Insurance, rescue and emergencies

What your insurance has to cover at altitude, how rescue actually works in the Indian Himalaya, and the rules on satellite devices.

Health & safety2 min read

The short version

  • 1Buy insurance that names trekking and covers your maximum altitude, including helicopter evacuation.
  • 2Rescue in remote valleys means hours to days of walking or a stretcher: speed depends on your team.
  • 3In India, satellite phones and messengers like Garmin inReach need government permission. Don't bring one without it.
  • 4Share your itinerary and your operator's emergency number with someone at home.
In this guide
  1. 1.Insurance that actually covers you
  2. 2.How rescue works
  3. 3.Phones, satellite devices and signal
  4. 4.If something goes wrong

Insurance that actually covers you

Ordinary travel insurance often excludes trekking, or covers it only up to a set altitude (3,000 or 4,000 m is common). Read the policy wording, not the brochure.

  • Activity: trekking, mountaineering or motorcycling is named as covered.
  • Altitude: the limit is above your trek's highest point.
  • Evacuation: helicopter rescue and medical evacuation are included, with a high enough limit. A helicopter in Nepal can cost several lakh rupees.
  • Cancellation: covers weather, landslides and road closures, which cancel more Himalayan trips than anything else.

How rescue works

In Nepal, helicopter rescue on popular routes is routine when the weather allows. In the Indian Himalaya it's rarer and slower: it may need state or armed forces help, and clouds often ground flights. Most evacuations are on foot, by mule, or on a stretcher carried by the team.

That's why the most important rescue gear is a good team: a leader trained in wilderness first aid, a group oxygen cylinder on high treks, and a plan for getting someone down from every camp. Ask about all three before you book.

Phones, satellite devices and signal

Expect no mobile signal for most of a trek. BSNL and Jio sometimes reach higher than other networks near villages, but don't count on it.

Your phone's GPS works without signal. Load the trail before you go so you always know where you are: see Take your trek offline.

If something goes wrong

  1. 1

    Keep yourself safe first, then the injured person. Get them warm and out of the wind.

  2. 2

    Tell the trek leader immediately, even if it seems minor.

  3. 3

    If someone is unwell at altitude, the answer is usually to go down: see Altitude sickness.

  4. 4

    Where there's signal, 112 is India's emergency number. In Nepal, the tourist police are on 1144.

  5. 5

    Write down the time, symptoms and what's been given. It helps whoever takes over.

Before you leave, send your itinerary, operator's emergency number and expected return date to someone at home, and tell them when to raise the alarm.

This guide is general information to help you prepare, not medical advice. Talk to a doctor about your own health before a high-altitude trip, and follow your trek leader on the mountain.

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