Blog
How We Keep Porters Safe on Every Trek
Nepal Travel Mate · 31 May 2026
A trek is only as good as the team behind it, and the people who carry the loads are part of that team. How a company treats its porters tells you most of what you need to know about it. Here is what we actually do — not as a marketing line, but as the way we run every trip.
We cap the loads
The Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN) publishes load guidance, and we keep porter packs within it — capped at around 25 kg per porter. That is the weight before our own gear, not after.
When a group's bags add up to more than the porters should carry, we do the obvious thing: we split the load or hire another porter. We do not quietly overload one person to save a wage.
If the maths only works by overloading a porter, the maths is wrong. We hire another porter.
We insure every porter
Every porter on our trips is insured for the duration of the trek, the same as the trekkers we ask to carry evacuation cover. The mountains are no safer for the person carrying your duffel than for you.
We provide proper gear
High, cold sections are hard on anyone underdressed. We provide warm clothing and proper footwear for the conditions rather than assuming a porter will turn up equipped for 5,000 m. Cold injuries are preventable, and preventing them is our job, not a favour.
They are part of the team
Porters eat the same meals and sleep in the same lodges as the rest of the crew — not in worse conditions further down the hill. They are colleagues who get you up and down safely, and we pay and protect them accordingly.
How to spot a responsible operator
If you are comparing trekking companies — ours or anyone's — these are fair questions to ask before you book:
- What is the maximum load per porter, and how is it enforced?
- Are porters insured, and for what?
- Who provides their cold-weather gear?
- Where do porters sleep and eat on the trail?
A company that runs its trips well will answer these plainly. A vague answer is an answer too.
This is part of a bigger picture of how we try to run trips that leave the trail and its people better than we found them. You can read more on our sustainable tourism page — or just ask us. We reply within one working day.