. You can also use these pills after consulting with your doctor and purchase them in Kathmandu. Our itinerary will allow your body to acclimatize properly and handle the low oxygen rate. If you have ever suffered from altitude sickness, or have a heart or breathing complaint, we highly recommend you to consult your doctor about your suitability for trekking in high altitude areas before booking. We suggest that you take some pain-killing pills with you and enough medicine for cold, diarrhea, nausea and fever. Some nasal ointment and throat-moistening pills will greatly help for those who are sensitive to chilly or freezing weather conditions.

Arun Valley Trek is a moderate to fairly challenging trek that does not require any technical expertise of mountaineering. It is basically a long hike up to the altitude of 5,364 meters / 17,599 feet. The trek is only grueling because of its duration of 12 days hike up and down the hill across diverse terrains (15 days including arrival and departure).

Arun Valley Trek is a tea house trek. A Nepalese tea house is a lodge or guest house located in one of the trekking regions in the Nepal Himalayas. At the end of the day’s trekking you pitch up and have a room and food provided. Teahouse trekking in Nepal is an incredible experience.

There are plenty of basic, clean and friendly lodges along the trail. You often have to share rooms but you can also stay in single rooms where possible. Rooms are basic, normally just a bed with a pillow and blankets. A few have electric blanket, hot bags (luxury lodges) and all have a spacious dining room-lounge.

We will accommodate you and your group in a comfortable local lodge each day. The Guide coordinates with the local lodge owners and a porter is sent ahead to book the required rooms for the group (rooms cannot always be booked in advance).

On trek, we have breakfast and dinner in the tea-houses/lodges we spend the night and lunch on our way to the next destination. Nepalese, Tibetan, the more common continental and Indian cuisines are common choices in the menu.

To get an idea about your meals on the go, breakfast comprises a hot beverage, toasts, pancakes, eggs, etc. while lunch will include rice items, noodles, potato varieties, pizza, pasta, burger, meat items, and so on. The starters in dinnertime are soup varieties while the main course includes more or less similar items as that of lunch menu, including a dessert item and a hot beverage.

We provide a comfortable experience on our teahouse lodge-style treks. Our team works hard to support you so that you can relax and enjoy trekking in Nepal. The lodges provide your meals in a communal dining room. There is a range in standard and service in teahouse lodges depending on location. i.e. lodges at higher altitude and places with fewer trekkers tend to have more basic facilities.

The day starts with getting up in your room shared with another trekker in our group. Before heading for breakfast you pack your overnight gear into your duffel bag. You would have given your breakfast orders to the guide to pass onto the kitchen last night. At the designated time the group will assemble in the dining room to eat breakfast. The menu has a range of items to choose from such as porridge, cereals, chapattis, and a choice of egg dishes. There is also the choice of tea or coffee plus other hot drinks like the popular ginger, lemon honey drink.

While the group is having breakfast the porters arrange their loads and set off in the cool of the morning. After breakfast, between 7am and 8am, we start trekking. The pace of the trek is moderate as there is plenty of time in the itinerary to reach the lodge for tonight. There will be plenty of time to enjoy the scenery, take photos and explore the local villages. Lunch will be around midday at a teahouse lodge by the side of the trail.

After lunch, we continue the trek and on most days we arrive at the lodge by mid-afternoon. For dinner, you get a two-course dinner (soup and main meal). The menus are quite standard with a range of dishes such as dal bhat, momos and the famous Sherpa stew. Dal bhat is a Nepalese dish of rice and lentils with vegetable curry. It is also possible to order spaghetti and pasta; pizzas; vegetable burgers and chips and fried rice.

After the meal, the leaders will discuss the plan for the next day. Afterwards, people might stay in the dining room chatting about the day’s events or playing cards. After a tiring day, most people head to their rooms quite early for the night. Tomorrow is likely to be very similar to today!

We cater for a variety of dietary requirements. There are always meals that are suitable for vegetarians. During booking, we find out if you have any dietary needs and agree upon meal plans before departure. If you have any questions about the food provided please get in touch with us to discuss further.

Our 14 days Arun Valley Trek cost is all inclusive of your accommodation, meals, permits and other official expenses.(See price includes and excludes section for more detail). Besides, other expenses depend on your spending habits. A USD 10-15 is sufficient to buy bottled water, snacks, chocolate bars, hot and cold drinks, and showers during the Arun Valley Trek besides your included meals and accommodation.

Money exchange facilities are limited along the Arun Valley Trek, as the region remains remote and less developed compared to popular trekking areas. There are no official money exchange counters or ATMs once you leave the starting point at Tumlingtar or Khandbari, which are small towns where basic banking services may be available. Therefore, it is highly recommended that trekkers exchange their currency into Nepali Rupees or withdraw sufficient cash in Kathmandu or other major cities before beginning the trek. Most teahouses and local shops along the trail only accept cash payments, and digital transactions or foreign currencies are not commonly used. Carrying small denominations is also practical for easier transactions in villages.

Tips are appreciated by your support team after the completion of your trekking in Nepal. The amount depends on your budget and appreciation of their work. As a suggestion, we advise that you can allocate 5- 10 % of the total tour cost as tips. It is recommended that you talk to the members and hand it over individually as per the hierarchy on the last day of the trek.

Communication facilities along the Arun Valley Trek are limited due to the region’s remote and rugged nature. Mobile network coverage is available in some lower villages like Tumlingtar and Khandbari, but it becomes weak or completely unavailable as trekkers ascend to higher altitudes and more isolated areas. NTC (Nepal Telecom) generally provides better coverage than other networks in this region. Internet access is minimal and unreliable, with very few teahouses offering Wi-Fi, mostly at lower elevations. For those needing consistent communication, carrying a satellite phone or a local NTC SIM card with a basic data package can be helpful. It is advisable to inform family or contacts about potential communication gaps before starting the trek.

The starting point of the trek is Tumlingtar and to reach there you will taking domestic flight from Kathmandu. And the ending point of the Arun Valley Trek is Lukla, which is connected by a 30 mins’ flight from Kathmandu. We will arrange flight and airport pick up and drop transfers as per the itinerary.

During Arun Valley Trekking, your main luggage will be carried by porter. Please keep your luggage as light as possible around 12 to 15 kgs for flight safety and porter welfare as per IPPG standard. You simply carry a day pack with water bottle, camera, sun- screen, spare jacket etc. You can leave your valuable items at your hotel in Kathmandu while trekking. Many hotels have a locker system and provide a deposit slip for the valuables kept under the hotel's safekeeping.

The Arun Valley Trek requires a good level of physical fitness due to its challenging terrain, long walking hours, and significant elevation changes. Trekkers should be prepared to hike for 5 to 7 hours daily on steep ascents, descents, and occasionally rugged or uneven trails. The trek passes through varied landscapes—from subtropical valleys to alpine ridges—reaching altitudes of over 3,500 meters, which can test stamina and cardiovascular endurance. While no technical climbing skills are needed, prior trekking experience or regular physical training such as hiking, jogging, or stair climbing is highly recommended. Mental preparedness and a positive attitude are also essential for handling remote conditions and basic facilities along the trail.

The main trekking season in Nepal is from October to mid-May when daytime temperatures at most altitudes are generally comfortable for walking, the sky is clear much of the time and rain and snow are occasional occurrences. Daytime temperatures will vary from 15ºC to 35ºC in the Kathmandu Valley to around 10ºC at 3,600m and progressively lower the higher we go.

Different seasons offer different advantages for trekking.

Post Monsoon/autumn: Mid-September to November. This is the main trekking season in Nepal. Day temperatures in Kathmandu are approximately above 20ºC. Skies are usually clear and days on trek are sunny and mild with clear mountain views. At the highest altitudes although the days can be nice and sunny the temperatures can drop to 10ºC and much lower. Nights will be colder with temperatures dropping as low as minus 10ºC and lower at the highest altitudes.

Pre-monsoon/spring: March to May. Both day and night temperatures will be warmer in general but haze will often build up in the afternoons. It is very hot in the lowlands and temperatures rise to 35ºC in Kathmandu. Flowers bloom in this season and this is one of the reasons people chose to trek in spring.

Snow can be expected on any departure, usually at the higher altitudes. Summit day will be a very early start (usually about 2am) and will be extremely cold. Although mostly it is calm and clear on summit day the mountain does occasionally get high winds. You need to be equipped for temperatures as low as minus 25ºC plus wind chill on summit day.

Please remember that in any mountain area the weather is never wholly predictable and you should be prepared and equipped to deal with any differences in weather beyond the conditions described above.

We supply a medical bag with standard medicines prescribed by trekking doctors and a user’s manual. Since our staffs/guides are not qualified for suggesting medications to western clients, we would request you to use the medicines upon your own risk. It is safer and more reliable if you have your own medicine kit and not depend on what we have.

Your safety and security are our top priority, and we always make sure that nothing untoward happen to you. However, if anything serious like sickness or a casualty occurs, we will do everything to transfer you to the nearest hospital. As you are responsible for all the expenses incurred in evacuation, please make sure that it is covered by your insurance before assigning for it.

Drinking water is generally available throughout the Arun Valley Trek, but trekkers should take precautions to ensure it is safe for consumption. Local water sources such as taps, streams, and village wells are common, especially in lower altitudes, but the water may not always be clean or treated. Most teahouses and lodges can provide boiled water for a small fee, and bottled water may be available in some villages, though not consistently and at higher prices in remote areas. To stay safe and eco-friendly, it is highly recommended to carry water purification tablets, a reusable bottle with a built-in filter, or a UV sterilizer. Staying well-hydrated is crucial, especially at higher altitudes, to prevent altitude sickness and fatigue.

All our guides are certified and trained trekking leaders. Our guides are certified by the Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management (NATHM), Nepal. They have years of experience working in this line of work and know the different trekking trails of Nepal, mountain ranges, culture, and mountain sickness.

Your booking of this Arun Valley Trekking will be confirmed by email once we receive your deposit of 20% of the total trip and the signed copy of booking form and contract. The balance is due no later than two months prior to departure. If you book a tour less than 2 months prior to departure, you must send the full payment within 7 days of confirmation by us.

If you cancel your booking, the following scale of charges will apply:

• 2 months before departure – Loss of deposit (20% of the total trip)
• 29 days to 2 months before departure – 30% of total trip cost
• 10 to 28 days before departure – 60% of total trip cost
• Less than 10 days before departure – 100% of total trip cost