While a trekking holiday in Nepal might be an experience of a lifetime, preparation is required to ensure travellers make the most out of the journey. The high elevation of the country and steep foothills of its mountain ranges make hiking quite a challenge, and visitors are often caught unawares by the realities of travelling through the Nepalese wilderness. Thankfully, a range of apps exist that can help even inexperienced walkers get themselves into top trekking condition.
 
Map My Hike GPS Hiking
Android
Free
 
Map My Hike makes full use of a user’s mobile device by tracking their hiking progress and overlaying it on a detailed map of the surrounding area. This allows trekkers to progressively improve their leg strength, stamina and general fitness over time and modify their routes to include more challenging features. The app also tracks pace, elevation and distance for walk-by-walk performance comparison. Tips on nutrition and reducing body fat content are also ensure that trekkers are on top form, even when they get to Nepal.
 
Walkmeter GPS
iOS
£2.99
 
This app provides a range of statistics based on GPS tracking of walks and hikes including pace, distance, elevation and total time taken, and then plots them onto handy graphs for easy fitness management. This app is particularly useful for those looking into long-term fitness and health goals, as over time, walk-by-walk comparisons will show a steady but encouraging increase. The app also delivers real-time information about pacing and calories burned, perfect for those hoping to shed a little weight to make the Nepal hike easier.
  
Alltrails
iOS
Free
 
The Alltrails hiking app is a useful addition to any trekker’s device. The app can identify the best hiking trails near to the user, or users can instead search for the best trails in any area worldwide. These results can be sorted by length, difficulty and rating by the Alltrails community to ensure every trek is an adventure of discovery. A varied regimen of practice walks will improve fitness and ensure trekkers are prepared for any eventuality when they’re in Nepal.
 
TouchMountain
Windows Phone
£1.99
 
This Windows Phone app is the perfect hiking companion for the roving rambler, offering users detailed features about the hills and mountains close to their area. The perfect app for finding the best routes once trekkers have reached Nepal, this app reveals how many mountains are nearby, what their elevation is, distance to the peak and other factual information. It even includes an impressive augmented reality feature that utilises a device’s camera to indicate the location of mountains that may be obscured from view by buildings or terrain.

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