It's the most common question we get asked about our Eco-Comfort Camps in Nepal, and along the Larapinta Trail and on Flinders Island: is this glamping?
Fair question. But it isn't a straight yes or no.
The short version: our Eco-Comfort Camps are not technically for glamping. Walkers might disagree! They have many of the comforts most walkers don't get when they hike alone; a bed off the ground, a private tent you never have to pitch, hot meals cooked for you, a lit and heated place to sit at night.
They are missing the things that make glamping glamorous though: a private bathroom, unlimited hot water (not possible on the Larapinta!), power in the tent, and a short stroll from the car park.
At most of our camps you reach them after five to seven hours of walking, and you share a bathroom when you get there.
What glamping means
Glamping is a combination of the two words “glamorous” and “camping”.
Merriam-Webster defines it as “outdoor camping with amenities and comforts (such as beds, electricity, and access to indoor plumbing) not usually used when camping”. The Oxford Learner's Dictionary adds that it is “more comfortable and more expensive than those usually used for camping”.
In short:
• Camping comforts - a real bed, electric light, plumbing, a solid structure that was standing before you arrived.
• Hotel glamour - a private bathroom, hot water whenever you want it, furnishings, a premium price, and an experience where the accommodation is the reason you booked the trip.
Glamping is somewhere you go to. It is a destination in itself, usually reached by car. We like to walk.
So do we offer glamping?
In a handful of places, in effect, yes.
On some of our African safaris we use permanent safari camps that we describe as “like a tented hotel room” - three to four star properties with the comfort a glamping traveller would recognise, reached by vehicle rather than on foot.
On the Larapinta Trail, Flinders Island, and in the Nepal Himalaya - we run Eco-Comfort Camps. They are semi-permanent or permanent camps we own and operate, exclusive to our travellers, set away from the public trail. They are a very long way from a two-person tent you carry on your back. They are also not a hotel room with canvas walls.
How an Eco-Comfort Camps differs, item by item
Using our Larapinta Trail camps as an example:
Getting there
• A glamping site: drive to the door and park beside your tent.
• Eco-Comfort Camp: walk five to seven hours over rocky, rugged terrain carrying a day pack of 5-8kg / 11-18lb.
Power
• A glamping site: mains electricity, powerpoints in the tent, Wi-Fi.
• Eco-Comfort Camp: one 80W solar panel per camp, running the lounge, kitchen and bathroom lights, the kitchen water pump and charging. Two 12V USB ports per camp, shared by the whole group. Every tent gets its own solar lantern, charged during the day.
Water
• A glamping site: hot water on tap, private ensuite, as long a shower as you like.
• Eco-Comfort Camp: four litres per person per day, carried in by vehicle and heated over a fire. Shared bathroom tent.
Toilet
• A glamping site: flushing and plumbed.
• Eco-Comfort Camp: sit-down, water-free composting toilets — clean, ventilated and spacious. No flush water is used at any of the four camps.
Bed
• A glamping site: queen bed, made up with linen and towels.
• Eco-Comfort Camp: a bed off the ground with a mattress, pillow, pillowcase and sheets, in a fully enclosed safari tent tall enough to stand up in. You bring a sleeping bag rated to -5°C / 23°F.
Connectivity
• A glamping site: Wi-Fi throughout.
• Eco-Comfort Camp: mobile reception at one camp only, and it is intermittent. No Wi-Fi.
The whole point of it
• A glamping site: the tent.
• Eco-Comfort Camp: what you walked through to get to the tent.
Glamping is where the tent is the reason you came. An Eco-Comfort Camp is where the tent is what you've earned.
Four reasons we can't simply add the missing 'gl' bits
Why we don't just put in plumbing and a generator and call it glamping? Four important reasons;
1. The land isn't ours to build on
Our Larapinta camps sit on land the Traditional Owners own, under an exclusive sublease negotiated with them, the Central Land Council and NT Parks and Wildlife. Our arrangement carries obligations. The structures are semi-permanent and come down at the end of each walking season so the ground recovers before the following April. Permanent plumbing is not something you install on Country under those terms.
2. There is no water to plumb
At the Larapinta camps, every litre of water arrives by vehicle and is heated over a fire. That is precisely why the shower is rationed to four litres per person per day, and why the toilets use no flush water at all - a system that saves more than 25,000 litres a year in a place where every one of those litres would otherwise have to be driven in.
3. At altitude, pipes freeze
In the Nepal Himalaya the constraint is different. Above the treeline, water lines freeze solid overnight for much of the trekking season, making plumping very hard. Hot showers are sometimes available but are not guaranteed. It's not uncommon for toliets to freeze too!
4. The walking is the experience
Even if we could truck a spa into the Chewings Range, the reason people book our trips is the landscapes they walk through, not the tent itself. It's just an added treat. An In Comfort trip is not an easier trip: same distance, same terrain, same grading. What changes is that you finish the day at a bed, a hot meal and a lit shelter instead of a tent you pitch yourself and a freeze-dried dinner.
Frequently asked questions
Jump to a question:
Is this glamping?
What's the difference between glamping and an eco-comfort camp?
Does World Expeditions offer glamping anywhere?
Why can't the eco-comfort camps have hot showers and power points?
Is there a private bathroom at the eco-comfort camps?
Can I charge my phone at an eco-comfort camp?
Is there Wi-Fi or mobile reception at the camps?
Is an “In Comfort” trip an easier walk?
Why aren't the eco-comfort camps permanent?
Do I need to bring my own sleeping bag?
Is this glamping?
Not quite - our Eco-Comfort Camps have the comforts of glamping without the luxury. You get a private safari tent, a bed off the ground with sheets and a pillow, solar lighting, a heated dining shelter and meals cooked for you. You don't get an ensuite, and you walk five to seven hours a day to get there.
What's the difference between glamping and an Eco-Comfort Camp?
Glamping is the destination: you drive to the tent and the tent is the point of the trip. An eco-comfort camp is what's waiting after a full day's walk. Same bed off the ground, same meals cooked for you - ours adds a four-litre bucket shower, a shared bathroom tent and a 5-8kg / 11-18lb day pack to get there.
Does World Expeditions offer glamping anywhere?
On some African safaris, in effect, yes. We use permanent safari camps we describe as “like a tented hotel room” - three to four star properties reached by vehicle, with the comfort a glamping traveller expects. Everywhere else we run eco-comfort camps, and the walking to reach them is not optional.
Why can't the camps have hot showers and power points?
Because of where they are. At our four Larapinta camps every litre of water arrives by vehicle and is heated over a fire, so showers are rationed to four litres per person per day. Power is one 80W solar panel per camp. In the Nepal Himalaya, water lines above the treeline freeze overnight.
Is there a private bathroom at the camps?
No. Every eco-comfort camp uses a shared bathroom tent with sit-down, water-free composting toilets - clean, ventilated and spacious. Using no flush water saves more than 25,000 litres a year at the Larapinta camps, in a place where every litre has to be driven in by vehicle.
Can I charge my phone at an Eco-Comfort Camp?
Yes, but slowly, and not in your tent. Each Larapinta camp has two 12V USB charging ports shared across the whole group, powered by an 80W solar panel. Every tent has its own solar lantern, charged during the day. Bring a power bank if you rely on your phone or camera.
Is there Wi-Fi or mobile reception?
Not at the Larapinta camps - mobile reception reaches one camp only, and it is intermittent. Our Nepal eco-comfort camps are different: Wi-Fi is free at most of them, with a small charge at some. On any of our trips, treat coverage as a bonus rather than something to plan around.
Is an “In Comfort” trip an easier walk?
No. The comfort is in the camp, not on the trail. An In Comfort trip covers the same distance over the same terrain at the same grading as its standard version. What changes is the end of the day: a bed off the ground, a hot meal cooked for you and a lit, heated shelter instead of a tent you pitch yourself.
Why aren't the camps permanent?
So the ground recovers. Our Larapinta structures are semi-permanent and come down at the end of each walking season, leaving the site to recover before the following April. The camps sit on land the Traditional Owners own under an exclusive sublease, with a royalty paid per client into a Traditional Owner community fund.
Do I need to bring my own sleeping bag?
At the Larapinta camps, yes - a bag rated to -5°C / 23°F. We provide the bed, mattress, pillow, pillowcase and sheets. Other eco-comfort camps differ: on our Nepal treks a -10°C / 14°F down sleeping bag and liner are supplied as part of the trek pack. Always check your trip notes.