Back in Berlin now for over 4 months and I still look back on the six weeks in Nepal as an extraordinary adventure which I was privileged to experience.
With great sadness I learned that the Nepali authorities have put new regulations in place that completely prohibit independent trekking (without guide) in Nepal.
Officially for safety reasons, but that does not seem to be proportional. For climbing peaks this regulation has been put in place 5 years ago and saved many lives. On the other hand “only” 5-10 tourists die in Nepal every year while trekking and a majority suffer from heart failure (you know these 50+ year old types), something that an average guide will rarely be able to stop from happening. Others fall or die in landslides, again these occasions are difficult to foresee and protect against.
For the same reason you could regulate hiking in the Alps (250 casualties in 2019).
The more important reason, of course, is the intention to bring more money to the country via tourism. And as much as I appreciate and support this, I doubt that a lot of this will reach the people that live along the hiking routes, let alone anyone else (99,9% of the population). Usually a lot of funds are lost in the Nepali bureaucracy, that has a reputation of skimming a huge percentage off any fee. Trekking agencies will benefit as well, but are not known to pay guides and porters well.
I would have enjoyed a completely guided trip much less than the one I did. Guides have their favourite guest houses (where they have relatives or get provision to bring in tourists) which means that you rarely can decide for yourself the length of the day’s distance (to do a short day hike when you feel lazy or do an extreme march when you need it). I was lucky with my climbing team, but I have met people who did not get along well with their guide, sometimes because of language, sometimes due to clashing personalities.
This will significantly change the experience especially for young people who cannot afford paying thousands of Dollars for a two-weeks hike.
This policy has the potential to backfire as backpack tourists also bring money into the country and may now stay away. And some might have liked their first experience so much that they become serial Nepal fanboys and spend an increasing amount of money when they grow older. Been there, done that.
In the end I was lucky to be able to travel exactly like I wanted.
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/nepal-solo-trekking-ban-intl-hnk/index.html
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