Trailpedia

Take your trek offline

Most Himalayan trails have no phone signal for days. Your phone's GPS doesn't need one. With the trail file and an offline map loaded before you leave, you can see exactly where you are on the route, anywhere, in airplane mode. This guide takes about 15 minutes at home.

How it works

You need two things on your phone: an offline map of the area, and the trail file.

The offline map is the base map, with valleys, rivers, villages and paths, saved on your phone so it works without data. Free apps like Organic Maps download a whole state or country at once, usually a few hundred MB.

The trail file is a GPX file, the standard format every map app and GPS watch reads. Ours holds the walking line from the start to the end of the trek and every overnight stop as a named point, with heights. It comes from OpenStreetMap's mapped paths and is about 40 KB.

On the trail, your phone's GPS chip talks to satellites directly. It works with no SIM, no data and in airplane mode. The app puts a blue dot on the map where you are, and the trail is drawn as a line. If the dot is on the line, you're on the route.

Before you leave home

Do all of this on Wi-Fi, a few days before you travel. Mountain data, where there is any, is too slow for map downloads.

1. 1
   Install the app (Organic Maps is our pick: free, no ads, no account). Steps for your phone are below.
2. 2
   Download the offline map for the region: the state for Indian treks (Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Sikkim) or the country for Nepal.
3. 3
   Download the trek's GPX file from its page on Trail to Tides and load it into the app.
4. 4
   Test it: switch on airplane mode, open the app, and check the map still shows and the blue dot appears. If it does, you're set.
5. 5
   Put the same file on one more phone in your group, in case one breaks or goes flat.

Android

With Organic Maps (recommended)

1. 1
   Install Organic Maps from Google Play and open it. Allow location access when it asks, and choose Precise location.
2. 2
   Download the region: open the menu, choose Download maps, search for the state or country (for example Uttarakhand or Nepal) and tap it to download. You can also just pan the map to the trek; the app offers to download the area you're looking at.
3. 3
   On the trek's page, tap Download trail (GPX). The file saves to your phone's Downloads folder, named after the trek.
4. 4
   Open the file: tap it in the download notification, or open the Files app → Downloads and tap it. When Android asks which app to use, choose Organic Maps. The trail and every stop appear on the map.
5. 5
   If the file won't open in Organic Maps: open Organic Maps, tap the star (Bookmarks and tracks), open its menu and choose Import, then pick the file from Downloads.
6. 6
   The trail is now saved in Bookmarks and tracks. Tap it there any time to jump to it; use the eye icon to show or hide it.

If Organic Maps doesn't work for you

Any of these read the same file. Each needs its own offline map downloaded at home.

iPhone and iPad

With Organic Maps (recommended)

1. 1
   Install Organic Maps from the App Store and open it. Allow location access While Using the App, with Precise Location on.
2. 2
   Download the region: open the menu, choose Download maps, search for the state or country and tap to download. Or pan to the trek and accept the offer to download that area.
3. 3
   On the trek's page in Safari, tap Download trail (GPX) and confirm Download. The file goes to the Files app, in Downloads.
4. 4
   Open Files → Downloads, press and hold the file, tap Share and choose Organic Maps. If you don't see it in the row of apps, swipe to the end and tap More.
5. 5
   Another way in: open Organic Maps, tap the star (Bookmarks and tracks), choose Import, and pick the file from Files.
6. 6
   The trail is saved under Bookmarks and tracks, ready for the trek.

If Organic Maps doesn't work for you

On a computer (Windows, Mac, Linux)

A laptop isn't for navigating on the trail, but it's the best screen for studying the route and printing a paper backup.

1. 1
   Click Download trail (GPX) on the trek's page. It saves to your Downloads folder.
2. 2
   To look at it: drag the file onto gpx.studio in your browser (free, nothing to install). You'll see the line on a topo map with its elevation profile. Or open it in GPXSee (free app) or Google Earth Pro with File → Open (set the file type to GPS) for a 3D view.
3. 3
   To print a backup: zoom gpx.studio or GPXSee to each day's section and print or save it as PDF. A folded page in a zip bag weighs nothing and never runs flat.
4. 4
   To get it onto your phone: email or WhatsApp it to yourself, or put it in Google Drive or iCloud Drive, then open it on the phone and follow the Android or iPhone steps.

GPS watches and handheld GPS

Outdoor watches follow a GPX file as a course or route, showing the line and buzzing if you wander off it. Download the file on a phone or computer first. Menu names change slightly between app versions.

On the trail

Open the app, find the trail in Bookmarks and tracks, and tap it so it's showing. Tap the location button to put the blue dot in the middle.

• Am I on the route? If the blue dot is on the line, yes. A few dozen metres off in a deep valley is normal: cliffs and forest bounce the signal.
• How far to camp? Tap the next stop's point; the app shows the straight-line distance. Our trek page lists the walking distance and climb between stops.
• Which way? Tap the location button again to make the map turn with you, so the way you face is up.
• At a junction, check which branch keeps the dot on the line before walking far.
• Separated from your group? Stay put if you can and stay visible. If you must move, use the line to walk back towards the last stop you all passed.

Battery in the cold

• Airplane mode while walking. GPS keeps working; searching for a signal that isn't there is what drains phones in the mountains.
• Check, don't stare. Open the map at junctions and breaks, then lock the screen. A screen on all day empties the battery by lunch.
• Keep it warm. Batteries lose charge fast below freezing. Carry the phone in an inside pocket by day and in your sleeping bag at night.
• Carry a power bank (10,000 mAh charges most phones two to three times), and a short cable. Teahouse charging, where it exists, costs extra and is often shared.
• Low Power Mode (iPhone) or Battery Saver (Android) helps a lot and doesn't stop GPS.

If something goes wrong