The Himalayas come with unpredictable weather, risks of altitude sickness, and chances of getting hurt. Whether you trek or join a climbing expedition in the Himalayas, travel insurance with helicopter evacuation and medical bills coverage is a must.
It provides a safety net to rely on and protects you from huge rescue and medical expenses just in case you come across unseen events while in the mountains.
Travelers planning to join a trekking or climbing trip with us, Base Camp Trip, must buy travel insurance with the necessary coverage. We need the insurance documents before the trip starts.
Trekking or climbing with us without helicopter evacuation coverage is not allowed. Therefore, we advise all our guests to purchase well-covered travel insurance for their trip with us in Nepal.
For tours, it is up to you whether you want to buy travel insurance or not. You can cover trip cancellation, loss/theft of personal property, and medical bills in your travel insurance for a tour in Nepal.
*Note: Please carefully read your travel insurance terms and conditions before signing it, and make sure it explicitly covers adventure sports in the Himalayas. Many travel insurance that cover trekking and climbing expeditions do not cover Himalayan excursions. So, please be sure of it.
- Travel insurance for trekking in Nepal: Most treks in Nepal require travel insurance, which must cover helicopter evacuation and medical bills. To trek in restricted areas like Manaslu, Upper Mustang, Upper Dolpo, Kanchenjunga, and others, travel insurance with helicopter evacuation coverage is a must.
- Travel insurance for climbing in Nepal: No one is allowed to climb a mountain in Nepal without travel insurance covering emergency evacuation, whether it be a trekking peak or 7000 meters or 8000 meters.
- Travel insurance for tour in Nepal: For tours, travel insurance covering emergency helicopter evacuation is not necessary, but you can buy insurance that covers medical bills, flight cancellation, loss/theft of personal properties, etc.
In this blog, we have talked about travel insurance for different kinds of trips in Nepal and have also recommended some travel insurance companies you can check out.
What should you cover in your travel insurance for Nepal?
First of all, if you have a health insurance company, check with them and ask if your existing health insurance offers helicopter evacuation and medical bill coverage in Nepal for trekking, climbing, and tours.
Likewise, also ask them if they can offer you coverage for these activities. If there is yes, share your trip plans, where you are going to be, and the possible scenarios, and clearly talk to them about what they can help you with.
Similarly, if there answer is no, look out for other insurance companies that provide travel insurance coverage for adventures in Nepal.
You should consider the following things to cover in your travel insurance:
Medical bills and helicopter rescue:
As we mentioned at the very start of this blog, the Himalayas are a remote area in Nepal. It is not accessible via road, and there is no decent hospital or health facility in any trekking region.
In the famous trekking regions like Everest and Annapurna, you may get surface-level help from local health posts, but note that only bigger villages have them.
So, if you are not in the village where the health post is situated, it can take you anywhere from 1 to 3 or more days to get there from your location.
And during an emergency, it is not an ideal option. So, helicopter evacuation remains the only option for receiving quick medical treatment.
Likewise, situations like natural disasters or unseen events may require you to immediately return to Kathmandu or Pokhara.
In those cases, helicopter evacuation is also necessary. Without travel insurance coverage, first, you have to bear a substantial helicopter evacuation fee.
And not only that, the rescue company demands upfront payment or at least proof that you will pay upon landing before they provide the service.
In an emergency, spending time making the agreement is a nuance. However, with travel insurance coverage, you will get the rescue service right away.
Similarly, if you get sick or hurt during trekking or climbing, the medical bills may stack up quickly. Therefore, we highly recommend that our guests cover medical bills with travel insurance.
Travel protection (trip cancellation):
Not everything may always go as planned, and sometimes, we may have to cancel the trip.
If you cover trip cancellation in your travel insurance, it will protect you from losing the money that you have paid for the trip.
Note that the advance trip deposit is not refundable with us (unless you do not cancel the trip at least 45 days before the trip starts).
So, if you cover trip cancellation with your travel insurance, it will help you save money.
Flight cancellation:
You may have to cancel your international flights to/from Kathmandu if you cancel the trip or need to reschedule your flights because of unforeseen events.
Likewise, there is also a chance that you may miss your flight. By covering flight cancellation reimbursement, you will save a lot of money, especially when international flights are quite expensive.
Lost or delayed baggage:
Baggage delay and loss are not new when traveling internationally. It will be wise for travelers to cover lost/delayed baggage in their travel insurance. Please talk to your travel insurance company and see what they can provide.
Loss/theft of personal belongings:
While traveling to Nepal, you may bring expensive trekking/climbing gear, photography equipment, electronics like mobile phones, laptops, notepads, and high-end clothes, bags, and jewelry.
It is best to cover your expensive things in travel insurance just in case you lose them or, worse, fall into robbery. It is a good back to have.
Some travel insurance recommendations for trek, tour, and climbing in Nepal
We have mentioned our top choices our travel insurance for travelers from different countries below:
For worldwide:
The following two travel insurance companies are the best for trekking and climbing in Nepal.
- World Nomads
- Global Rescue
Travel insurance for Singaporean and Malaysian travelers:
Singaporean and Malaysian travelers can get trekking and climbing travel insurance from the companies listed below.
- AIA Berhad
- AIG Travel Insurance
- Alpha Global Solutions
Indian trekkers/climbers:
If you are an Indian trekker or climber, please check the travel insurance company below.
- ASC360
Australian and New Zealand citizens:
Please check the following travel insurance companies if you are an Australian traveler or New Zealand citizen.
- Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance
- 1 Cover Travel Insurance
- Cover-More Travel Insurance
- Fastcover
For travelers from USA and Canada:
If you are an American or Canadian passport holder, you may check out the travel companies listed below to purchase trekking travel insurance.
- IMGlobal
- Travel Guard
- Tugo
For European and UK travelers:
If you are from the EU or the United Kingdom, you may check the travel insurance companies listed below.
- Mutuaide Assistance
- DogTag UK
- True Traveller
- British Mountaineering Council (BMC)
