Thank you for your message Kumar!

We are only interested in porter services (I.e. someone to carry one ~25kg duffel bag to Gokyo n back). I believe one usually pays a porter US$15 a day for a maximum of 30kg (per two travelers) plus tips at the end of the journey.

The key idea is to ensure that the porter has got the proper clothes, insurance and is a seasoned companion for this kind of trips. Hence, asking for the advice from the community on the go-to service companies (they look very similar from the websites) and pricing alternatives.

One’s personal experience speaks louder than any website :)

Reading your post, you say that you are looking for “a seasoned companion” for your trek – So the first thing that you should be aware of is that a porter won’t usually walk with you, nor will he usually speak English – You will give him his load in the morning and meet him later in the day at a prearranged destination.

If you are looking for someone to walk with you and perhaps give you a little information and help on the trek then you would need a Porter/Guide – This is either a porter that has improved himself by learning to speak English (Not necessarily fluently) or a guide in training, he will carry around 15kg of your kit and also give you some information on the culture, language and customs of the area that you are trekking through, as well as guide you were/if necessary and help you negotiate a fair price at your lodge.

The next thing to mention is that hiring a porter or porter/guide at Lukla can be problematic as unless you arranged something in advance (Which is difficult to do from Lukla) then you would only be able to choose from who happened to be there at the time and subject to whatever price they demanded + Trekking Staff available at Lukla often don’t have any insurance,

Therefore I would Strongly recommend that you hire any trekking staff you require through a TAAN Registered Agent and if you wish, arrange to meet them at Lukla to save paying their airfare.

Trekking staff salaries when hire out thorough a reputable TAAN Registered agent should be around

A Licensed Guide will cost you around $30 per day

A less qualified Porter/Guide around $25 per day

A Porter around $20

The above rates should include their food, accommodation, insurance but not transportation or tip

Good Luck and Happy Safe Trekking

Rob

Travel Pages including Nepal blog https://web.archive.org/web/20150906143420/http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/50192/

Hi

Proper clothes - you can ask to see what he has and he will probably agree given that he wants the work. Porters tend to have basic, barely adequate clothing which most trekkers would not contemplate going to Gokyo with.

Insurance - a porter hired independently at Lukla is highly likely not to be insured because they live too close to the margins to see this as affordable and take the risk. You might be shown an insurance document in Nepali but how would you know it is genuine and valid?

Seasoned companion - this will be difficult to tell given their typical limited English or other languages beyond assessing their age (but that does not necessarily mean they have worked as porter for any length of time. Companionship is not part of their role, typically. As Rob said, they usually trek ahead, however you can ask them to walk with you (so your luggage is in sight) but communicating this might be an issue. A 'run off' is one of the potential shenanigans when hiring independently at Lukla, whereby the porter abandons you and your luggage. It's not common but to avoid this give him his pay in stages rather all upfront. Perhaps a third at the start, a third towards the top, and a third near the end with a potential tip ensuring loyalty to the end.

Costs - the daily rate quoted by Rob is reasonable and this is likely to be the case whether hiring at Lukla or in KTM. This is because the porter is likely to think that he deserves the benefit of the commission that an agent would take from that charge rather than the trekker (I agree). It is cheaper overall to hire in Lukla because this avoids his airfare from and to KTM (it is much less than we pay though).

Many of these are resolved when hiring through a good agent in KTM.More information if you want.

scoodly

Based on your expectations and the budget presented by the other commentators, I also recommend you to hire a porter guide in KTM. Luckla is very busy in trekking season. Therefore, sometimes tourists cannot find a good porter or they need to rely on whatever available there. If you hire a porter in KTM, you can be on the safe side not only insurance but also securing a good partner for your trip. To be frank, I have never been to Lukla, however, I worked in the tourism sector of Nepal for almost 10 years, and as a tourism researcher, I do not recommend a foreigner to visit Nepal without using a guide, especially the mountainous region. It is not the normal place, if you are grabbed by any trouble, there will be no one to help you, even if you are ready to pay a huge amount. So, better to use at least one guy who can be your companion and be carrying your load too.

Hi

I'm not so sure that it would be difficult to find a porter at Lukla even at the busiest periods (Oct, Nov. and April). Porters are finishing treks with clients all the time and then looking for the next client the following day outside the airport. This is how many porters are found for those who have booked a trek in KTM: the guide finds and negotiates the pay with the porter. The guide knows (or should know) what he is doing and this relieves the trekkers of this task and the the agent and guide are responsible for the porter's behaviour. I suggest a porter will be less likely to misbehave because he will want further work from the guide and agent and not want to earn a bad reputation that could affect his chances of getting work..

scoodly

Rob, Scoodly, Kumar,

Thank you all for your advice, especially the distinction between a porter, a porter-guide and a guide. It all makes sense now. As you have all pointed out, there are pros and cons to every alternative.

Scoodly, thank you for your anecdote about "run offs". It gave me an idea about how Nepal Tourism Board can promote the concept of responsible trekking. Storytelling about porters who run away with the client's luggage! Considering that TAAN-registered porter can be held accountable for a potential "run off", the authorities can ensure that every guest does not risk the well-being of a porter/guide by hiring a TAAN-registered person. There are many assumptions to this one, including a fair division of profits between the firm, the guide and the porter. And again, what's fair and who's to judge? Jokes aside, thanks for the heads up!

I shall contact a few TAAN-registered companies to see what's on the table. Hopefully, the most entrepreneurial ones will have offices in both KTM and Lukla, so that their clients don't have to pay for the porter's air tickets.

Thanks,

Alexey

Hi again

You're welcome. I'm not sure that there are any agents with offices in Lukla too (though I have not been for a while. The standard process hiring at Lukla is that guides choose from those who present looking for work. It's also possible that agents might contact porters in their network to see if they are available. The largest agencies might even have employed porters up there (as opposed to employed on a trek by trek basis) though these tend to be agencies servicing foreign trekking companies, in the main.

Good luck.

scoodly

No problem – Pleased to be of help.

Although I can’t see (m)any Kathmandu agencies having an office in Lukla, I am sure that they will all have used Porters and Porter/Guides who are based there and have a list of telephone numbers and addresses of ones that have been reliable and therefore be able to arrange things on your behalf to have one waiting for you as you step off your flight – This saves you having to negotiate there and then (As this will all have been done previously with the agent) and gives you a Porters or Porter/Guide at a guaranteed price lined up waiting for you.

Also – In the unlikely event of a run-off, the agent will have his contact details – But as he will know that, it mikes an improbable event even more implausible

Best Regards

Rob

My brother used a Lukla porter who was a half guide from this company and highly recommended and arranged flights also met at Lukla airport

Himalaya View Treks Pvt. Ltd.

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