As well as everyday items of clothing, the following is a list of general items that are either essential, or that we suggest you consider taking. Any further specific requirements are covered in the Trip Notes and further guidance for walking, trekking and cycling.

Please consider what you really need to take with you. Waste disposal system in developing countries like Nepal are ill-equipped to deal with the increased pressures that tourism brings, and a few simple measures can make a huge difference to the effect you have on your destination. Remove the wrapping of packaged goods before you leave, unwrap soaps and take bottles out of boxes etc.

You also need to consider taking only environmentally friendly detergents and shampoos for hand and hair washing. Use as little as possible in order to help keep valuable fresh water supplies such as rivers and streams free from pollution.

Essential
Passport, money, traveler’s cheque, debit and credit card, airlines tickets (with photocopy kept separately), travel insurance documents, first aid kit, washing kit, toiletries/shaving kit, suitable footwear, including spare laces and waterproofing if appropriate, daypack or shoulder bag as appropriate.
Exodus Trip Notes and Travel Advice
Contact details for Exodus or your travel agent
Any relevant International Vaccination Certificates (e.g. Yellow Fever)
Please check your trip notes for additional essential items you may need to take with you.

Recommended

• Sunglasses and sunhat as appropriate
• Waterproofs as appropriate
• Spare glasses or contact lenses
• Camera, film and accessories (including spare batteries)
• Torch (flashlight) and/or head torch and spare batteries
• Swimming costume and towel
• Gloves and warm hat as appropriate
• Water bottle
• Pocket-size phrase book
• Books, maps, games, personal stereo/mp3 player
• Hand cream or moisturizer
• Sunscreen and lip balm
• Insect repellent and bite cream
• Wet wipes, toilet paper and sanitary products
• Plenty of resealable plastic bags, large and small (but please ensure these are not discarded as litter)
• Earplugs
• Travel plug adaptor
• Sewing kit
• Alarm clock
• First aid kit
  

Although our leaders carry first aid kits supplied with standard equipment, we recommend everyone to bring their own consisting of the items listed. Our leaders are not paramedics or pharmacists and if you feel you will need medication, such as antibiotics, throat lozenges, diarrhea stoppers, or items such as insect repellent etc. You should obtain a supply before you leave on the trek. For prescription items you may need to consult your doctor, although many medicines can be purchased cheaply over the counter in Nepal.

The following list is intended as a guide only; you may want to add specific items that you may find useful such as the following:

• Plasters (including blister plasters for walking trips)
• Sterile dressings and bandages
• Simple pain killer e.g. paracetamol, ibuprofen or aspirin
• Antiseptic cream
• Antihistamine cream (for insect bites)
• Sunburn cream
• Anti-diarrhea pills e.g. Imodium or lomotil
• Re-hydration salts e.g. Dioralyte
• Anti-Malaria tablets (if required)
• Diamox (to treat or prevent symptoms of altitude sickness)
  

For any essential personal medication you may need to take with you, please make sure you carry this in your hand luggage.

Special equipment
Any special equipment (i.e. wetsuits, helmets etc) needed for the included activities is usually supplied locally. Any special equipment, which you need to provide yourself, is listed in the Trip Notes. Please read these carefully and call us if you are in any doubt about equipment required.

Equipment hire
Obtaining the right equipment is perhaps one of the most important aspects of preparing for an adventure holiday. Without the correct equipment, the holiday can be ruined. Knowing what equipment to choose can be daunting, while buying it can be almost as expensive as the holiday itself. Fortunately, most equipment is locally available in Kathmandu at reasonable prices, and in some instances, can also be  hired.

Trek hire items

• 5-liter day sack
• 35-liter day sack
• Four-season sleeping bag
• Waterproof over-trousers
• Waterproof over-jacket
• Outer layer warm shell jacket
• Therm-a-rest sleeping mat
• Ajungilak sleeping mat II
• Telescopic walking pole
• Pair of nylon gaiters (leg-warmers)
• Head torch

MONEY MATTERS
How much money to take
In addition to any Local Payment requirement (see below) you need to take enough money to cover the cost of meals not included in the trip cost, drinks, tipping and other incidentals. Advice on this given in the Trip Notes. Remember there are often optional activities and souvenirs to buy, so you should allow some extra spending money for this.

Wow to take it
ATM machines, particularly in Kathmandu and other major cities are readily available, and this can be an ideal way to access cash abroad, although bank charges can be high. In addition, credit cards are now very widely accepted, again particularly in major cities. Travelers cheques and cash US dollars can also be useful, and the Trip Notes have further information on this.

Local Payments
On many of our holidays you are required to make a local payment to the leader on arrival. This is a compulsory part of the trip cost, but is paid at the start of the tour rather than in advance to our office. The exact amount is stated in the Dates and price box on each trip page of the brochure or on the Exodus website, and is payable in the currency stated on your confirmation invoice.

Why do we use local payment?
In many of the areas we visit, local payments are a very effective way for us to cover some of the operational ground costs involving in the tours. For example, it can be difficult or expensive to directly fund the leader with the money they need to run the tours. There may be specific costs such as National Park or monument entrance fees that we can pass on to you at a net price. In some cases, certain accommodation or other local suppliers may not have international bank accounts all the cases where we use local payments, the primary object is to offer our clients a better overall deal for the total cost of the holiday (brochure price plus local payment). This is generally a lower cost than the one we would have had to charge if we asked for all the payment to be made in advance of travel. We recognize that local payments can be confusing and are not widely used by more mainstream holiday companies, but hope that this explains why we use them:

• We aim to use local suppliers wherever possible.
• We aim to develop long-term relationships with our partners overseas so that the economic benefit is ongoing.
• We aim to work with our overseas partners to increase the skill sets of our local stuff.
• We aim to ensure that our type and scale of tourism is appropriate to local conditions and does not overload local infrastructure.
• We will take into consideration economic, environmental and culture issues when looking at new destinations.
• We aim to minimize water and atmosphere pollution from any specific tourism development we use.
• We aim to achieve zero litter policies everywhere.
• We aim to work closely with all relevant local bodies and authorities to help financial support for economic, social or environmental and deliver a long-term benefit for the host community.
• Where possible, we will encourage local involvement and provide financial support for economic, social or environmental project that will benefit the local communities.
• We will attempt to operate our holidays in a way that encourage our clients, through our literature, staff and leaders, to act in a socially responsible way.
• We will attempt to impart an insight and understanding of the host culture and community to our clients so that they can gain more from visiting them.
• We will encourage and train our local partners and staff to gain an insight into the culture and way of life of our clients.
• We will attempt to integrate the ethos of responsible tourism throughout our organization. We will run our head office in a responsible manner by using fair-trade products, monitoring, and where possible, reducing our energy usage as well as recycling.
• We will provide regular and ongoing training in the principles and practices of responsible tourism, both to our office staff and those employed directly or indirectly.
  

WALKING AND TREKKING ADVICE
Special equipment
In the Trip Notes, we indicate any special equipment you may need. The most important items for our treks are undoubtedly sleeping bags, walking boots and warm jackets.

Sleeping bags
Sleeping bags are classified by seasons:

• five-season or expedition rated bags cope with extremely cold conditions (-15ºC or  below)
• four-season bags are suitable for temperatures down to –15ºC
• three-season bags for temperatures down to around 0ºC
• two-season bags for temperatures down to around 8ºC
  

The sleeping bag needed for your holiday is specified in the Trip Notes. Bear in mind that this can be considered a guide, as individual requirements may vary greatly regarding the amount of warmth they need at night. If you are considering purchasing a bag, we recommend you go for as good a one as you can afford within the range. It is better to be a bit too warm than not quite warm enough, and with sleeping bags you very much get what you pay for. Down bags are undoubtedly superior to synthetic in that they are lighter, less bulky and generally warmer, but they are also a lot more expensive.

You should make sure the bag you obtain has the following basic features:

• A full-length zip (useful for hotter nights), baffle, hood and stuff sack.
• A simple sheet liner is essential to keep your bag clean inside, and also provides a little bit of extra warmth.
• It can also act as a cool sleeping bag for hotter nights.
  

Walking boots
Whichever kind of boots you choose, make sure they are well broken in before you leave, and have ankle support and tough. Don't forget to bring spare laces and, if appropriate, water-proofer for your boots. A pair of slip-on canvas shoes or sandals is useful on all trips for when you have cast off your boots at the end of the day.

Helpful hint: As it is not unknown for airlines to lose luggage, it is a good idea to wear your boots on the flight out. Virtually every other necessary item of equipment could be replaced by a local alternative, but even if you could find replacement boots, it is unlikely that they would fit very well, and this could ruin your holiday.

Warm Jacket
This is an essential item on some of our trips, but the quality required will naturally depend on the particular trip.
Undoubtedly the warmest type of jacket is a duvet, normally down-filled, which is exceptionally warm and windproof, but expensive. Fibre pile or fleece jackets, if used in a layering system with a windproof outer, can provide an adaptable way of providing body warmth. Specific recommendations about the kind of jacket required are given in the Trip Notes. These are based on a season rating of 2,3 or 4.  A four-season jacket should keep you warm in temperatures well below freezing, three-season down to zero and two-season down to about 8ºC. Remember that if you buy a larger sized jacket it will enable you to wear more layers underneath and hence, keep you warmer.
Load carrying (On trek involving porterage)
On almost all of our treks (except those which are described as backpacking) it is not necessary to carry your own gear. We provide porters, pack animals or vehicle transport for all the communal equipment and personal baggage.
However, in general we must restrict you to a maximum of 12kg to keep the loads to a manageable size; this is more than adequate to allow you to take all the necessary clothing and equipment, and a few other items. Remember that you can normally leave a bag or case of things not needed on the trek at the base hotel.

On backpacking treks it is up to you how much carry, but we do recommend that you take a minimum – there is no point in lugging unnecessary weight around, especially over tough ground and when it is hot.

Hygiene on holiday
On trek that spends time away from normal toilet and washing facilities, it is wise to pay special attention to personal hygiene. Where possible we provide a toilet tent with the primary purpose of leaving the landscape as we find it. If you are not able to use a toilet tent, please make sure you burn or bury everything: there is nothing worse than coming across a wonderful view spoilt by toilet paper liberally scattered over the countryside because of someone’s thoughtlessness. It is of course also important to dispose of waste matter properly for health reasons. As a general rule it is better to burn toilet paper rather than bury it. Washing water is always available for washing hands before meals.

Food and drink
On trek that spend tome away from replenish able food supplies we make sure that there is enough food of good quality to keep you refueled for the walking; however, it may be somewhat lacking in variety. On many of these treks we supply a number of dehydrated meals, which, correctly prepared, are nutritious and filling; with the judicious addition of herbs and spices they can be highly appetizing. They have the additional advantage of being quick to prepare - an important point when there are a dozen stomachs groaning to be desired – good exercise for the jaw muscles! Party for this reason, and partly because meat is often not easy to obtain, we sometimes provide vegetarian meals based on local foodstuffs, which most people find an interesting and nutritious alternative. Boiled water is generally provided for filling water bottles, but you should take some (say 50) iodine tablets for purifying unboiled water when you need to fill up your water bottle during the day.

TRAVELING WITH YOUR FAMILY
Holidays are a great way for us all to spend time as a family and share new experiences. To make this experience safer and easier you should consider the following:

Flying with children
Flights and families sometimes don’t mix. Jet lag, flight transfers, missed sleep and cramped planes can be stressful enough for adult, but with children as well they can be worse. Security restrictions allowing, consider taking plenty of games, books and other items that will help keep your child or children entertained. Take a change of clothes and wet wipes in case of spillages. A small traveling pillow or fleece jacket can help can help make a child more comfortable and more likely to sleep!

In our trip
The same applies while on the trip. Where possible we break long journeys but it is still advisable to keep toys and books available to keep children occupied. Some of these journeys can be on windy roads so be aware that your child may get car-sick so it is recommended you keep some sick bags handy.
Our aim, wherever possible, is to use accommodation that is in keeping with the area that we visit, local in character, and generally locally owned. In many countries health and safety regulations are not up to the standards in the Eu, Australasian or North America and because of this, care needs to be taken to families yourselves with the general layout of the accommodation. You may need to supervise your children more closely than you would have to in an “International” standard establishment. Particular care should be taken where the accommodation includes a swimming pool, as signs and other safety features may not be present.
Children are often more susceptible to extremes of heat and cold so take extra care to check that they are warm enough or need cooling down. A small wet towel and old-fashioned fan can be very useful for the latter. Please also ensure that tour children are adequately protected from the sun and drink plenty better than traditional swimming costumes.