Nepal
Travel Guide, climate:
Best:
Oct, Nov, Feb, March.
OK: Dec-Jan [cold]
Worst: mid June - mid Sept [rains, cloud over mountains, travel
problems - including flights - and leech overload on hikes]
Tour
operators offering tours to Nepal can be found in our listings here: Nepal
Tours
Length
of stay:
Min. worthwhile stay, not incl. flights: 4 days [Kathmandu Valley
only], but beware of flight delays on return.
Recommended: 9 days- 3 weeks.
Festivals Guide:
[dates are based on the moving Nepalese lunar calendar, so vary
year by year.]
*Especially lively/colourful
KV = Kathmandu Valley only.
Late Jan/early Feb, Basant Pancha, 1 day
Feb-March, Losar, Tibet New Year, KV, 1 day and a couple of days
before.
Feb-March, Maha Shivarat, 1 day, especially wacky at Pashupatinath
temple, Khatmandu.
Feb-March, Holi/Fagu, a week of mad water and coloured powder-throwing.
March-April, Chait Dasain, 3 days of animal sacrifices.
April-May, Nawa Barsa, KV, 5 days of wild events in Bhaktapur.
April-May, Rato Machendranath Jatra, KV, weeks to pull a monster
chariot around Patan.
July-Aug, Gunhi Punhi, KV, funny costume days in Bhaktapur.
Aug-Sept, Indra Jatra, KV, a week of crazed processions and masked
dancing in Khatmandu.
Sept-Oct, Dasain, Nepal's biggest festival and two weeks long but
not as visually exciting as some, and very gory.
Oct-Nov, Tihar, a 5 day festival of light, the third being the most
entertaining with candles and fireworks everywhere.
For
some precise dates, more suggestions and information see:
Exotic Festivals
Travel
Safety:
Amazingly, considering the tourist/local wealth divide, crime
in Nepal is minimal, mostly confined to the usual opportunistic
pick-pocketing or bag-rifling, so take the usual precautions.
See Travel Safety page.
Visa
advice:
Tourist visas are readily issued at airports and border crossings,
though the latter require payment in US$.
Standard visas are for 60 days and require a passport photo so
bring one with you.
Accommodation:
Tourism in Nepal has dropped off in the last few years due to
Maoist scares so there's usually masses of space available, no
booking required - unless it's a specially good place in peak
season or festival time.
Shopping:
The arts and crafts on offer are amazing, and the prices low.
From silver/turquoise dragon belt buckles to intricate tankas
[complex religious paintings] to bizarre masks to lovely carpets
to embroidered T shirts to your design to....
Cuisine
Guide:
Not exactly renowned for its local dishes, Nepal nevertheless offers
some excellent almost-Indian dishes of spicy vegetables, samosas,
meat and bread, and almost-Chinese noodles, though too many budget
travellers still stick to the global staples of burgers, chips,
pizzas and pies.
Up in the mountains almost-Tibetan cuisine is the staple, hearty
soups, potatoes and pasta.
Vegetarians will have no problems here.
Drinks:
Boiled water is served with meals but unreliable, so better to stick
with bottled. Check the bottle seal is unbroken before use, refilling
from a tap is not unknown.
Fruit juices and lassis are delicious roadside drinks but check
that they aren't boosted with tap water or sugar.
Good beer, wine and spirits are readily available. |
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Why
Travel to Nepal?
This
little kingdom is relaxed and quite comfortable with a fascinating
culture, a mass of weird folk, amazing buildings and stunning monuments,
while bizarre shopping in Khatmandu is terrific and at low prices.
Nepal is a well-supported hiking destination with sensational mountain
views, plenty of tracks and no shortage of little tea-houses/crash
pads en route, with charming hosts.
A sort of compressed India-crossed-with-China, Nepal is doable in
a week, if you must.
Downsides:
- City life can be a bit grubby, including the food! [that explains
the lowish health rating].
- There are currently some political/security issues, though they
don't usually impact on tourists who stay in well-travelled areas,
but beware if you trek off-piste. The upside is there are far
less travel herds than previously.
Where
to go:
***The Kathmandu Valley has three incredible medieval towns,
full of bizarre monuments and pleasant, peculiar people - sadhus
[holy men] being a prime example. All three towns are within an
hour's taxi/ bus/ rental bike ride of each other.
Katmandu needs at least three days to explore. See Nepal
Pictures I.
Bhaktapur needs two days+, Patan one day +. See Nepal
Pictures II.
***Pokhara is a relaxing mountain/lake
resort town, great for views, relaxing, short and long hikes. This
is one of those small towns where neo-hippies get stuck indefinitely. [And that's a good thing!]
Pokhara's four hours from Kathmandu by a good bus and needs at least
two days. Pokhara
Pictures
Other less well-known hill towns with more history or culture but
marginally less convenience are Gorkha, Manakamana and Tansen.
*Wildlife Reserves:
The best known and most geared-up to tourists is Chitwan National
Park, Tarai, where tourists go picture hunting for one-horned rhinos
and tigers, by elephant - though tigers are rarely seen. Needs 2/3
days and is best Oct - Feb. Chitwan
Pictures
Also possible but a little less sorted are Bardia National Park,
Lumbini [Buddha's birthplace], and Janakpur, a Hindu holy city.
Nepal
Activities Guide:
Trekking: Mainly from Pokkara, including the serious stuff
out to Fishtail and Annapurna base camp. From a few hours to a few
weeks Nepal supplies the routes, the vast scenery, the little colourful
villages en route and the porters or guides, all at knock-down prices.
Classic routes are sometimes known as teahouse-treks and supply
all the necessities at the right times.
Trekking permits are no longer required, though some areas are still
out of bounds, Mustang for example. See Maoists, right.
Wildlife: Mostly at Chitwan, see above.
Kind of interesting and cheapish, but not of course comparable to
Kenya's Masai Mara in terms of wildlife seen!
White water rafting+: One to four days
on spectacular rivers, sometimes very remote, with camping. Beginners
OK. Best Oct, Feb, March.
And if you like being in fast water kayaking, hydrospeeding and
canyoning are also on offer.
Mountain Biking: this is a terrific
country for biking, with clear air, little traffic and amazing views,
though it can get hilly! Best Oct-March, 2 days +.
Motor Biking: there's plenty of trail
bike hire available in Khatmandu and not much traffic outside Khatmandu,
so - Maoists permitting - this is a superb country for two wheeling.
Beware that road rules are a convenience and may be ignored by others
and road maintenance is erratic, as is the behaviour of bicycles,
dogs, chickens and cows. Kill a cow and you may spend 12 years in
Nepal - and not in a Pokhara guest house...
Maoist
information:
As to occasional Maoist visionaries, there have been countless encounters
with foreign travel folk that usually result in a chat although
they have been known to ask, rather forcefully, for a donation.
They then issue a receipt!
Maoist leaders have publicly stated that they have no quarrel
with foreigners - unless, possibly, you are staying in a luxury
hotel belonging to the royal family.
All-in-all, serious trekkers are better off walking with a guide,
for navigation, translation, advice and local knowledge.
If
you're planning to travel around Nepal you may also wish to see information
about the neighbours:
India
Travel Guide | China
- Tibet Guide
Nepal
Travel Article | Nepal
Travel Links
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