For a printable packing list click here for a pdf. Please note that the links below are affiliate links, which means that we will earn a small commission if you decide to make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
Documents
- Passport, with visa
- Flight/train bookings
- Boarding passes
- Hotel bookings
- Itinerary
- Photocopies of passport/visa/ID/medical/insurance cards
- Photocopy of your eyewear prescription
- List of phone numbers, emails of people/places you may want to contact
- Optional: Driver’s License, for ID, if needed.
- Optional: 2-4 extra passport-style photos
Financial
- Money belt/Neck wallet
- Cash or traveler’s checks
- Credit/debit cards
- Photocopy of credit/debit cards
- Digital or verbal passwords for your credit/debit card institution
Outerwear
- 1 Pair of hiking boots, hiking shoes, or comfortable walking shoes (depending on your trip)
- Rain jacket
- Down jacket or ski-type winter jacket
- Warm fleece or wool hat
- Gloves
- Optional: Rain pants
- Optional: Scarf
Clothing
- 3-5 quick-drying t-shirts
- 1 Lightweight long sleeve shirt
- 1 Midweight long sleeve layer (maybe a zip-up fleece)
- 2 Pairs of jeans or hiking pants
- 1 Pair of warm but light fleece or sweat pants for your room.
- hermal shirts or long underwear
- 5-7 Pairs of socks
- 3+ Pairs of underwear
- Women: 1 extra bra
- Optional: swimsuit (ask your agent if there are any hot springs on your route)
- Optional: bandana
Sun Protection
- Wide-Brimmed Hat or baseball hat
- Sunscreen- SPF 30+
- Lip protection SPF 30+
- Sunglasses
General Travel Gear
- Lightweight sleeping bag liner/sleep sheet
- Small flashlight
- Travel towel (1 small and 1 medium)
- Travel lock for your bags
- Travel size anti-bacterial hand cleaner
- Ziplock plastic bags
- Optional: Sleeping Bag
- Optional: Swiss Army Knife
Toiletries
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Shower gel or soap
- Deodorant
- Lotions, creams
- Disposable face towelettes
- Disposable wipes for when you can’t bath.
- Shaver or razor and shaving cream
- Nail clippers
- Comb/Brush
- Toothbrush/toothpaste/floss
- Hair thingies
- Women: Feminine products
Medical/Health
- Travel medicine prescriptions and/or altitude sickness medication (Consult a doctor)
- Glasses
- Vitamins
- Iodine tablets
- Small first aid kit, with plastic gloves
- Pain relievers
- Diarrhea medicine
- Laxatives or a fiber like Metamucil
- Contact lens preparations, eye drops
- Motion sickness medicine
- Allergy medicine
- If applicable: Personal prescription medicine
- If applicable: Mouthpiece
- If applicable: Birth control
- Optional: face mask
- Optional: Extra pair of glasses
- Optional: Sleep medication (Consult your doctor and/or travel doctor)
Electronics/Communications
- Smart phone/charger (note high altitude limits)
- Camera, batteries, chargers and memory cards (optional: UV filter)
- Earphones for phone or music device
- Travel adapters and converters
- Optional: Portable charger
- Optional: Laptop/tablet with power adapter (note high altitude limits)
Recommended but optional
- Personal thermos/flask
- Small lantern
- Compact umbrella
- Light bag to carry as a day pack
- Hot water bottle
Purely optional
- Solar charger
- Travel clothesline
- Travel sewing kit
- Steri pen
- Water bottle to fit a steri pen
- A book to read
- A guidebook
- Food from home (Energy bars, jerky, dried fruit and nuts, tea, instant coffee)
Mala says
Hi, Thanks so much for your videos on the Kailash trip. I found the ones on Diamox and packing the most useful. Is this the edited list after your Kailash kora? (The comments on your video and your response suggested that there would be a more practical concise list) Thanks so much. We are planning our trip this June.