📅 Last verified: August 2026 · fees change — always confirm with official sources before travel
Indian nationals do not need a visa. A small list of nationalities cannot get a visa on arrival and must apply at an embassy first — check the Department of Immigration site before flying.
Planning Your Nepal Trip: A Practical Field Guide
Nepal rewards preparation more than almost any destination on earth. The difference between a frustrating trip and an unforgettable one usually comes down to three decisions made before you land in Kathmandu: when you come, which region you commit to, and how you move between places. This guide condenses what our Kathmandu-based team tells friends and family who visit us — the honest version, including the parts glossy brochures leave out.
The ten modules below: 1. Seasons · 2. Trekking regions · 3. Getting around · 4. What Nepal costs in 2026 · 5. Permitting rules · 6. Altitude & safety · 7. Money, health & connectivity · 8. Monsoon & GLOF preparedness (new) · 9. Solo trekker mandate updates (new) · 10. Budgeting & offline maps (new).
1 · When to Visit: Season by Season
Autumn (late September – November) is the classic season and it earns the reputation. The monsoon has washed the dust out of the sky, mountain visibility is at its yearly best, daytime trekking temperatures sit between 10–20°C at mid-altitude, and the two biggest festivals — Dashain and Tihar — fall in this window. The trade-off is crowds: teahouses on the Everest and Annapurna trails fill by early afternoon in October, and Kathmandu–Lukla flights sell out weeks ahead. Book accommodation on popular routes in advance or start walking early each day.
Spring (March – May) is the second high season and, in our view, underrated. Rhododendron forests between 2,500m and 3,500m turn entire hillsides red and pink — the Poon Hill and Langtang trails are spectacular. Visibility is slightly hazier than autumn, especially below 3,000m in April and May as pre-monsoon heat builds, but high routes stay clear. This is also expedition season on Everest, which gives Namche Bazaar and Lukla a distinctive energy.
Winter (December – February) is dramatically underused. Skies are as clear as autumn, trails and flights are quiet, and lowland destinations — Chitwan, Lumbini, Bardiya, the Kathmandu Valley heritage cities — are at their most pleasant. High passes such as Thorong La and the Three Passes may close after snowfall, and teahouse nights above 3,500m drop well below −10°C, but treks that top out around 3,000–4,000m (Poon Hill, lower Langtang, Pikey Peak) are entirely feasible for a properly equipped walker.
Monsoon (June – mid-September) means daily rain, leeches on forest trails, and frequent domestic flight delays — yet it is the only season for the rain-shadow regions. Upper Mustang and Dolpo sit behind the Himalayan wall and stay largely dry while the rest of the country is soaked. Kathmandu between showers is green, moody and tourist-free. If monsoon is the only time you can travel, plan around the rain-shadow or keep your itinerary urban and flexible — and read module 8 on flood and GLOF risk before you go anywhere near a Himalayan river.
2 · Choosing Your Trekking Region
Everest (Khumbu) — the most famous trail on the planet, and the most infrastructure-heavy: bakeries at 4,400m, Wi-Fi in most lodges, and a well-oiled rescue system. Costs are the highest in Nepal and the Lukla flight adds both expense and weather risk. Choose it for the Sherpa culture and the amphitheatre of 8,000m peaks; allow 12–14 days for Base Camp with honest acclimatization.
Annapurna — the best all-rounder. Road access from Pokhara means no internal flight, routes exist for every fitness level from 4-day Poon Hill loops to the 14-day Circuit over Thorong La (5,416m), and the cultural gradient — Hindu villages in the foothills rising to Tibetan-Buddhist Manang — is unmatched. If it is your first Himalayan trek, start here.
Langtang — the closest big-mountain valley to Kathmandu, reached by road in a day. Quieter than the two giants, genuinely beautiful, and your teahouse money directly supports villages rebuilt after the 2015 earthquake. A 7–9 day itinerary covers the valley and Kyanjin Ri.
⚠️
Langtang, Gosaikunda and the Tamang Heritage Trail — status August 2026. The 26 August 2026 Bhotekoshi–Trishuli glacial flood destroyed the road to Syafrubesi and the bridges at Timure and Chilime, so the Langtang region's road access is severed and the Tamang Heritage Trail is closed. Do not plan a Langtang or Gosaikunda trek until access is restored — see the
Recent Disasters & Travel Alerts page, and consider Annapurna, Khumbu, Manaslu or Mardi Himal instead.
Manaslu and Upper Mustang (restricted) — for second visits or travelers who want the 1990s Annapurna experience. Both require a registered agency, a guide, and a restricted-area permit, which adds cost but filters the crowds. Manaslu is a raw, dramatic circuit; Mustang is a high-desert former kingdom with walled towns and cave monasteries.
The far west (Rara, Khaptad, Api region) — Nepal as it was before trekking tourism. Logistics are harder, English rarer, and lodges basic, but Rara Lake in October is among the most beautiful places in the country. Go with time, patience and ideally a guide who knows the region.
3 · Getting Around: What Actually Works
- Domestic flights save days but respect the weather. Kathmandu–Pokhara (25 min) and Kathmandu–Lukla (35 min, often via Ramechhap in high season) are the workhorses. Build at least one buffer day into any itinerary that depends on a mountain airstrip — Lukla delays of 24–48 hours are routine, not exceptional.
- Tourist buses are the best value on trunk routes. Kathmandu–Pokhara or Kathmandu–Chitwan runs 6–9 hours depending on traffic and roadworks. Book the "deluxe" or "sofa" class for reclining seats — the price difference is small and the road is long.
- Local buses reach everywhere, cost almost nothing, and are an experience in themselves. Allow roughly 20 km/h average speed in the hills when planning.
- Shared and private jeeps fill the gap to trailheads — Machha Khola for Manaslu, the Jomsom side of the Annapurnas, Dhunche for the Langtang region when that road reopens. Shared jeeps leave when full; a private charter costs several times more but leaves when you do.
- Kathmandu Valley transport: ride-hailing apps (Pathao, InDrive) have largely solved the taxi negotiation problem — fares are set in the app. For heritage sites within the valley, a hired car with driver for a day is affordable split between two or three people.
- Check road status before every hill journey. Landslides in monsoon and flood damage on river-corridor highways close routes at short notice; the Pasang Lhamu (Kathmandu–Rasuwagadhi–Kerung) highway is closed north of Betrabati as of late August 2026.
4 · What Nepal Costs in 2026
Daily figures below assume one person, excluding international flights and trekking permits. Nepal remains one of the world's best-value destinations, but prices on trekking trails rise with every hour of walking distance from the nearest road — a bottle of water that costs NPR 25 in Kathmandu can cost NPR 400 at Gorak Shep, which is why refill-and-purify beats buying bottles.
| Expense | Backpacker (~US$30/day) | Mid-range (~US$80/day) | Comfort (~US$180/day) |
|---|
| City room, per night | US$8–15 guesthouse | US$30–60 boutique hotel | US$120+ heritage or 5-star |
| Meals, per day | US$6–10 (dal bhat, momo) | US$15–25 (mixed local/western) | US$40+ (hotel and fine dining) |
| Teahouse trekking, per day | US$25–35 all-in | US$40–60 with guide | US$80+ guide, porter, best lodges |
| Intercity transport | Local/tourist bus US$5–15 | Deluxe bus or shared jeep | Domestic flights, private car |
Permits are extra and fixed by the government: most nationalities pay US$30/50/125 for a 15/30/90-day visa on arrival, NPR 3,000 for major national park or conservation entries, and NPR 2,000 for a TIMS card where required. Use the permit cost calculator higher up this page to price your own route, and see module 10 for a day-by-day budget worksheet.
5 · Permitting Rules — what you actually need in 2026
Nepal's trekking paperwork is layered rather than complicated: a visa to be in the country, a park or conservation entry fee for the area you walk into, a TIMS card to register you with rescue services, and — in a handful of border zones — a restricted-area permit that only a licensed agency can obtain.
- Visa on arrival: US$30 / 50 / 125 for 15 / 30 / 90 days, multiple entry, at Tribhuvan airport and official land borders. Indian nationals need no visa; under-10s are free. Carry USD cash — the card terminals fail regularly.
- Park & conservation fees: around NPR 3,000 per area for foreign nationals (Sagarmatha, ACAP, Langtang, MCAP), NPR 1,000–1,500 for SAARC citizens. Paid once per entry, in rupees, cash only.
- Khumbu extra: the Everest region uses a Khumbu Pasang Lhamu rural-municipality permit (about NPR 3,000, or NPR 2,000 after four weeks) bought in Lukla or Monjo, instead of a TIMS card.
- TIMS card: NPR 2,000 foreign / NPR 1,000 SAARC, issued by the Nepal Tourism Board (Bhrikutimandap, Kathmandu) or TAAN in Pokhara. Bring two passport photos and your insurance details.
- Restricted areas: Upper Mustang, Manaslu, Tsum Valley, Upper Dolpo, Nar-Phu, Kanchenjunga and the Humla/Limi corridor need a Restricted Area Permit priced per week in USD, arranged through a registered agency, normally with a minimum of two trekkers plus a guide.
- Checkpoints are real. Permits are inspected at fixed posts — Besisahar, Chame, Jomsom, Kagbeni, Monjo, Jagat, Dhunche — and a missing permit means being turned back, not fined. Keep them dry and on your person, not in a duffel on a mule.
Permit & entry fee table — standard trekking regions (2026)
Per person, per entry. Paid in Nepalese rupees, cash, at the issuing office or entry checkpoint. USD equivalents at roughly NPR 133 = US$1.
| Permit | Foreign national | SAARC national | Where you buy it |
|---|
| Visa on arrival — 15 / 30 / 90 days | US$30 / 50 / 125 | Free (Indian nationals); others as foreign | Tribhuvan airport and official land borders — USD cash |
|---|
| TIMS card (Trekkers' Information Management System) | NPR 2,000 | NPR 1,000 | Nepal Tourism Board, Bhrikutimandap (Kathmandu) or TAAN, Pokhara |
|---|
| Sagarmatha National Park (Everest) | NPR 3,000 | NPR 1,500 | Monjo entry gate or NTB Kathmandu |
|---|
| Khumbu Pasang Lhamu rural-municipality permit | NPR 3,000 (NPR 2,000 after 4 weeks) | Same | Lukla or Monjo — replaces the TIMS card in the Khumbu |
|---|
| Annapurna Conservation Area (ACAP) | NPR 3,000 | NPR 1,000 | NTB Kathmandu / ACAP Pokhara / Besisahar |
|---|
| Langtang National Park | NPR 3,000 | NPR 1,500 | Dhunche checkpost or NTB Kathmandu |
|---|
| Manaslu Conservation Area (MCAP) | NPR 3,000 | NPR 1,000 | NTB Kathmandu — in addition to the Manaslu RAP below |
|---|
| Shivapuri–Nagarjun, Makalu Barun, Rara, Shey Phoksundo, Khaptad | NPR 3,000 | NPR 1,500 | Park entry gate |
|---|
| Chitwan / Bardiya / Koshi Tappu day entry | NPR 2,000 | NPR 1,000 | Park office — jeep, canoe and guide fees are separate |
|---|
| Gaurishankar & Kanchenjunga conservation areas | NPR 3,000 | NPR 1,000 | NTB Kathmandu |
|---|
| Licensed guide (mandatory on most national-park treks) | US$25–35 per day | Registered trekking agency — see module 9 |
|---|
Restricted Area Permit (RAP) fee table — agency-only regions
RAPs are issued in USD, per person, only to groups of two or more travelling with a registered agency and a licensed guide. A conservation-area or park fee is charged on top of every line below.
| Restricted region | Fee for the first period | Each additional day | Also required |
|---|
| Upper Mustang (Lo Manthang) | US$500 / 10 days | US$50 | ACAP NPR 3,000 |
|---|
| Manaslu — Sep–Nov | US$100 / 7 days | US$15 | MCAP + ACAP NPR 3,000 each |
|---|
| Manaslu — Dec–Aug | US$75 / 7 days | US$10 | MCAP + ACAP NPR 3,000 each |
|---|
| Tsum Valley — Sep–Nov | US$40 / 8 days | US$7 | MCAP NPR 3,000 |
|---|
| Tsum Valley — Dec–Aug | US$30 / 8 days | US$7 | MCAP NPR 3,000 |
|---|
| Nar–Phu Valley — Sep–Nov | US$100 / 7 days | US$15 | ACAP NPR 3,000 |
|---|
| Nar–Phu Valley — Dec–Aug | US$75 / 7 days | US$15 | ACAP NPR 3,000 |
|---|
| Upper Dolpo | US$500 / 10 days | US$50 | Shey Phoksundo NP NPR 3,000 |
|---|
| Lower Dolpo | US$20 / week | US$20 per further week | Shey Phoksundo NP NPR 3,000 |
|---|
| Kanchenjunga (Taplejung) | US$20 / 4 weeks | US$25 per week after | KCAP NPR 3,000 |
|---|
| Humla / Limi Valley | US$50 / week | US$10 | Local municipality fee |
|---|
| Tibet border zones (Gaurishankar, Rasuwa north) | Closed / case-by-case | Currently affected by the Aug 2026 GLOF — check the alerts page |
|---|
Fees are set by government notice and change between seasons. Confirm against the Department of Immigration, DNPWC and Nepal Tourism Board pages linked under "Official Sources" on this page before you pay anyone.
6 · Altitude & Safety
Altitude sickness does not care how fit you are. It is a function of how fast you ascend, and the cure is descent — not paracetamol, not pushing on to the next lodge.
- Above 3,000m, sleep no more than ~500m higher than the previous night, and take a rest day every third day or every 1,000m.
- Know the escalation: headache, nausea and poor sleep are AMS. Ataxia (unable to walk a straight line) means HACE; a wet cough, breathlessness at rest and gurgling breathing mean HAPE. Both are emergencies — descend immediately, at night if necessary.
- Discuss acetazolamide (Diamox) with a doctor before you travel. It aids acclimatisation; it does not license a faster ascent.
- Insurance is non-negotiable. Verify in writing that your policy covers trekking at your maximum altitude and helicopter evacuation — many policies stop at 4,000m or 6,000m. A rescue flight is billed in the thousands of US dollars, often upfront.
- The 🚨 emergency panel in the site header carries the full AMS protocol plus Nepal Police (100), Ambulance (102), Fire (101) and Tourist Police (+977-1-4247041).
Your first 48 hours in Kathmandu
- At the airport: visa on arrival is a three-step queue — kiosk (or the pre-filled online form), payment counter (bring USD cash as backup), then immigration. Ignore anyone offering to "help" with your bags airside.
- Get connected: buy an Ncell or Nepal Telecom SIM/eSIM at the airport counter or any Thamel shop — passport photo and a passport copy required. NTC has better coverage on remote trails; Ncell is faster in cities.
- Get cash: ATMs dispense a maximum of NPR 35,000 per withdrawal with a NPR 500–600 fee, so make large withdrawals rather than many small ones. Trekking regions are cash-only.
- Sort permits early: the Nepal Tourism Board office at Bhrikutimandap processes TIMS and conservation permits in about an hour on a quiet morning. Doing this on day one keeps your start date flexible.
- Acclimatise to the city itself — Kathmandu sits at 1,400m. Spend day two walking: Boudhanath at dawn, Pashupatinath, then Patan Durbar Square in the afternoon light.
7 · Money, Health & Connectivity Quick Facts
- Drink treated water: purification tablets, a filter bottle or a SteriPEN pay for themselves within days and keep thousands of plastic bottles off the trails.
- Vaccinations: typhoid and hepatitis A are commonly recommended; consult a travel clinic 4–6 weeks before departure. Rabies pre-exposure is worth discussing for long rural stays.
- Electricity and charging: Type C/D/M sockets, 230V. On trekking routes lodges charge NPR 200–500 per device — a 10,000mAh power bank covers a phone for 3–4 trail days.
- Cash economy: cards work in better city hotels and restaurants only. Change enough rupees before any trek; there are no ATMs beyond most trailheads, and change for a NPR 1,000 note can be hard to find in villages.
- Respect at temples: walk clockwise around stupas, remove shoes where locals do, ask before photographing people, and note that some Hindu temple interiors (including Pashupatinath's main shrine) are open to Hindus only.
8 · Monsoon & GLOF Preparedness New
Nepal's deadliest travel hazard is not the altitude and it is not the roads — it is water arriving fast in a valley you happen to be standing in. Two distinct mechanisms matter, and they need different responses.
Monsoon flooding and landslides (June – mid-September) are rain-driven, so they are forecastable. Hillsides saturated over days fail on the third or fourth day of continuous rain, usually at night; highway cuttings in Sindhupalchok, Dhading, Myagdi and the Siwalik crossings are the classic failure points. Watch the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology bulletins, and treat a red rainfall warning as a reason to sit still for 24 hours rather than to drive a hill road.
Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) are the opposite: they are not rain-driven, they give almost no warning, and they can happen under a clear sky. A moraine- or ice-dammed lake above 4,500m fails — often triggered by an ice-and-rock avalanche — and releases a debris flood that travels tens of kilometres in under an hour. The August 2026 Bhotekoshi–Trishuli GLOF formed inside Tibet, entered Nepal at Rasuwagadhi with a surge close to 30 feet, and was recovering bodies in Chitwan 150 km downstream. Nepal has more than 2,000 glacial lakes and at least 21 are classed as potentially dangerous.
The one rule that saves you: in a Himalayan river valley, always know where "uphill" is. Not downstream — uphill. A GLOF outruns anyone on foot along the valley floor; 20 vertical metres of climb is survivable ground.
River-corridor safety checklist
- Sleep high. Choose lodges and campsites well above the channel and off debris fans and river terraces — the flat, convenient, gravelly ground beside a Himalayan river is flat because the river built it.
- Read the water. A sudden roar or ground rumble, a jump in turbidity (clear to grey-brown), floating ice or fresh timber, or an abrupt drop in flow (an upstream blockage forming) all mean move uphill now.
- Pick your high point at every stop. Before you take your pack off in a gorge, look up and choose the line you would climb.
- Cross early. Snowmelt and debris-fan flow peak in the afternoon; cross side streams in the morning.
- Do not shelter under bridges or in tunnels. Bridges and hydropower headrace tunnels are the first things a debris flood destroys.
- Register your itinerary with your embassy and a licensed operator, and carry a satellite messenger (inReach/Zoleo) on any restricted or remote route — mobile coverage ends well before the danger does.
- Insurance: confirm your policy covers natural-disaster evacuation and trip curtailment, not only medical helicopter rescue.
Emergency numbers to save offline before you fly
- Nepal Police 100 · Ambulance 102 · Fire 101
- Tourist Police, Kathmandu +977-1-4247041
- NDRRMA disaster hotline 1149 · National Emergency Operation Centre +977-1-4211219
- Your own embassy's consular duty line — write it on paper, not only in your phone.
9 · Solo Trekker Mandate Updates New
The single biggest regulatory change of the last few years: since 1 April 2023 the Nepal Tourism Board requires foreign trekkers to be accompanied by a licensed guide on national-park and conservation-area trekking routes. Fully independent "free individual trekker" (FIT) permits are no longer issued for those areas, and the rule is enforced at permit desks and trail checkpoints rather than being advisory.
What the rule means in practice
- A guide, not a group. You may still walk as a party of one — you simply hire one licensed guide. Group treks are not compulsory.
- Licensed means licensed. The guide must hold a Ministry of Culture, Tourism & Civil Aviation / NATHM licence and be engaged through a registered agency; ask to see the licence card and the agency registration. Expect roughly US$25–35 per day, plus food and lodging on the trail.
- Porters are separate. A porter (US$20–25/day) is not a substitute for a guide; a porter-guide is acceptable only if licensed as a guide.
- Restricted areas were always stricter: Upper Mustang, Manaslu, Tsum Valley, Nar-Phu, Upper Dolpo, Kanchenjunga and Humla require a registered agency, a guide, and normally a minimum of two trekkers.
- Where you can still walk alone: the Khumbu region operates under its own rural-municipality permit and has been the notable exception in practice, and day walks around Pokhara, Kathmandu Valley rim routes (Nagarkot, Shivapuri, Chandragiri) and community trails outside protected areas are not covered. Rules and their enforcement do change — confirm with the Nepal Tourism Board before you count on an exception.
Permit & checkpoint workflow for a solo trekker
- Engage a registered agency and a licensed guide (in person in Thamel/Lakeside, or in advance by email).
- Collect the TIMS card — NPR 2,000, two photos, insurance details — at Bhrikutimandap (Kathmandu) or TAAN (Pokhara). For Everest, buy the Khumbu municipality permit in Lukla or Monjo instead.
- Pay the conservation/park fee for each area you enter (about NPR 3,000 each), in rupees.
- Carry a passport copy, your permits and proof of insurance, and expect inspection at Besisahar, Chame, Jomsom, Kagbeni, Monjo, Jagat or Dhunche.
- Register your route and dates with your embassy; leave a copy of the itinerary with someone at home.
Verify the current wording before you book: the guide mandate has been amended, litigated and re-announced more than once since 2023. The Nepal Tourism Board, DNPWC and TAAN pages linked under "Official Sources" on this page are the authoritative sources — not trekking blogs, and not this page.
10 · Budgeting & Offline Maps New
Two things reliably go wrong on a first Nepal trip: people run out of cash three days from the nearest ATM, and people rely on a data connection that stops existing above the road head. Both are solved before you leave Kathmandu.
Daily expense breakdown on the trail
| Item | Low route (below 3,000m) | High route (3,500–5,000m) | Notes |
|---|
| Teahouse bed | NPR 500–900 | NPR 800–2,000 | Often discounted or free if you eat dinner and breakfast in |
| Dal bhat | NPR 550–750 | NPR 900–1,400 | Refills included — the best calorie-per-rupee meal in the country |
| Breakfast + lunch + tea | NPR 700–1,100 | NPR 1,200–2,000 | Prices step up every few hundred metres of altitude |
| Hot shower | NPR 200–400 | NPR 400–800 | Gas or solar; often unavailable after snowfall |
| Device charging | NPR 100–200 | NPR 200–500 | Per device, per session — a power bank pays for itself in 3 days |
| Wi-Fi | Usually free | NPR 500–700 | Everest Link / AirLink cards in the Khumbu |
| Bottled water (avoid) | NPR 50–150 | NPR 200–400 | Treat your own — tablets or filter, ~NPR 5 per litre |
| Guide (mandatory, see module 9) | US$25–35 / day | Plus their food and lodging on most arrangements |
| Porter (optional) | US$20–25 / day | Standard load limit 20–25 kg for two trekkers' kit |
How much cash to carry
- Rule of thumb: (planned trail days + 3 buffer days) × NPR 4,000 for a low route, or × NPR 6,500 for a high route, plus the full guide and porter fee, plus a sealed emergency reserve of about NPR 25,000 for an unplanned jeep, night bus or hotel.
- ATMs cap withdrawals near NPR 35,000 with a NPR 500–600 fee, so plan two or three withdrawals over two days rather than one panicked attempt.
- Ask for a mix of notes. Nobody in a village can break a NPR 1,000 note for a NPR 60 tea, and small notes are what you tip porters with.
- Split your cash: some on you, some deep in the pack, some with your partner. Trekking lodges have no safes.
- Keep US$100–200 in clean USD notes for a visa extension, a rescue deposit or a border crossing.
Offline maps & connectivity — download before the road ends
- Maps.me or Organic Maps (both OpenStreetMap-based) — download the whole Nepal region. OSM trail coverage in the Annapurna, Khumbu and Langtang areas is genuinely good, and both apps route offline.
- Gaia GPS or AllTrails for contour detail and recorded tracks; download your specific route as a tile pack, not just a line.
- Google Maps offline area for Kathmandu and Pokhara — it handles addresses and ride-hailing pickups far better than OSM.
- Screenshot the essentials: permits, insurance policy number, passport page, embassy numbers, your lodge bookings and your guide's phone number. A screenshot works with a dead data connection; a webmail login does not.
- SIM strategy: NTC (Namaste) has the better high-trail coverage, Ncell the better city speeds. A tourist SIM costs a few dollars with a passport copy and photo; eSIMs work but you cannot buy a local eSIM without a shop visit in most cases.
- Power: a 10,000–20,000mAh bank plus a small solar panel covers a two-week teahouse trek. Keep the phone in an inner pocket at altitude — cold flattens batteries faster than use does.
- Satellite messenger (Garmin inReach, Zoleo) for restricted, far-western or off-season routes. It is the only thing that works where there is no lodge and no signal.
Download everything — maps, offline translation, your booking PDFs — while you still have Kathmandu Wi-Fi. On the trail, bandwidth is a paid, rationed and unreliable resource.
Everything above is kept current by the same review cycle as the rest of this site — re-verified before every spring and autumn season against official sources. Explore the destination pages, run your route through the transit planner, or ask the AI guide anything specific to your dates.
Nepal Travel FAQ: Quick Answers Before You Book
Do I need a visa for Nepal?
Most nationalities receive a visa on arrival at Kathmandu (Tribhuvan) airport and official land border crossings: 15 days for USD 30, 30 days for USD 50, or 90 days for USD 125, payable in cash. Indian citizens do not need a visa, and children under 10 receive one free. Bring US dollars and check the Department of Immigration site for your nationality before flying, as a small list of countries must apply in advance.
When is the best time to visit Nepal?
October to November offers the clearest mountain views plus the Dashain and Tihar festivals, and March to May brings warm days and blooming rhododendron forests. December to February is cold at altitude but excellent for lower treks like Poon Hill and for Chitwan and Bardiya wildlife. During the June to September monsoon, most trails are wet and leech-prone, but the rain-shadow regions of Upper Mustang and Dolpo remain trekkable.
Do I need a guide and permits to trek?
Most trekking regions require a national park or conservation-area entry fee (for example ACAP or Sagarmatha National Park, around NPR 3,000 each), and since 2023 the Nepal Tourism Board requires a licensed guide for most national-park treks. The Everest region additionally uses a Khumbu rural-municipality permit purchased in Lukla or Monjo. Restricted areas such as Manaslu, Tsum Valley and Upper Mustang require special permits that can only be arranged through a registered agency. See module 9 above for the full solo-trekker rules.
How much does a trip to Nepal cost per day?
Budget travellers in Kathmandu and Pokhara manage on USD 25 to 40 per day, while comfortable mid-range travel runs USD 60 to 100. Teahouse trekking typically costs USD 30 to 45 per day for food and lodging, plus guide fees of roughly USD 25 to 35 per day. Restricted-area treks cost considerably more because of special permits and mandatory agency arrangements. Module 10 above breaks this down line by line.
How do I avoid altitude sickness?
Above 3,000 m, limit your sleeping-elevation gain to roughly 500 m per day and build in acclimatisation days, such as at Namche Bazaar or Manang. Stay well hydrated, avoid alcohol while ascending, and discuss preventive acetazolamide (Diamox) with a doctor before your trip. If headache, nausea or confusion worsen, descending immediately is the only reliable treatment.
Is Nepal safe to visit after the August 2026 flood?
Most of the country is unaffected and open. The damage is concentrated on the Bhotekoshi–Trishuli corridor: Rasuwa district, the Kathmandu–Rasuwagadhi–Kerung highway north of Betrabati, and downstream stretches through Nuwakot, Dhading and Chitwan. Langtang, Gosaikunda and the Tamang Heritage Trail are effectively cut off by road. Annapurna, Khumbu, Manaslu, Pokhara, Lumbini and the Kathmandu Valley heritage sites are operating normally. Read the alerts page before travelling north of Kathmandu, and consider donating to the official relief fund.
Is the tap water safe to drink?
No — drink purified water everywhere in Nepal. Refilling a bottle with purification tablets, a filter or UV pen is far cheaper and cleaner than buying plastic bottles on the trail, and most teahouses sell boiled water. Typhoid and hepatitis A vaccinations are commonly recommended; consult a travel clinic 4 to 6 weeks before departure.
Do I need travel insurance for trekking?
Yes, and it must explicitly cover trekking at your maximum altitude plus helicopter evacuation, which can cost USD 5,000 or more paid upfront without insurance. Many standard policies stop at 3,000 or 4,000 m, so read the activity schedule carefully. Carry proof of cover, as agencies and some permits require it.
Can I get a SIM card and internet access?
NTC and Ncell sell tourist SIMs at the airport and in cities for a few dollars with your passport and a photo. Coverage is good in towns and along much of the Annapurna and lower Everest trails; higher up, teahouses sell Wi-Fi access such as Everest Link cards. Download offline maps before leaving the road head — module 10 above lists which ones.
Should I carry cash or cards?
Nepal is largely a cash economy: cards work in better city hotels and restaurants, but ATMs (max withdrawal around NPR 35,000 with a roughly NPR 500 fee) exist only in cities and a few large trail towns. Change enough rupees before any trek, because there are no ATMs beyond most trailheads. Small notes are useful, as change for NPR 1,000 can be hard to find in villages.
Is Nepal safe for solo travellers?
Nepal is broadly welcoming and violent crime against tourists is rare, though normal precautions apply to valuables in cities. On treks, the main risks are altitude, weather and trail accidents rather than people, which is one reason the guide requirement exists. Solo women travellers generally report feeling safe, but choosing registered guides and busier teahouse routes adds a sensible margin.
