Attractions / 20.01.2022

Why do they go to Kathmandu? FAQ travel to Nepal - route, visa, food. Flights to Kathmandu

Hello friends! So I returned from another trip to Asia, and it seems that I have lived and seen so much, but I still recall my first with special trepidation. independent travel to Nepal in 2012. On that trip, for the first time, instead of a travel bag, I took a backpack with me; then, leaving prejudices behind, he began to eat at local canteens and learned to storm local buses.

In general, I fell in love with this small country head over heels! Especially later, after the first experience of conscious travelling and perfect and.

Here, by the way, I shot a short video at the foot of the "roof of the world", check it out:

And now, having collected all my own experience in a bunch, I want to talk about how you can go to Nepal on your own and why it is extremely necessary for all romantics, vagabonds and idealists! Go...

Everest-father, hiding behind a cloud

There are a lot of reports on my blog. Read! For now, I'll give you some facts:

Nepal is the only country with Hinduism as its official religion.
8 out of 14 eight-thousanders of the planet are located on the territory of the country
6/7 of the country is covered by the ranges of the Himalayan system
The population is predominantly rural, only 17% lives in cities (open, smiling and friendly)
Multinational. About 100 different peoples of the castes live on the territory, speaking 70 different dialects.
One of the poorest countries in the world, while one of the most relaxed and safe.
is one of the most interesting cities in the world. (and one of my favorites)
Street dies after 10 pm. Everyone sits at home, goes to bed early, it is almost impossible to catch a taxi.

How to get to Nepal

Due to the geographical location, the easiest and most affordable way to get here is by plane! The international airport in country 1 is Tribhuvan, in the city of Kathmandu.

You can check air ticket prices using the form

The airport, I must say, is very miserable and is rightfully included in the 10 most disgusting airports in the world. However, getting out of it is quite easy. Taxi prices are about $5 to the tourist area of Thamel.

Plane to Lukla at Tribhuvan Airport

You can also get here by land, but only from India, from where a lot of public transport goes to Kathmandu and Pokhara. Unfortunately, communication with China is much more complicated. Despite the excellent roads, you can get from China to Nepal only by purchasing a permit to move around the Tibet Autonomous Region, which cannot be obtained without buying an organized tour. Yes, and not very necessary).

Border, Indian side

Visa

One of the biggest advantages of the country, of course, is the simplified visa regime (still, 90% of budget revenue comes from tourism). You can get a visa at the border and at the airport.

The rates are as follows:

2 weeks - $25
1 month - $40
3 months - $100

In case you bought a short visa, but decided to stay in the country (and this is very common), you can extend your stay in migration offices for $2 per day, for up to 5 months per year.

Especially big fans of trips to Nepal do the trick: they enter 5 months before the end of the year (for example, in August), and leave in the spring, for example, in May. As a result, they have 5 months this year, and 5 more next year, without having to do "corridors". Why such a long time, you ask?? It's all about the stunning atmosphere of the country and its crazy natural landscapes!

Prices

Probably the lowest in Asia. you can find from 3 dollars a day (the two of us lived for 80, paid for the whole floor). Food is cheap (within 1-1.5 dollars per meal). Vegetables and fruits are also reasonably priced.

But if you, like me, are looking for something a little more comfortable, I highly recommend the next hotel in Kathmandu, which had awesome wifi for work.

The fun begins when you, with your white foreign face, start looking for local transport somewhere in the unpronounceable wilderness. Here the fantasy of drivers and sellers takes a very frightening form. The method of counteraction, as elsewhere in Asia, is bargaining! With a smile and positive, without haste and aggression.

Alas, more than once I witnessed how our people, neglecting the very process of bargaining, belittled the personal dignity of both the seller and his goods. It is clear that with this approach, the price did not fall a single rupee, and the tension on both sides was colossal.

In addition, I noticed that the price can change in a completely incomprehensible way. What today cost a conditional 2000 rupees, tomorrow may start to cost 3200, and the day after tomorrow 1800. The pricing process here is as irrational and transcendent as Buddha nature and entering the rainbow body.

Accommodation for 200 rupees on the track around Annapurna

Naturally, attempts to raise prices are encountered at every turn and it is often difficult to understand the real situation. But you have to accept it! Nepal is no exception in the pan-Asian picture of the world. There are many other benefits here.

Sights of Nepal

Mountains . Great Himalayas. Just the thought or viewing of a report on or is capable of causing liberation from the tenacious clutches of Samsara. The mountains here are the main religion, attraction and meaning. Rafting, climbing, trekking, hiking and other motherfucking is the best way to accumulate life experiences.
Religion. In a place near the border with India, there is the birthplace of the Buddha and the palace, which he left to become enlightened. The number of pilgrims and tourists there is very large.
In addition, there are many caves scattered in the Himalayan valleys where great yogis indulged in their austerities in order to gain liberation. Many of them today are points of an active pilgrimage flow, mainly of a Buddhist persuasion. And what there monasteries!
Culture. The fertile valleys of the foothills have attracted sedentary tribes since ancient times. What are the famous Durbar squares of old Kathmandu with paved roads, unique Newar architecture of ancient temples and palaces. In one of them, by the way, lives the living goddess Kumari: A little girl whom the Nepalese seriously endow with divine qualities.
People . Open, friendly and beautiful. Outwardly, they are very different, and sometimes responsive to importunity. I adore their police, which I sincerely perceive as my main assistant in logistics and disagreements.
National parks in the jungle. Reservations wildlife, where you can look very carefully in order to observe different animals in their natural conditions. The most popular are Bardia and Chitwan.

Himalayan giants. The far snow cap on the left side of the image is Everest.

One of the squares in Bhaktapur

Nepal also has its own characteristic disadvantages (or features?).

Disadvantages of traveling in Nepal

Road safety. The road surface, especially in remote regions, is a mixture of stones and dust. Vehicles - killed Indian jeeps and old buses. It is clear that on wild mountain serpentines, coupled with the natural desire to drive fast, such a trip becomes very dangerous.
Constant power outages. I remember how, for 3 months of my Nepalese period, I was looking for places for my work. For shutdown in the dry season reaches 12-14 hours a day. For such cases, there are mobile applications Nepal Load Schedding.
Unstable political environment. Nepal has long been torn apart by all sorts of confrontations and strikes. Political parties in friendly solidarity arrange mutual strikes (popularly called “BandA”), “thanks to” which can easily paralyze the movement of all transport throughout the country. Cafes and restaurants are closed, guest houses operate in semi-siege mode. Fortunately, during such events, tourists are not touched, and intercity transportation (for example, Kathmandu-Pokhara) is carried out without any problems (but under increased police supervision). I remember how the leader of the Maoist Communist Party in his interview stated that, they say, “do not worry and come to us, no matter what. We are here with each other, of course, butt heads ... But we all love you, tourists.” Wise!
Cold winter and rainy summer. In January, the temperature in Kathmandu can drop to 0 degrees, in the mountains - even less. However, at this time - a lot of sunny days. And, if you wrap yourself warmly, you can winter well and pleasantly. In the summer - a continuous veil of monsoon rains, leeches and humidity. Tourists scatter (in the mountains - full of tin with snow and rain) and the mango season begins.

On the roads of Nepal

Something like this!

Findings and Conclusions

I confess that I wrote the previous section with some tension. For looking at the object of love from all possible sides is sometimes problematic. Yes, and it is almost impossible to go to Nepal not on your own. Painfully, everything here is tailored for adventurers, romantics and the spiritually afflicted.

Temples, mountains, holy places and endlessly smiling Nepalese. Of course, there is a place for chic and luxury, but somehow it is all inappropriate, pretentious, stupid and superficial. I remember in 2011 I myself lived for 3 days in Kathmandu in a 5-star hotel as part of a tour to. Apparently, it was necessary to somehow balance the Tibetan household tin)

Summing up, I will say: come to Nepal. He is magical! I sincerely hope that you, throwing away stupid suitcases, take backpacks with you and go to the heart of the Himalayas! For me, this will be the best reward for all my countless graphomaniac labors.

Before starting the story about my trip to Nepal, I decided to write a small guide with technical information about traveling to the country, so as not to be distracted by price and logistics issues during the report itself.

The text turned out to be larger than I originally intended, so I broke it into two parts.

NEPAL

Why go?

Nepal is one of the most "hyped" images in our minds, which is usually thought of exceptionally well. Everest. Buddhism and Hinduism in one bottle. Himalayas. Yoga. Kathmandu. Enlightenment. Pokhara. Hippie trail. Meditation. National parks and elephant safaris. In general, as Masha Rasputina sang in the dashing 90s, "Let me go to the Himalayas."

A trip to Nepal is immediately associated with spiritual purification, a craving for the beautiful and eternal, and does not fall under the concept of "tourism" at all. This is not a way to somewhere, this is a way to yourself.

Where to go?

If we discard the sweet dreams of nirvana and enlightenment, then you need to go to Nepal (I emphasize - purely in my humble opinion) for very specific things and very specific places.

If you are a lover cultural and architectural sights and ancient / medieval cities, then you go south - to India. With ancient monasteries and cities in Nepal tension. Durbar squares in Kathmandu and Patan do not give the proper impression of hoary antiquity, as well as authentic quarters of Newar architecture in Pokhara or Bandipur.

Durbar Square in Kathmandu

Street in Bandipur

They come from the 18th century and, with their red-brick appearance, are more reminiscent of the eastern provincial version of ascetic Georgian architecture than something lush and luxurious as we are used to in Asia.

Typical Newar old house. Old Pokhara.

Also, you will not find colonial architecture in Nepal (exceptions are later additions to the royal palaces). Nepal was not colonized, which means that this architectural era did not take root here either.

If you still decide to pay tribute to the local architecture, then do not forget to stop by the town of Bhaktapur, a visit to which I left for my next visit to the country. It is said to be the most authentic city in Nepal.

If you are a lover Buddhism and luxurious monasteries, then you are more likely to Tibet. Here gompas and stupas, as a rule, are small and without additional architectural excesses.

The exception is two stupas with the eyes of the Buddha, looking after Kathmandu from the east and from the west. Bodhnath and Swayambhunath temples respectively. The view of the Buddha from these stupas is one of the main symbols of the country. And you really need to meet him.

Also, followers and just lovers of Buddhism should not forget that it was on the territory of modern Nepal that the Buddha was born. The place of the corresponding pilgrimage is the town of Lumbini on the border with India.

But why you need to go to Nepal is just beyond the mountains and everything connected with them. Himalayas is the essence of Nepal. They both literally and metaphorically raise the country to an unattainable height. Even if you do not go to the mountains themselves, the view of the snowy peaks from the hills of Pokhara is worth it to come to Nepal.
And if you are eager to get to know them better ...

View of Dhaulagiri (left) - the seventh highest peak in the world.

Nepal hosts 8 of the 14 eight-thousanders in the world. But it is unlikely that you will have a chance to get to know them better. This is not only the lot of professionals, but also a lot of money (commercial climbing Everest costs around $60,000). But for trekking The Himalayas don't need a lot of money. For the most “packed” routes, even a tent is not needed - trekking goes from village to village, where there are many hotels and restaurants for Western tourists.

The two most famous trekking routes are the Everest Base Camp Trek and the Annapurna Mountain Trek. Both last up to two to three weeks, both take the hiker up to about 5500m, and both offer stunning views of the snowy peaks.
The third most popular route is trekking in the area of Langtang National Park, for those who do not have much time both for the trip itself and for acclimatization.
But these are the most "stuffed" trails. There are also less well-known routes where you can not do without a tent and a burner.

For most tracks you have to pay, because. they pass through the national parks. Prices vary, to say the least. For the track, for example, in the Annapurna area for permits, you will have to pay 3.5 thousand Nepalese rupees (1400 rubles) per person. But for a track in the Upper Mustang area - more than $ 500.

And finally National parks . Not only Africa alone lively safari (although hardly locals is the Swahili term for observing animals in their natural environment). national park Chitwan and photo hunting for a tiger from the saddle of an elephant is for many the same quintessence of Nepal as a walk in the Himalayas.

Although we must immediately make a reservation that both in Chitwan and in the Bardia National Park, seeing a tiger is an incredible luck that can be caught by the tail for years. It is much more likely to meet with an Asian one-horned rhinoceros, gharial or sloth bear, but also, most likely, these will be single contacts.

One-horned rhinoceros at Patan Zoo

In general, do not expect an abundance of African savannah fauna from the forests of southern Nepal. And do not forget that to see an animal here does not mean to see it well in dense vegetation.

When to go?

Season is a key concept for a trip to Nepal. If you arrive at the height of the monsoon, which lasts from June to September, then instead of the Himalayan views, there will be heavy rains, landslides and low clouds. And instead of animals in national parks - sticky heat, tall grass, malaria and leeches.

A typical monsoon region in the mountains

In winter (December-February), the air is transparent, and nothing will prevent you from admiring the Roerich sunsets and sunrises over the Himalayas. It’s just that walking in the mountainous regions themselves, especially at altitudes above 3500 m, can be cold and difficult. Passes above 5000 m can be hopelessly covered with snow.

Therefore, the best season to travel to Nepal is just after the monsoon - October and November. This is the recognized best season for trekking, when the air is already transparent, and the post-monsoon greenery has not yet completely withered.
But this fact is well known, so get ready to share the trail with hundreds of other trekkers and be prepared for the fact that finding an overnight stay will turn into a serious problem.

Morning in Manang

March-April is the second most important peak season of the year, although it is far from the hype of autumn (apparently due to the lack of greenery and light haze, often present at low altitudes).

The beginning of May is traditionally considered best time for climbing Everest and other eight-thousanders.

I went to Nepal in the second half of September-early October and found the end of the monsoon with all its wet-cloudy delights. But the trekking was beautiful and deserted. Although not entirely safe due to numerous landslides.

How to get there?

There are no direct flights to Nepal from Moscow, and the most obvious flights by Qatar and the Emirates are usually expensive (from 33 thousand rubles). Previously, all state employees flew with Pakistan Airways, which also gave the opportunity for a visa-free day in Karachi. But now the Pakistanis no longer fly to Russia, so they have to find other ways.

The cheapest (22 thousand rubles) is to fly from Kiev with Air Arabia, but, in addition to moving to the capital of Ukraine, it is also a 16-hour (!!!) transit in Sharjah without the possibility of entering the city. And the transit hall there, according to reviews, is very small.

So I decided to fly with a tricky combination: Emirates (Moscow-Dubai-Delhi) plus Jet (Delhi-Nepal). A single ticket in the form of a heavy checkbook (Jet does not recognize electronic tickets) in the office of the Emirates cost 25 thousand rubles.

The flight, frankly, is not the most convenient. Especially the return flight, where the transit waiting in Delhi was 6 hours, and in Dubai - 10.

Airport in Dubai

And if I am ready to stay at least a day at the Dubai airport, which contains, among other things, an Irish pub and a couple of Starbucks, then the Delhi airport caused a certain strain. Even more likely not the airport itself, but the idiotic system of checking passengers in both Kathmandu and Delhi.

Airport in Delhi

I don't quite understand why manually rummaging through passengers' belongings with questions like "Do you have a knife?" exactly 30 meters after their luggage was X-rayed.
Or why take water at the entrance to the terminal. Then set up a water stand. And then, already on the airfield in front of the gangway itself, again manually rummage through the things of passengers in search of this very water, forcing more than a hundred people to stand under the scorching sun (or in pouring rain) for 15 minutes.

By land, it is easy to get to Nepal from India through a number of border crossings.

Visas

A visa to Nepal can be obtained right at the border. Payment in US dollars. Multiple entry visa for 15 days = $25; for 30 days = $40; for 90 days = 100 dollars. One photo is required.

Money

At the time of arrival in Nepal (09/15/2010) 1 US dollar was equal to 72.5 Nepalese rupees. Within a month, it fell and by the end of the trip amounted to 69 rupees.

It is convenient to convert Nepalese rupees into rubles by multiplying the amount by 4 and then dividing it by 10. In 10 rupees - 4 rubles. In 250 rupees - 100 rubles, etc.

The numerous exchange offices of Thamel (tourist quarter of Kathmandu) and Lakeside (tourist quarter of Pokhara) are interestingly organized. They all have the same course, which changes daily at 12-00. In Pokhara, the course is worse than in Kathmandu. In the mountains (Jomson, Muktinakh) the rate was higher (in Muktinakh the hotel changed dollars at the rate of 1 to 75).

Everywhere in the exchangers of Thamel and Lakeside they accept travel checks at the same rate as cash.

For some reason, a credit card (“visa” of Sberbank) in Nepal did not work.

Movement around the country

From the railway there is only a small branch on the border with India, so the first and main mode of transport in Nepal is the bus.

Buses here they are just as decorated as in India and sometimes resemble traveling circus tents. And they are just as uncomfortable for the European physique. Get ready for the bus crossing mentally, because. in a cramped cabin of the bus you have to spend a lot of time.

Bus from Kathmandu to Beni Sahar

And don't be fooled by trifling distances. 200 km from Kathmandu to Pokhara, the bus, on average, travels six hours. Narrow, winding road. Constant stops for boarding and disembarking passengers, at which half a dozen merchants with exactly the same set of goods will definitely enter the bus. “White Mr., would you like to buy a bottle of water? - And I have?!". Finally, a mandatory stop for lunch.

Road Kathmandu - Pokhara. One of the leading in the country

And this is all the necessary minimum. But on the road, an accident or, worse, a landslide is probably waiting. My transfer to the track around Annapurna in the town of Besi Sahar (150 km from Kathmandu) turned into 19 (!!!) hours of bus travel due to a landslide that completely blocked the road.

A landslide that destroyed the Jomson-Ghasa road. In the distance, an oncoming bus is visible, waiting for workers to blow up the slope. Then passengers will be able to walk along the formed scree, and oncoming buses, thereby, will exchange passengers.

But whatever the delays due to the accident, be glad that you only see its consequences, and do not become a direct participant in it. On the narrow roads of Nepal, full of deaf turns, it is customary to drive. And although drivers warn of their appearance from around the corner with a horn horn, these horns are not always audible behind the heart-rending music that fills the bus interior.

"The quieter you go, the further you'll get". Unfortunately, not everyone follows this slogan.

Not a day goes by that the newspaper does not contain a report about another terrible accident or about a minibus that has fallen off the road into a cliff. A couple of times such accidents occurred on sections of the road that I drove the day before.

In general, despite the prohibitions of bus drivers, try to ride on the roof of this vehicle. First, your muscles and joints will thank you for it. And, secondly, in which case there will be a chance to jump. Just put something soft under the fifth point, otherwise she won’t say thanks for sure.

The cost of buses is low. A ticket from Pokhara to Kathmandu costs around 350 rupees (140 rubles). In the mountains, the cost increases sharply. For travel along the mountain road from Jomson to Ghasa (less than 40 km of dizzying serpentine, which the bus overcomes in three hours), you will be charged 700 rupees (280 rubles).
Often tourists are charged 1.5-2 times more than locals. In the mountains, in some places, this is tacitly legalized and it is pointless to argue.

If there are no buses anymore (in the mountains and foothills they stop running quite early), you can use the services collective taxis. A seat in such a taxi from Beni to Pokhara (4 hours, most of the serpentine journey) costs 700 rupees (for comparison bus price- 275 rupees).

Because travel by bus is long and uncomfortable (I gave an example of moving between nearby cities, and there are bus routes for 16 hours), and during the monsoon season it is also irregular, many guests of the country even between Kathmandu and Pokhara prefer fly.

Flights from the Himalayas are especially popular. Flight Jomson (standard finish track around Annapurna) - Pokhara (about $ 80) is always crowded. An alternative to this one-hour flight is 10-12 hours on an uncomfortable public transport(25-30 dollars).
Well, an alternative to an air hit in the city of Lukla (the place where the track to the Everest base camp starts) is a long bus ride, and then a six-day hike in the mountains.

I don't want to scare you completely, but planes in Nepal also crash. Especially flights to the mountains during the monsoon season. So, in September of this year, a plane crashed while taking off from Lukla.

Ride to hitchhike I have not tried Nepal, but it seems to me that it is akin to hitchhiking in India - long, tedious and almost everyone asks for money.

Traveling around Nepal is quite popular. on a bike or on a motorcycle, although I would be extremely careful on busy roads, given the recklessness of local drivers.

To be continued

Accommodation. Nutrition. Urban transport. Shopping and souvenirs. Attractions. Internet. Dangers. Health. Holidays. Time. Leisure.

Most tourists fly to Nepal only to climb Everest or “decide” themselves access to Tibet (if, of course, they fly at all). Lena Satarova spent a month in a mountainous country doing neither. Now he tells what else you can do there and how it is to travel around the country itself, where only men ride in night buses, and knowledge of English helps only in communicating with Buddhist monks.

Well, first of all, the title is lying. Jokes, flirts.

If you are in Nepal, then you are already in the mountains. Give or take flat terrain can be found only in the south, on the border with India, the rest is bigger mountains, smaller mountains and mountains of medium height. But let's talk about everything in order.

Reason 1. No visa problems

In November, for the first time in my life, I went to spend the winter in Thailand. Until the new year, I managed to live and work safely there ( ). But then the tickling came at the fifth point, I suddenly closed the laptop, moved out of the miracle house to Koh Samui and began to ride around Thailand without a goal and understanding “who we are, why we are and where we are going.”

When the visa was almost over, I realized that I needed to go somewhere else. I wouldn’t have enough money for a ticket to Ukraine anyway, and I didn’t want to, in general. Therefore, AirAsia and special offer for those who want to fly to Kathmandu! We take! There is EXACTLY money left on the card for this most tempting offer.

And the last 200 dollars in cash will be enough to buy a visa for a month ($40 for 30 days - and no bank statements) and ... we'll see.

Reason 2. Cheap prices

I will say right away that in Nepal everything is really very cheap. The most expensive dish in the tourist place will cost 40 hryvnias. And so - for the first time I dined in a place where tea with milk, cakes, rice, curry and dal cost 100 Nepalese rupees (about 30 hryvnias).

The Nepalese are not fools, they understand that for “white people” their prices are pennies. White people, in turn, really don’t care and only take taxis, eat only in restaurants in the center and don’t walk around the city much. So only, according to the temples, which they will be allowed to enter.

Therefore, the eyes of Nepalese boys pop out of their sockets when they see that a tourist is 1) alone; 2) refuses a taxi; 3) trudges to look for a bus; 4) 15 more times refuses a taxi; 5) gets on the first bus he comes across and says “take me just straight dazent meter ver”. The fare in Kathmandu is hryvnia 5.

Reason 3. Make friends with the locals

hostel roof

In Kathmandu, there is no problem finding a hotel or hostel. I used the site hostels.com and found myself a decent hostel for 100 UAH/day with breakfast (it’s not cheap in hryvnias, you understand in dollars). The very next morning it turned out that there were only two people living in this hostel besides me. And both of these people are from Kyiv.

Kyiv is good, but I would still like some local Hanuman as a friend to explain what's what really. Why are Montessori creative schools everywhere, and why is there so much garbage along the roads that you can build castles? Why is it colder inside houses than outside, and sockets work 5 hours a day? Why does the tangerine dealer know English like a university professor, and the bus drivers don't know belmes at all? And why, after all, there are no signs in English along the road from the airport? And not in the center either.

I knew what would save me in such a situation if I were in Europe. Couchsurfing.org, of course! What about in Nepal? It turned out that he also saved in Nepal.

Reason 4. Learn how to cook curry

With Roham from Lalitpur (the city next to Kathmandu, which the locals themselves consider a district of Kathmandu), we agreed to meet near the Monkey Temple. Roham turned out to be a serious man - in glasses and on a bike.

Later, Roham rubbed me that he was from the Brahmin caste, and when I refused to believe, he reminded me that he actually had an iPhone and, again, a bike!

“In Nepal, not many people have their own motorcycle,” a graduate of the Nepalese business school taught me. “Nepal is a very beautiful country, but very poor.”

And the brahmin is right in this! The nature of the country is crazy - even in the north, closer to Tibet, even in the central regions where Kathmandu is located. The Himalayas, whatever one may say, the energy knocks down.

But not only this knocks the locals off their feet. While I was living with Roham and his brother in Lalitpur, the people in Kathmandu were on strike. I was surprised to learn that some 20 years ago Nepal was a monarchy. It became a republic in 2007, which was preceded by the mass terror of the Maoists; Civil War; the madness of the prince who shot the whole family and shot himself; authoritarian policy of the new king; an alliance of leading political parties with the Maoists; and, finally, the declaration of the kingdom as a democratic federal republic. The last king of Nepal is still alive, but he is no longer considered an incarnation of the god Vishnu. Sorry dude.

Everest Times Monthly Magazine

In general, the political life of Nepal is so saturated that there is no time for people to think about how to become richer. They all fight - among themselves or with each other. The main source of foreign exchange earnings - foreign tourism - and he was blown away, because the rosy-cheeked Jack was somehow scared to travel to a country where huge army training grounds are every kilometer.

India and China are happy to support the existing order of things, because Nepal is just beneficial for them as a “shadow zone” - poor, wild and ready to do anything for a hundred dollars. Doesn't it remind you of anything?

But this is something I digress. Well, it's not about that, but about the fact that while living in a house with Nepalese, I learned how to cook a real Nepalese curry. And in general - I learned how to roll hearty dinners out of nothing. An invaluable skill for a Ukrainian.

Reason 5. Don't worry, be happy

When the culinary school was completely completed, I went to Pokhara for a week and a half doing only yoga and jogging. India is India, and Nepal is also a country in which more than 70 percent of the population is Hindu, so here the kishma is teeming with gurus who are ready to pass on knowledge.

I decided to leave the Internet gurus to the Europeans with their hair and take care of my body myself. I have been practicing yoga for about three years now, so I just had to find a place where the head itself would be asked to touch the ground, and the legs - the sky. Pokhara turned out to be just such a place. More precisely, not Pokara itself, but a small “Village of Happiness” (as it is called) nearby.

Pokhara is a town where expeditions to the main peaks of the world start from. In the 60s, Pokhara was filled with hippies and since then it has been a place where they come to “stick”. For example, my grandfather from London lived with me in the hostel. He says that every year I come here for 4 months. Grandfather has a beard of 30 centimeters and all fingers are in rings. What is he doing there all day?

Reason 6. Learn to communicate without knowing the language

And whoever is not a Hindu in Nepal is, of course, a Buddhist. It cannot be otherwise, because in the north is Tibet, and in the south is the village in which the Buddha himself was born. It's called Lumbini.

Since I already know how to cook and stand on my head, it's time for meditation. With these words, I reassured myself the first days in the monastery of Myanmar on the territory of Lumbini, where I took vippassana.

I won’t tell you how the meditation practice went, I’ll only say that when I left the temple, I realized that you can communicate without knowing the language. For example, with the help of intonations. This new skill helped me no longer be afraid to get on the wrong bus.

And in order to learn the language, it is enough to listen to how the monks speak. Such a pure and intonationally verified English, like theirs, will be envied even by a hippoed Englishman.

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Trekking tours to Nepal - everything you need to know when going on a trip - note to the tourist. Useful practical publications on the "Subtleties of Tourism".

Hello! I, Taras Pozdny, traveler and head of the Kuluar tourist club, want to tell you about hiking tours in my favorite country - mysterious Nepal. In one article, I will try to concisely give information that will help you better prepare for the trip.