That’s the title of a thoughtful article on National Geographic:
Part of the magic of trekking in Nepal used to be how easy it was to get started, but on 1 April 2023, the government imposed a radical shake-up of the country’s trekking rules. Whereas previously travellers could hike alone anywhere in the country, now they must hire a guide to walk through Nepal’s 12 national parks and six conservation areas, including the popular Everest Base Camp and Annapurna …
“For less-experienced trekkers, having a good guide can definitely enhance your trekking experience, but guides aren’t trained to a consistent standard in Nepal,” says Bradley Mayhew, author of Lonely Planet’s Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya guidebook. “Encouraging trekkers to hire a guide by providing better-trained guides would be a smarter approach than forcing all trekkers to take a guide, regardless of their experience.” …
As an experienced hiker who’s been to Nepal more than 10 times, I’ll switch to the Indian Himalaya.
But there are certainly some advantages in requiring a guide for new trekkers.
related – Our guide to INDEPENDENT trekking in Nepal — back when it was still allowed.
