Know More about Tea House trekking in Nepal

If you are a true travel lover and are interested in travelling to Nepal then you must have frequently come across the term – tea house trekking in Nepal. Now what does the term tea house trekking mean? Tea house generally refers to a lodge in trekking route that offers services of food and accommodation. While we opt for a trek to remote places for a long time, there is a golden rule that one should follow – travel light as far as possible. Camping treks can be quite troublesome as one has to carry tents, cooking utensils, sleeping bags and many more. Setting up tents, cooking, etc are some tasks that add pressure to a free travel experience.

Therefore, to ease your travel, tourism industry in Nepal has transited to new era by setting up the tea houses in the trekking trails to different regions of Nepal. Now, you can travel easily with minimum gear necessary for travel in Nepal.

Talking about general expectations that one can keep from tea house trekking in Nepal can be clarified from the features of tea house trekking in Nepal which are as follows:

Typical features of tea houses in Nepal

1. Designs of tea house and rooms

The tea houses are amongst one of the houses in the trekking regions of Nepal. The designs of the tea houses are similar to the designs of the houses built in the areas where you are travelling to. The houses are generally stone walled and pillared with woods. Every tea houses has a kitchen, a dining hall and plenty of bedrooms to cater the accommodation need of the travelers. While you stay at the tea houses, you might have a feeling of staying at the home stays available. The bedrooms are furnished with bed and a table. The bedroom is set up in twin sharing basis i.e. two small beds in a room. The toilets are common however some tea houses offers room with attached bathroom facility.

You might have to pay a little more if you would prefer attached washroom to common washroom. The bedrooms are very simple but clean. The tea houses will provides blankets and you can double up the blanket as per your requirement.

2. Meals at Tea houses

The menu at tea houses are generally same or small variety of dish are available though they offer varieties like dal, bhat, curry, boiled vegetables, momos, pizzas, pastas, noodles, etc. Some dishes are easily and readily available while some may take more time to get served. Dal, Bhat, Tarkari (curry/ vegetables) is the main dish in Nepal and is freshly and easily available in the teahouses in Nepal. This dish is more consistent and healthy and is mostly favor by trekkers, guides and porters in Nepal. When you choose the dishes, always be aware of what is fresh and ready. Choose a healthy dish so as to avoid falling sick. Though the dishes available are healthy, you need to choose what appetite will best suit you.

If you opt for trekking with some travel agencies then the facility of meals and accommodation are included in their cost. They will take you to some pre – booked teahouses where you can eat as much as you can. Beverages and items other than the three board meals are not included in the offer though. If you can travel on your own, then you should know that accommodation is quite cheap but the meals are very costly. As you go up to higher elevation region, cost for the meal will get higher and higher.

Therefore, even for the travelers travelling with trekking agencies are recommend to eat fill heart at the tea houses prescribed otherwise you may have to pay high cost for food other than that.

3. Other services like electricity, hot water, Wi-Fi and laundry

Most tea houses in Nepal have a free Wi-Fi facility however you may have some connectivity issues as the speed of the internet is not so reliable. There will be electricity in your room however, for charging purpose charging outlets are available at the dining hall in the tea houses. Tea houses may also charge you some cost for charging your gadgets. Power cuts are frequent therefore, we recommend to charge your gadgets whenever you get an opportunity. For laundry, you can pay people to wash your clothes.

4. Etiquette of people who run tea houses

Talking about norms of people who run tea houses, people are very general and hostile. They treat you very well and are ready for any services to make you feel comfortable. But there are general ongoing practices that you should be aware of. The ongoing practices are as follows:

• Accommodation in tea houses are on twin sharing basis.
• Meals include three board meals and should be amongst the already set of menus.
• You should pay for beverages and other personal preferences for food (Junk natured)
• If you would prefer attached washroom in the tea houses where available, you will have to pay an extra cost
• Hot water bath is available and it means that you will get a bucket of hot water for bath. But you will have to pay an extra cost for the bath.
• Similarly, laundry services are also available however you will have to pay for it.
• Likewise, generally, all the tea houses have facility of free Wi-Fi but it might not be as fast as your expectations.

So, if you travelling to Nepal and are opting for tea house treks, you can expect tea houses to be as mentioned above. Travel agencies refer to accommodation in guesthouse, lodges or tea houses in their itinerary. Though the terminologies are different but guesthouse, lodges and tea houses refer to the same kind of accommodation services. Though features of tea houses might sound quite minimal for those who are habitual of staying at grand hotels. Regardless, the tea houses are the best available services in the higher elevation region. Therefore, if you want to trek to those areas then you should adopt yourself with the tea houses available. Himal Eco Treks offers many options for tea house trekking in Nepal. So, do not forget to give us a call if you are opting for a tea house trekking in Nepal.