Clothing should be simple and consist of layers, which can be added or removed as the temperature varies during the day. During spring and autumn the night temperatures in the mountains often dip below freezing, making warm gear essential.

In summer the days can be hot, requiring light cotton clothing. Good wet-weather gear is recommended during the rainy summer months. A warm windbreaker and stout comfortable shoes are especially recommended.

What You Need To Bring With You

• Long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and a hat to wear whenever possible while outside, to prevent illnesses carried by insects (e.g., malaria,dengue, filariasis, leishmaniasis, and onchocerciasis).
• Insect repellent containing DEET.
• Bed nets treated with permethrin. Overseas, permethrin or another insecticide, deltamethrin, may be purchased to treat bed nets and clothes.
• Flying-insect spray to help clear rooms of mosquitoes. The product should contain a pyrethroid insecticide; these insecticides quickly kill flying insects, including mosquitoes.
• Iodine tablets and portable water filters to purify water if bottled water is not available.
• Sunblock, sunglasses, and a hat for protection from harmful effects of UV sun rays.

Prescription medications: Please make sure you have enough medicines to last during your trip, as well as a copy of the prescription(s) or letter from your health-care provider on office stationery explaining that the medication has been prescribed for you.  Always carry medications in their original containers, in your carry-on luggage.

Be sure to bring along over-the-counter anti-diarrheal medication (e.g., bismuth subsalicylate, loperamide) and an antibiotic prescribed by your doctor to self-treat moderate to severe diarrhea.

Essential Extras:
A folding umbrella; especially if traveling during the monsoons of mid June to late September. Rain is possible any time, and is almost certain from June through August.

Be sure to carry ear plugs (and spares) for when you sleep. There are occasional electric outages throughout the country; so you should always keep a torch (flashlight) beside your bed.

Make sure you bring a pair of good sunglasses for protection in the high altitude.

A Swiss style army knife is a good thing to bring, but with the recent concerns over air travel you may want to bring a folding utility tool such as a Leatherman and make sure to put it in you check-in luggage.

Bring a small alarm clock if you need help waking up after all those barking dogs. Not all hotel rooms have telephones or wake-up service.

Note: Our guides will definitely make sure you are not late for anything.