Tea House Accommodation in the Nepal Himalaya

All treks in Nepal are ‘teahouse’ treks. Teahouses are simple lodges with simple rooms. Some touristy routes have more tea houses to choose from than others, and offer better quality teahouses. These lodges are family-run and are equipped with basic amenities like bed, blankets, bathroom and a cosy dining area. The best thing about teahouse trekking – you only have to carry very minimal gear. Caliberate your expectations. There are no five-star teahouse treks with fancy furnishings, sparkly clean bathrooms, thick mattresses and fine cuisine, but you can expect warm hospitality, homely Nepalese food and a good shower in most of the tea houses.

Tea houses along the Mardi Himal route.

Sleeping

Sleeping bags are not needed as the mattresses and thick blankets usually suffice. But you may consider bringing along a sleeping bag liner to put over your bed.

A standard twin room with more or less clean sheets and pillow, and usually a good view.

Eating

During the trek, you’d be stopping at the teahouses for lunch or tea, and dinner. Teahouses serve local Nepalese food, and also international food. If you hire a local guide and get a package, meals at the Teahouses are included in your trip, and you’re free to choose the food and hot drinks from the menu. It is a form of courtesy to not over order even if your guide does not restrict what you order. Food doesn’t grow easily in the mountains and it requires lots of effort to transport them to these trek houses.

An international dish:  Tomato Macaroni and cheese

A plate of Nepalese dumplings-momo, one of the staple dishes on the menu

The staple meal of Nepal is daal bhaat tarkari (literally lentil soup, rice and curried vegetables). If you order daal baat, someone will come around offering extra helpings of rice, daal and vegetables. To eat daal bhaat the local way, pour the soupy daal onto the rice, mix into balls with your fingers, add a pinch of pickle and vegetables and shovel it into your mouth with your right hand.

A standard Dal Bhat meal. This is one of the most filling and satisfying dishes on the menu.

Bathing

In most tea houses, there are running hot showers and private bathrooms. You may have to pay a small fee to use them. However, in very high altitude tea houses, there’s a high chance you need to have to share bathrooms with no flush system and queue for toilets during the peak season.

You should bring along your own towel and toiletries. We’d recommend the micro-fiber quick-drying type of towel that will dry overnight. You can bring along wet wipes and powder for the days where a hot shower is not available or when it gets too cold to shower.

Wi-Fi & Electricity

Many teahouses in Nepal now have wi-fi and charging outlets in the dining hall. Still, connection speed is usually slow and erratic. So don’t expect too much. Alternatively, you can try using mobile data (you have to buy the SIM card/ recharge card in the city) 2G in the hilly areas if Wi-Fi is not available.

At most teahouses, you can pay to charge your electronic devices for around $2.50 (Rs. 250). Power outages are quite frequent so be sure to charge up your portable battery when you get the chance!