Nepal Information

Nepal Visa regulations,
A valid passport is required for all tourists except Indian nationals to travel to Nepal. Your passport is supposed to be valid for at least six more months to get a visa. Indians need to carry either a passport or the election card.

Visa fees:
You will get your Nepal visa at Kathmandu airport or any other surface entry points upon arrival and the fees are as follows.

1). Multiple entry 15 days visa fee - US$ 25 (valid for 15 days)
2). For more then 15 days visa - US$ 40
3). Fee exempt for kids below 10 years

Please bring visa fee in USD cash ( exact change ) , they will not accept other currencies and not accept credit cards etc for visa payment. You also require a photograph , better bring one.

The tourist visa can also be obtained from Nepalese Embassies or Consulates abroad. The process is the same for the 'gratis' visas. The Kathmandu airport is rather slow . In order to shorten your time in the airport (immigration and custom) fill up all the available forms in the airplane itself. The visa application forms are available in the passport control lounge. They are also distributed in the aircrafts before landing.

Indian nationals do not require visa to enter Nepal.

Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal is linked by air with Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi, Banglore, Mumbai, Dhaka, Paro, Karachi, Frankfurt, Paris, Munich, London, Vienna, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Doha, Moscow, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Osaka, Shanghai & Lhasa.

Entry points for those entering the country by surface are Bhairahawa (Sunauli), Birgunj (Raxaul) & Kararbhitta (Siliguri) from India and Kodari (Zhangmu) if you are entering from Tibet.

Our answer to that is yes Nepal is safe to travel in, not only is it safe but its fun, amazing and incredibly beautiful as well.Over the last ten years Nepal has experienced problems with infighting between the government and the Maoists due to conflicting ideas and political disagreement. Though it's a fact that cannot be hidden that people got killed during this conflict, there is no record of any tourists or travelers being injured, killed or involved in anyway. All people in Nepal have a strong belief that guests are equal to god, every Nepal abides by this and offers the warmest of welcomes to all visitors into Nepal.

As of September 2007, there has been a cease fire and peace agreement made between the parties involved. This peace has been upheld, or though there have been a few minor hiccups along the way. People should be aware that Nepal is a developing country and sometimes things do get out of hand. A lot of the bad press Nepal receives is unjustified media hype.

Overall, travelling to Nepal contains no more risk than travelling in other places of the world, in fact as a traveler you are much safer in Nepal than in some European countries and South American places as the threat of, kidnap, pick pocket, robbery, rape etc is almost no existent.

All the major tourist areas of Nepal are policed and patrolled and we have are own branch of the tourist police to assist travellers and keep them safe should a situation arise.

As with any safety, precaution is the first rule. Though we are confident that while in Nepal you will not have any problems, there as some basic things you can do to stay safe. Avoid being near demonstrations, return to your hotel early in the evening if you can, do not carry expensive gadgets when traveling, avoid wearing jewelries and other extravagant wears, use a guide from a trusted travel agent or tour operator, do not talk openly about politics, about the king, about the Maoists while you in public places - After all, all you should be talking about is beautiful Nepal and the amazing adventure you are having here. The above advice is good common sense you should undertake while travelling in any country.

Nepal has four seasons, spring, monsoon, autumn, and winter. Spring is warm to hot depending on the places you visit ( see the temperature chart below). There are occassional rains but generally the weather is fine in spring. Moonsoon brings heavy rains . Autuman has very pleasant weather with clear blue sky and clear mountains . Winter gets chilly and needs really warm clothes if you are going to the mountains. Kathmandu has an elevation of 1350m ( 4500 ft approx) and Pokhara 850 m( approx), for temperature in Kathmandu and Pokhara in different months , refer the table below.

Nepal can be visited throughout the year for sightseeing tours .For trekking tours the best time is from last week of september to first week of June. However shorter treks like Ghorepani poon hill trek or Jomsom trek can be done even in summer. Summer is an ideal season for trans himalayan treks like Upper mustang, Dolpo , Nar Phu valley or for alpine flower treks as these places lie in rain shadow zone of the Himalayas.These areas experience only minimum of rain even in summer, it is warmer and vegetations grow and alpine valley floors bloom with flowers.

Dasain, celebrated nationwide in October, is the most important of all Nepalese celebrations. Running a close second is Tihar (November), Other festivals celebrated nationally include the water-tinged Holi (March) and Chaitra Daisan (April), Hindu festivals number the Haribodhini Ekadashi (November) and Maha Shivaratri (March), both celebrated in Pashupatinath, the Gai Jatra (August) in Kathmandu and the Krishna Jayanti (August/September) in Patan. Buddhist celebrations are just as thick on the ground, and include Mani Rimdu (November) in Solu Khumbu, Buddha Jayanti (May) in Kathmandu, and Losar (Tibetan New Year) (February) in Swayambhunath, Jawlakhel and highland communities.

Normally banks are open between 09:00 A.M. to 3:00 p.m, Sunday to Friday. On Saturdays and other public holidays, they are open for shorter hours and for cash withdrawals and deposits only (not other services). Some banks operate evening counters( till 6 or 7 Pm) in Kathmandu and Pokhara . So , in general you can assume that banks are open 365 days , in Kathmandu and pokhara ( but not in other cities or small towns).

You are supposed to pay in local currency, called Rupees, in the local market for any shopping and payments. However you must pay in foreign currency for air tickets and for visa charges. Airport departure taxes can be paid in Nepali Rupees.

You can exchange your foreign currency at hotels , at banks or your travel agent can do this for you. Foreign currencies like US Dollar, Euro , Japanese Yen, and British Pound are accepted in hotel , travel agencies, restaurants and other establishments easily. However , other currencies are accepted only at banks and we recommend you not to carry these currencies to avoid inconvenience.

Visa and Master cards are widely accepted in the cities , mostly Kathmandu and Pokhara. Bigger hotels and restaurants accept them but smaller hotels and restaurants will not accept them .

There are ATM machines at several places in Kathmandu, Pokhara and some other cities including some at Kathmandu airport. The credit card service charge is normally 3.5% in Nepal. You can also get Nepali Rupees against travelers cheques at banks.

If you are heading for a trek to the mountains, make sure you have enough Nepali cash for your personal expenses. Some lodges in the mountains may accept US dollars but the exchange rate offered is very low.

If you are traveling via India , you can use your remaining Indian rupees in Neapl . However Indian Rupees of 500 denominations are illegal to carry in Nepal and the authorities may confiscate it at the airport.

Travelers often say that Kathmandu and Pokhara have best choice of restaurants in whole of south Asia. You can find restaurants serving Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Continental, French, Mexican, Italian, Korean, Thai etc foods. There are restaurants serving typical Nepali dishes in Kathmandu and Pokhara. A typical Nepali meal includes some rice, mixed seasonal vegetable curry, chicken or mutton curry, bean soups, papad, pickels and traditional deserts. Nepal has many ethnic groups, they not only have different culture and dresses but also have different foods of their own .

Liquors of most international brands are available in Nepal. There are a great of number fo bars to enjoy a drink. The traditional Nepali whisky is made of rice, simillar to Japanese Sake. A warm millet beer (home made ) is also very popular, especially in winter . Nepal produces very fine quality tea too.

Inside Kathmandu valley, The Kathmandu valley consists of three medieval cities of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur and other small towns of Panauti, Dhulikhel , Kirtipur etc on its outskirts. These three cities are like open museum of medieval arts, culture and tradition. There are seven world heritage sites declared by UNESCO within a periphery of about thirty kilometer in this valley.

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