In March of 1998 we headed into Nepal. We were on a 5-month trip to the Indian subcontinent. In November '97 we flew into Delhi and after 3 months in India crossed the border into the Kingdom of Nepal. After 6 weeks in the flat and dusty Indian state of Gujurat, Nepal was a refreshing change.

Our major reason for travelling to Nepal was to trek in the Himalayas. After purchasing the obligatory Lonely Planet guide to Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya (available second hand in many bookshops in Kathmandu) we deliberated over which trek would be most suitable for us to undertake.The factors we considered were-

• Length of trek: for this first foray into the Himalayas we felt a week would give us time to build up our fitness level and enjoy the trek, but not be overly taxing.
• Level of difficulty: some treks meander slowly up through valleys, others reach heights above 5000m, crossing high passes. We wanted a challenge but also hoped to trek independently i.e. without guides or porters.
• Season: the time of year limited our choice. Many of the higher passes are still snowed over in March. However there are still plenty of lower altitude options.
• Area: there are 3 major trekking regions in Nepal; the Annapurna region being the most popular, followed by the Everest area. Less favoured are the Langtang and Helambu treksThis was really the deciding factor for us. We needed a trek within our ablities, which we could complete independently but we didn't want every other Western tourist in Nepal there with us! So we embarked on the 7-8 day Helambu trek.

This turned out to be the perfect choice for us. March is just outside the pre monsoon tourist season so the trails are quieter but the weather is good enough to trek in although we did find ourselves in snow above 3000m. As long as you don't do anything daft, like set off in a blizzard, this just adds to the sense of adventure.