Litter Free: Carry all your trash (including toilet paper, unless you thoroughly burn it on the spot) to your campsite, lodge or hotel for proper disposal. If trekking with an agency, ask the staff to designate separate places for biodegradable and others (i.e., bottles, tins, plastics, foil, batteries etc.). As fires are considered sacred, don't put trash in the flames until the cooking is done and always inquire first.
Lady Details: Sanitary napkins and tampons should be wrapped well and packed out. Take batteries back to your home country for safe disposal.
Toilet Sites: Make sure your trek operator provides a toilet tent, set up at least 50 meters (150 feet) away from any water source. If you are tea-house trekking, select lodges with well-sited latrines. Otherwise, pick a spot away from water and religious sites. Bury all excreta. In the cities and en route, public toilets are hard to find so be discreet and keep away from holy sites.
Biodegradable Washing: When bathing or washing clothes near streams, use biodegradable soaps and a pan for rinsing. Toss soapy water away from the stream.
Use Established Campsites: Encourage your trekking staff to camp in established campsites and to leave no trace: no trash, no tent trenches, no fire pit, and a toilet pit filled in to look as it did before digging.
Cook with Kerosene: If you are camping, request that cooking be done on kerosene or gas, not wood. If you're stuck using wood, reduce the amount by using iodine to treat water rather than boiling it. Choose lodges that use kerosene or fuel efficient stoves, such as the back-boiler which heats water while food cooks. You can also reduce firewood consumption by ordering the same food at the same time as others.
Solar Heated Showers: Limit your hot showers to those heated by solar energy, by hydroelectricity or by the back-boiler method.
Warm Clothes: Bring adequate clothes rather than relying on lodge hearths for heat and never ask your trekking staff for a bonfire. See that porters will be provided shelter, clothing and shoes for high altitude treks, saving wood otherwise burned to keep warm.
Do Not Disturb: Avoid creating new trails across switchbacks, meadows and in high fragile areas. Make sketches or take photos rather than collect flower, plants and seeds. Do not purchase items made from wild animals skins or furs. Take care while walking through farmland and always stay to the uphill side of livestock on trails.
