1

August is end of monsoon season - septemeber is quite fine - you may have few showers here and there but not much - that is what rain gear's for. Go!!!! - What you wanna do - you didn't mention.

2

Hi.

I was in Nepal at the end of September last year - and the weather was perfect :) Went trekking and we had clear blue sky every day. Before we left Nepal in November it rained constantly for 3 days – so you can’t count on the weather even in Nepal.

The good thing about September is that there are still not that many tourist.

Have a nice trip :)

3

Looking to do a trekking tour. Not quite base camp, probably Annapurna Circuit :) my parents did it when I was 8 years old and I still remember all the photos and how much I wanted to do it when I got older! Thanks for the reply, very helpful :)

4

Thanks Hovggard! This is definitely the best way to get info :)

5

I would disagree that the monsoon is over in August. It generally continues thru most of Sept though tapering off the later part. You can find many graphs and comparisons of rainfall, rain days, temps etc for Aug/Sept/Oct and judge for yourself. Trekking traditonally starts in Oct for a reason.

That being said there is no guarantee day by day for any particular day. You may get a beautiful clr sunny day in July or August and a rain day in Oct or Nov. And rainfall varies immensely for location to location---think Pokhara vs Manang.

The last svrl yrs as people who follow it for trekking/flying are aware the weather has been 'unsettled' at times into Oct and I personally experienced very cloudy weather for days and days limiting views thru early Nov in eastern Nepal and trekking out to Solu Khumbu (late 2010).

So all you can do is gather the data, check the treks for weather that in general applies to it, and make your best decision based on choices avbl to you. Other factors such as crowded trails may play into your decision too. If the only time I could go is Sept (you don't say when/what part of the month or where you are thinking of going---it makes a diff regarding the weather and rainfall) I would still go for sure, figure what works best for you and hope for the best. And as neupaneaj in #1 above says "that is what rain gear's for. Go!!!! "

Have fun...Roger

6

I agree completely with Roger, and my experience indicates that the monsoon often continues through September. I have been to the Everest region twice in mid to late September in the past 5 years, and both times the weather did not improve significantly until after Oct. 7 or 10th. I no longer trek in September.

7

Lots of great info already provided by reliable and regular posters and I agree, from a weather point of view October / November are better months than September – But the crowds are a lot bigger in October / November – So it might be a case of which is more important to you – Better weather or fewer people ;-)
Good Luck
Rob

8

And if you want clear skies and few people, December is better yet. The downside to December is that it is getting cold (very cold) at higher elevations. But, if you can live with that, December is a great month to trek. Every month has it's advantages and disadvantages. I like to see the mountains most of the day, especially in the morning and evening since I'm into photography. That's very important to me. So, I don't do September anymore because my experience has told me that there's a significant chance that the mountains will be obscured most of the day, especially in the evenings. I also don't prefer to trek in light rain. That's happened to me in two different years (in the past 5) during late September.

9

As Tom says mid winter trekking offers, in my experience (3 high passes in Jan 2010 and again Dec 2010 - Jan 2011, then Langtang - Gosinkunda - Helambu in Jan 2011), fantastically clear weather and almost deserted trails, plus easy flights to Lukla etc and some big savings on hotels in Ktm.

Main downside is that it is even colder at night than in say Oct/Nov (when it is also very cold at night at over say 4,000m), but if you have the correct modern thermal kit for the nights (sleeping bag, thermal hat, down jacket and gloves etc), you will be fine.

As others have said it is a matter of weighing up the pros and cons of different times of year - I would not now even consider doing say the Everest region in Oct-Nov due to the crowds, and also it is questionable as to whether this time of year really gets the best weather - both 2010 and 2011 saw quite a few days of severe weather related disruption at Lukla.

10

Interesting thread. Is there any way of saying definitively that the monsoon is 'over' ie is it a clear end where rain drops from heavy to slight within, say, a week? If so will it show in newsites or websites?

I ask because I could do a last minute trip, but I'd want to be sure things were clear!

A few guides I spoke with last week said the word is out on December being a good time and that they've noticed numbers go up in the past few years, though it's still below the peak.

11

Re post 10: I am not at all a weather expert, but I think that it is very hard to forecast accurately when the monsoon will start and stop, and as I mentioned in my post above, there have been periods of quite bad weather in parts Oct and Nov in both 2010 and 2011, ie after the monsoon and other bad weather should have completely finished. The guide that I now trek with had quite heavy snow in the Everest region in Sept 2011 when he and a client were doing the 3 high passes.

The precipitation figures for the Everest and Langtang regions for the winter show almost no rain or snow, and this is certainly my experience from treks in Jan 2010 and Dec 2010 to early Feb 2011, when I did the 3 high passes twice, and then Langtang - Gosainkunda - Helambu (and I also stayed in my guide's village for 4 nights).

I am pleased to hear that more people are starting to trek in mid winter - I have been trying to encourage people to consider mid winter trekking in various postings on this forum. Even my guide thought that it would be too cold before we did it for the first time, and I think that many Nepalis repeat this view (to try and advise people) without having actually done any mid winter trekking. I think that it is ridiculous that the trails, lodges etc in places like the route to EBC, are grossly overcrowded in Oct - Nov, and then almost empty from mid Dec (especially Gokyo and Chhukung), with people unable to earn a living.

Obviously there is no guarantee re the weather, as there never is with any outdoor activity (I live in the UK where people are always talking about the weather). I believe that ever few years there is an unseasonal, heavy snow fall in the winter, which can block the trails (in Nepal).

In 5 visits to Nepal, the only time I have had really bad weather was in Oct 2005, when very heavy snow closed AC for about 4 days - this ruined many people's treks - I was OK as I had 2 months in Nepal, and so sat it out.