🏔️High-altitude checklist for Leh, Spiti and treks
Above 2,500 m, thin air is a group problem — one friend with altitude sickness stalls the whole plan. The fix is unglamorous and it works: a slow first day or two, lots of water, no alcohol on arrival, and medicines cleared with a doctor before you leave.
Health
Plan 24–48 hours of rest on arrival
No sightseeing or driving higher on day one. Sleep low, climb high.
Ask a doctor about Diamox (acetazolamide)
Usually 125 mg twice a day from the day before ascent; not for sulfa allergies. Prescription only — do not self-medicate.
Pack a pulse oximeter
Saturation falls for everyone up here, so the number decides nothing on its own — read it as an evening trend. Symptoms are the trigger: headache, nausea or breathlessness at rest means descend.
Drink 3–4 litres of water a day
Carry a bottle everywhere; dry mountain air dehydrates fast.
No alcohol or smoking on the first day
Both mask altitude-sickness symptoms and slow acclimatisation.
Safety
Learn the altitude-sickness symptoms
Headache, nausea, breathlessness at rest, confusion. Descend until they ease — usually 300–1,000 m — and never go higher with symptoms.
Gear
Sunscreen SPF 50 and UV sunglasses
UV is far stronger at altitude and snow reflects it back. Reapply every two hours.
Lip balm and moisturiser
Cracked lips and skin are near-guaranteed without them.
Pack layers: thermals, fleece, windproof shell
Mornings near 0 °C, afternoons 20 °C. Woollen cap and gloves even in summer.
Transport
Plan a gradual ascent
Above 3,000 m, sleep no more than 500 m higher than the previous night. Crossing a high pass and descending the same day is fine.
planning one of these?
Niklo suggests this checklist automatically when any stop on your trip sits above 2,500 m — Leh, Spiti, Tawang, Kedarnath, or a Himalayan trek.
Tick it off as a crew, not alone.
Put this checklist on a Niklo trip and every item gets an owner, a due state and a crew that can see it — next to the itinerary, the map and the money.