What is in our first-aid kit, and what should be in yours
Your guide carries a kit and an oximeter. There are six things you should still have in your own pocket, and one conversation to have before you leave.
By Sabina Adhikari · 5 min read · Updated 1 August 2026
Every trek we run includes a first-aid kit and daily oximeter checks from about 3,000 m. People still ask what to bring themselves, and the honest answer is: not much, but the not-much matters.
The mistake is duplicating the guide's kit in your own bag. The other mistake is assuming the guide's kit contains your specific medication, which it does not.
Here is the split.
What we carry
A trek first-aid kit covering wound care, blisters, bandaging and strapping, plus common trail complaints — painkillers, antihistamine, rehydration salts, antiseptic.
A pulse oximeter, used each evening from around 3,000 m. Thirty seconds per person, and it turns a vague worry into a number your guide can watch across days.
On the higher routes, a down jacket for anyone who turns out to need one. Guides are trained in recognising altitude illness and in the one treatment that always works, which is going down.
The six things to carry yourself
Blister plasters, the hydrocolloid kind, in your daypack rather than your duffel. Blisters happen mid-morning and your duffel is an hour ahead with the porter.
Your own painkiller, the one you know works on you.
Rehydration salts. Cheap, weightless, and the answer to both a stomach upset and a hard day.
Any prescription medication, in its original packaging, in quantities for the trip plus several spare days. Flights cancel.
Hand sanitiser and your own toilet paper. Neither is guaranteed anywhere.
High-factor sun cream and SPF lip balm. Sunburn at altitude is the most common minor injury on any trek and the most avoidable.
The conversation to have before you leave
Tell us about medical conditions, medication and allergies when you book, not at the trailhead. It is confidential, it changes how we plan rather than whether we take you, and it means your guide knows what to tell a doctor if it ever matters.
Asthma, heart conditions, diabetes, previous altitude illness and pregnancy all need a conversation with a doctor who knows altitude medicine before you commit to a high route. If you carry an adrenaline pen or similar, make sure your guide knows where it is in your bag and how to use it. That takes two minutes on the first morning and it is the highest-value two minutes of the trip.
What we would not bother with
A large expedition medical kit duplicating ours. Ask what is in ours and pack the gaps.
Antibiotics bought without advice. Take them if a doctor at home has prescribed them for you and told you when to use them; otherwise they are weight and false confidence.
Water purification and a filter bottle are not first aid but they prevent more trek-ending illness than anything in this list. That is the real prevention.
Walk it with us
Private departures on your dates, guided by the people who wrote this page.
Questions we get asked
Do I need a doctor's note?
Not usually, but for high routes with a pre-existing condition, a doctor's opinion is worth having and worth telling us about.
What happens if I get seriously ill?
Descent first, always, with your guide. Helicopter evacuation if descent is not possible and weather allows — which is why your insurance must cover it and why we hold your policy details.
Are there clinics on the trekking routes?
Health posts in some larger villages, and seasonal aid posts on the busiest routes. Coverage is thin and not something to plan around.
Can I buy medicine in Pokhara?
Pharmacies in Lakeside are well stocked and inexpensive. Bring your own prescription medication from home; buy the consumables here.
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Still deciding?
Tell us your dates and how much walking you have actually done, and we will tell you honestly whether this trek is the right one for you.
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