Women in the mountains: gender roles and culture on Nepal's trails

Women do a great deal of the work that makes trekking in Nepal possible, and most of it is invisible from the trail. They cook in lodge kitchens, carry firewood and fodder, farm the terraces you walk through, weave, run shops and raise the children who wave at you from the path. If you want to travel respectfully, the first step is to see that the household you are paying is usually run jointly, often by a woman, and that the old picture of a male guide leading a foreign party through passive villages leaves out half the story. This guide explains what you will see, what the customs mean in practice, and how female and male trekkers should behave.

Who actually runs the lodges

Teahouses are family businesses. On the Annapurna routes, in Khumbu and in Langtang, the person at the stove is often the owner, and the person who keeps the accounts and sets the room rates is often the same woman. The male relatives may be away guiding, working in Kathmandu, abroad as labour migrants or looking after the family's yaks and fields. That is why some lodges feel quiet and efficient in a particular way: the mother runs the kitchen, the daughters wait tables before school, and the grandmother looks after the fire.

For you this means a few simple things. Ask the woman at the counter about rooms and prices, not the first man you see. Say thank you to the cook, because she is likely the one who decided the portion sizes and who heard you praising the dal bhat. When you settle a bill in the evening, count it with the person who wrote it. Our teahouse guide explains how the order-and-pay system works.

Work on the terraces and on the trail

Look at the paths on the way to Ghorepani on the Poon Hill trek and you will see women carrying loads in a doko, the conical basket held by a strap across the forehead, while men more often carry with a shoulder strap. Firewood, fodder for buffaloes, millet and potatoes all move this way. In the Langtang Valley the same pattern holds at a high altitude, with yaks and dzo carrying the heavy loads and women and men sharing the work of herding, barley and potato fields and, in autumn, the harvest.

Do not assume that a woman with a basket is weaker or poorer than the porter next to her. Carrying is skilled work learned from childhood. Equally, you should not assume that every woman you pass is doing farm work. In Khumbu especially, many women are traders and lodge owners, and plenty of the families you meet earn most of their income from tourism.

Women who work as guides and porters

Women are a minority among licensed trekking guides in Nepal, but they are present and growing in number. Some agencies are run entirely by women, train female guides and porters, and offer treks for women travellers. If you want a woman as your guide, ask when you first contact an agency, because the pool is small and the best people are booked well in advance for April and October. You can also ask for a woman as assistant guide or porter.

If you are a woman trekking with a male guide, that is entirely normal and most guides are professional and respectful. Our guides on solo female trekking safety and guide and porter roles cover how to choose and how to set expectations early. The same applies to women who are paired with a trekking partner they met online: agree on room sharing, pace and the shared guide before you commit.

Dress and conduct

Mountain communities in Nepal are conservative in dress, even though people are used to foreign visitors in shorts. For both women and men, the sensible baseline is clothing that covers the shoulders and the knees in villages, in lodge dining rooms and above all around monasteries and temples. Practical trekking trousers and a short-sleeved T-shirt meet this standard easily. Avoid crop tops and short shorts, particularly above the main tourist stretches where fewer people are used to them.

Greet people with a palms-together namaste, and do not offer your hand to a woman unless she offers hers first. Public affection between couples is not common in villages; a light touch is fine, kissing is not. Women are often shy of strangers' eye contact, and men should not read that as hostility. Do not tease, joke about appearance or ask intrusive personal questions. Nepali women are unlikely to complain loudly, so the responsibility for polite conduct sits with you.

Photographs, gifts and hosts

Always ask before you photograph a woman, and keep it as an exchange rather than a demand. A smile and a gesture towards your camera are enough, and your guide can translate if you want to explain why you are asking. If she shakes her head, stop. Do not photograph women washing at a standpipe, cooking at a household shrine or taking part in a funeral or ritual unless they clearly welcome it. Showing the picture afterwards on your screen is a courtesy that people like.

Do not hand out sweets, pens or money to children or women on the trail. It teaches begging, and it undermines teachers and families. If you want to give something back, buy from the woman's shop, weaving or tea stall. Handloom weaving, knitting and tea stalls are real work. Buy a scarf or a pair of socks, pay the price asked or a little less after friendly bargaining, and leave it there. Our guide to donations and school visits and the piece on supporting local businesses say more.

Menstruation, purity and the far west

In some Hindu communities, menstruating women face restrictions on cooking, entering a household shrine or touching certain foods, and in parts of far-western Nepal the practice of chhaupadi sends women to sleep in a separate hut or shed. Nepal's Supreme Court outlawed it in 2005 and a 2017 law made it a criminal offence, but the practice has persisted in places. The main trekking routes in Annapurna, Everest and Langtang rarely involve it, and you are far more likely to see it as an item in a news story than on the trail. If you travel in far-west districts (see our far-west trekking guide), you should not comment, photograph or intervene, and you should not take on a local debate on a short visit.

Practically, women trekkers should carry their own supplies of menstrual products, because these are scarce and expensive above the lower trail, and should bring a bag to carry used items out, since waste disposal is limited. A female guide or a woman at your lodge is a good person to ask for quiet advice about discretion and disposal.

Women's groups, cooperatives and spending well

Many villages have women's savings groups, mothers' clubs and cooperatives that run bakeries, weaving cooperatives, tea shops or lodge committees. Eating at a woman-run place, buying a cooperative's handicrafts and staying in a lodge that is plainly family-run are the most effective ways to spend tourism money where it counts. In Khumbu, you will also find Sherpa women who manage lodges, run the day-to-day business and decide where the family invests the income. There is little to romanticise: the work is long, the winters are hard and many families depend on remittances. But women's economic role is substantial, and trekkers who recognise it get better service and a warmer welcome.

Practical checklist

• Ask the lodge woman for rooms and prices, and thank the cook.
• Cover shoulders and knees; carry a scarf for temples.
• Greet with namaste; do not initiate touch with women.
• Ask before any photograph, and respect a refusal.
• Do not hand out sweets or money; buy goods instead.
• If you prefer a woman guide, ask your agency early.
• Carry your own menstrual supplies and a bag for waste.

For the wider picture of how to behave on the trail, read our culture and etiquette guide and monastery etiquette, and browse the culture and customs hub. Before you travel, use the trekking partner page for Poon Hill to find a partner for a first short route.