Why go to Nepal. Trekking tours in Nepal - everything you need to know when going on a trip. Tours to Nepal with the club "Couloir"
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.
Previous photo 1/ 1 Next photo
Why go to Nepal?
During my travels, I meet a lot of new people and communicate with them. It is after live communication on the streets of Kathmandu and Pokhara that I can say why people really go to such a distant country as Nepal.
- First, it is the Himalayas - the highest mountain system in the world. Most tourists are interested in the Annapurna and Everest massifs.
- Secondly, it is the search for yourself. Hinduism and Buddhism are closely intertwined in Nepal, there are many ancient temples and monasteries where you can go through vippasana and become one step closer to inner peace.
- The third is to help others. It may seem incredible to you, but Nepal has a great number of volunteers from all over the world. They came here to help poor families, teach children English, rebuild houses after the earthquake. Instead, they live free of charge in huts-huts and eat in families.
- Fourthly, porastamanit. Kathmandu and Pokhara are amazing places where a great number of hippies and rastafarians live. Many people come here to relax.
- Fifthly, for new acquaintances. Such a concentration of interesting personalities, as in Nepal, cannot be found anywhere else.
Previous photo 1/ 1 Next photo
First time in Nepal
Your adventure begins as soon as you exit Tribhuvan - Kathmandu International Airport. Depending on whether you went to Nepal on your own or bought a tour from a company, you will be greeted with a sign or not. As a last resort, know that getting to Thamel (the tourist area of Kathmandu, where you will live) is not difficult. Just go to one of the taxi drivers, show the address of the hotel and bargain for the price. In the spring of 2016, the price of a taxi airport - Thamel was approximately 5-8 USD. Depends on the size of the car and your bargaining skills.
Previous photo 1/ 1 Next photo
Be careful, smiling people will come up to you and offer to carry your luggage to the car or load it into the trunk. Do not be fooled, then they will ask for money for it. The driver will do everything himself.
The road to Thamel takes half an hour and it will not leave you indifferent. An absolutely extraordinary place with its own unique atmosphere.
Trekking tours in Nepal - on your own or with a club
Previous photo 1/ 1 Next photo
If you are an experienced traveler, have already been to Asia and went hiking, you can go on trekking on your own. Be sure to read all the information you can on the internet and take out good insurance, which includes helicopter evacuation if you plan to climb above 4000 m. Porters can be hired, transfers can be arranged at any hotel or travel agency in Thamel. There are a great many of these here. And, most likely, everything will work out for you.
Previous photo 1/ 1 Next photo
There are several cases when it is definitely worth using the services of the company:
- You are traveling abroad for the first time and you have no experience of such travel.
- You do not have enough high-altitude experience. On low-altitude tracks (up to 4000 m) it is quite possible to go on your own. But on high altitudes you need to be looked after by an experienced guide. Who knows how your body will behave? Health and life are more valuable.
- You do not have a company, but you want new acquaintances. Good people go to the mountains and after trekking in Nepal you will become real friends!
- In some cases, it is very difficult to repeat the proposed route yourself or it will come out more expensive in price. For example, the program of our trek to the Annapurna base camp is as rich as possible and includes many transfers on custom transport. Without a group and at the same time, it is virtually impossible to repeat it.
- You don't have time for detailed preparation. The company will do everything for you, a minimum of hassle and worries.
Previous photo 1/ 1 Next photo
An additional bonus will be the stories of the Russian-speaking guide about their adventures, cheerful evening gatherings, walks in places that you yourself will not find.
Tours to Nepal with the club "Couloir"
We are specialized in hiking(trekking), we know our business and have been organizing unforgettable tours in Nepal for more than four years. Do you know what is the most valuable and pleasant thing of all? To see the burning eyes of a client whose life has completely changed after a trip to Nepal with the Couloir - after all, he saw new world which I didn't even suspect. It's nice when trekking participants buy tickets for the next year for a new track just a week after their return. When the group's chat in WatsApp continues for a long time after the hike. When you know that you have added new great friends and you can go to them at any time.
Previous photo 1/ 1 Next photo
The best hiking trails in Nepal
In choosing a tour in Nepal, a lot depends on your experience and desires. So, for beginners, we definitely recommend Annapurna Base Camp Trek - this is one of the easiest trekking tours, but at the same time it is extremely picturesque and diverse. Everything will be here - snow-white peaks and unforgettable sunrises, lush jungles and deep canyons, traditional Nepalese villages and ancient temples. You can even go on this tour with children. The maximum height is 4120 m, which is very low for Nepal. For those who have already gone to the mountains, want to test themselves and see the highest peak of the world, we recommend "Trek to Everest with Couloir". Get ready, it's going to be tough highest point route - this is the peak of Kala Pattar (5,645 m, which is as much as 3 m higher than Elbrus!). But what landscapes will open to you! Undoubtedly, there are no such mountains as in the Himalayas anywhere in the world. And we will meet the dawn with a view of Everest. Tempting? Highly!
Seasonality of trekking
An important factor for a trip to Nepal is seasonality. The fact is that the peculiarities of the climate do not allow hiking tours all year round. The best seasons to travel are autumn and spring. You can also go to low-altitude tracks in winter - the weather is often even more stable, but it will be colder. But in the summer you should not go to the mountains of Nepal, because summer is the monsoon season. Cloudy and heavy rains will not let you enjoy this wonderful country.
Conclusion
Friends, I am sure that everyone should visit Nepal. It's so unusual and interesting country that it is simply impossible to remain indifferent to her. Travel. After all, travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.
Fly to Nepal you will have to change flights - there are no direct flights from Russia, but air traffic is established, so ensuring your comfort and guaranteed arrival at your destination on time is the concern of the tour operator.
Obtaining a visa- the process is simple, but there are practically no failures.
accommodation options in Nepal hotels many: from very budgetary to the most comfortable. The choice is yours!
Now it is safe in Nepal - conflicts over the establishment of a republic in the country ended with its proclamation in 2008.
Nepal is beautiful in many of its manifestations, although, let's not hide, certain moments of the trip can shock an unprepared tourist.
The best time to travel
Season is a concept that determines the weather conditions in Nepal. From June to September in Terai, the southern part of the country, there are heavy rains due to the monsoonal climate. The ideal time to travel across the country is in October-November: both temperature and humidity are optimal for overcoming trekking routes, as well as sightseeing, because in cities you also have to walk a lot. In March-April, it is also comfortable here, and there are fewer tourists, so the prices for flights and accommodation are lower, but there is less greenery on the mountain slopes, which are shrouded in a light haze in the mornings. In December-February in Nepal, the air is clean and transparent, but it is quite cold in the highlands, and above the 5000-meter mark, the passes can be covered with snow.
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! international Airport in country 1 - 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 the side of India, from where a lot of people go to Kathmandu and Pokhara public transport. 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
- The 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.
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 on the island of 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.
Read us at
Telegram
Technical info about travel and holidays in Nepal, so that you can read, get inspired, buy a ticket, fly in and already know what to do next.
Briefly and to the point: how to get a visa, what to see in Nepal, when to go, how to fly cheaply to Kathmandu, what to eat, how much money to take with you.
– itinerary for 14 days
Nepal is a state in the Himalayas, the highest mountainous country in the world, bordered by India and China.
Full title: Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal
Population of Nepal: more than 30 million people, and only about 17% live in cities (the share of the urban population is one of the lowest in the world)
Religion: 70-80% Hindu, 11% Buddhism
Why go to Nepal
Himalayas, Himalayas, Himalayas.
People go to Nepal for trekking in the Himalayas. For example, to see the most high mountain planets (Everest) or peaks of other 8 thousandths, go to the track around Annapurna, visit the closed kingdom of Mustang.
In between, breathe the dusty air of Kathmandu, walk the streets of the ancient city of Bhaktapur or go to the jungle of one of the national. parks.
The Himalayas are the main reason to visit Nepal When is the season in Nepal
Peak season in Nepal October-November b and March-mid-May. At this time, the weather is most favorable for the track, it is warm in the cities, but at the same time there are a lot of other people who want to touch the antiquities and see the mountains. Accordingly, prices for hotels and services rise slightly.
Summer from mid-May to mid-September in Nepal is the rainy season: hot, wet, mountains hiding behind clouds.
Winter with December to February is considered low season, because. cold. There is no heating in Nepal, at night the temperature in Kathmandu can drop to 0, in the mountains even less.
We were in January-February. Perfect. Above 2200m there was snow in the mountains, in Kathmandu during the day it was +20, at night +7, in Pokhara during the day up to +26. In Kathmandu, we rented a hotel with air conditioning, turned it on at +32, it was super.
We went to Poon Hill track. If you dress warmly (☞ for trekking in Nepal in winter) and choose the right shoes, you will be fine. In the heat, climbing mountains is more difficult than at +5 + 10.
How much does a holiday in Nepal cost?
We got the average daily consumption 60$ for two or 30$ per person per day.
On the track for food and accommodation spent on 10-15$ per day per person, in Kathmandu and Pokhara - by 25-35$ per person per day.
Your expense will depend only on you. Someone is spending 10$ per day, and someone - from 100$ and higher.
The prices are:
Breakfast - 2-5$
Lunch at a local cafe 2-3$
Dinner at a cafe for tourists - 5-8$
Simple guesthouse, shared toilet - 5-7$
modest hotel - 13-20$
Better hotel - 30-40$+
You can look for housing on the spot if you are traveling for a long time or if you need the simplest cheap options (for example, a guest house with a shared toilet for 5$ ). If for a short stay and want to have your own toilet, wifi, hot water, electricity, it is better to book in advance online according to reviews.
I looked at hotels in Nepal on this site, I booked those with good feedback recently written.
With what currency to go to Nepal?
The currency of Nepal is the Nepalese rupee.
1$ =105-109 Nepalese rupees
It is necessary to go to Nepal with cash (dollars and euros). You should not take rubles, there is nowhere to change them.
You can withdraw money from bank card at ATMs in Kathmandu or Pokhara. Paying by card is unprofitable, they take a commission. It is better to withdraw money from ATM and pay in cash.
If you go to the track, change or withdraw money in advance in cities.
Flights to Kathmandu
The average price of two-way flights from Moscow to Kathmandu is 440-550$
Kyiv-Kathmandu in two directions - 500-600$
Minsk-Kathmandu — 680-800$
All flights with at least one stopover in Istanbul, UAE, India.
The minimum price at which it was possible to buy a Moscow-Kathmandu-Moscow ticket during this year is 385$ at the Turkish Airlines sale. Below 22000 rubles the price of the RW ticket has not dropped even once in a year.
She talked about how to catch sales, when to buy tickets, which airline is better to fly, how to make complex cheap routes, in an article about.
Insurance
Having insurance is not a requirement for visiting Nepal, but if you are going to trek in the Himalayas, then it is better to buy insurance.
When choosing insurance, check the boxes "Active rest", "Mountain trekking" and "Helicopter evacuation".
Judging by the info from the forums, an hour of helicopter operation costs $3,000. If you do not have insurance, it is recommended to take cash with you. I only had $1,000 in cash and a card with the nth amount of c.u. Fortunately, it didn't come in handy.
I took my insurance through SK Consent.
Choose insurance that provides for evacuation by helicopter The most reliable insurance at the moment can be bought from ☜ at the link 10% discount, Mondial assistance.
Some people get diarrhea from Nepalese food, it is better to have pills just in case.
Visa to Nepal
Visa at Kathmandu airport upon arrival for citizens of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine. You only need a foreign passport and an immigration card (issued on the plane), a photo is not needed.
15 days - 25$
30 days - 40$
90 days - 100$
There are several machines in the arrivals area. You scan your passport, indicate the address in Nepal (the name of any guest house), you get a ticket. Then you pay at the cash desk (it’s better to have small $, they may not have change).
Then you go to the visa officer, where they stick it in your passport multi visa. The whole process takes 30-40 minutes because of the queues.
On a tourist visa, you can stay in Nepal for no more than 120 days at one time and all 150 days in a calendar year.
Tourist visa takes up half a page How to come to Nepal for a six-month winter?
We arrive on October 1, we buy a visa for 90 days. At the end of December, we leave or fly to another country (for example, to India, Sri Lanka, Thailand - where there will be cheap tickets).
After NG we come to Nepal again, we buy a new visa for 90 days. In total, we spend 6 months from autumn to spring in Nepal.
Nepalese visa extension
While in Nepal, the visa can be extended at the Kathmandu Immigration Office (coordinates 27.701271, 85.325097 ) or Pokhara (coordinates 28.201875, 83.969544 ), 1 day - 2$.
Can be extended at least 15 days, therefore, it is more profitable to buy a visa for the entire planned period of stay at the airport than to run to immigration later.
For example, if you arrived for 16 days, then buy a visa for 30 days - it's cheaper than buying a visa for 15 days and extending it.
If a overstayed the visa, being in Nepal, then: 1). you will have to extend your visa at $2 per day, at least 15 days 2) pay a fine of $3 for each day of delay, at least 15 days. Total minimum fine for delaying a visa even for 1 day = 75$
The language of communication
Nepalese have a good level of English.
Many merchants know about a dozen words in Russian (hello, cheap, buy-buy, big, pants, beautiful), but in general you should not count on a full-fledged conversation in your native language.
Internet in Nepal
In the guesthouses where we lived, the Internet was good and stable. Read hotel reviews before booking if wifi is important to you. In cafes and restaurants, wifi is also most often present.
In the mountains, everything is much sadder. The higher, the worse. Mobile Internet was up to a height of 2000 meters, then only paid wifi in guest houses, if you're lucky.
If you are going on an independent track, it is better to download a map of Nepal in advance in the maps.me application and mark all the points of the route.
Safety in Nepal
Nepal is completely safe. If you are a girl, you can safely go on your own and without a company. Together with a girlfriend or with a guy, no problem at all.
The only place where I was not very comfortable walking alone was the Thamel district in Kathmandu late in the evening, when all the shops were closed. Firstly, every Nepalese they met offered marijuana, and secondly, some Indian-looking person got in touch and offered to visit him.
If you go to the track, then there are already some nuances. Depending on the season and altitude, in the mountains you should be wary of leeches (in summer during the rainy season), snow and icy steps (from December to February), mountain sickness (at an altitude of 4000m), showers (we take raincoats).
People and animals in the Himalayas do not cause concern (my friend was bitten by a horse, but this is a special case).
Theft in Nepal is practically absent, things and money were always left in the room in backpacks or in a jacket pocket, nothing was lost. Do not put valuables in a conspicuous place anyway.
Nepalese cuisine
$4 momo plate In Nepal, there is a cafe for white tourists, where you can find dishes not only of Nepalese, Indian, but also European cuisine (pizza, pasta, soups). There are also eateries for locals. Local food is spicy. It is good.
There are enough restaurants with cuisine in Kathmandu and Pokhara different countries(Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, Turkish, Italian). You won't go hungry in Nepal.
They start preparing food only after you order it, so you have to wait 20-40 minutes for lunch. But everything is fresh.
The most famous dish of Nepalese cuisine is momo, the most famous drink is lassi.
Momo It's kind of like dumplings. There are fried and boiled. The filling is different: spicy vegetables, chicken, meat. They cost from 120 to 450 rupees ( 1-4$ ) per serving, depending on the establishment. You can start your acquaintance with Nepalese cuisine with these momos.
Lassi tastes like yogurt, costs from 100 to 200 rupees ( 1-2$ ) per glass
Other dishes of Nepal
Tukpa(thukpa) is a traditional spicy Tibetan soup with noodles and cabbage. In Kathmandu, the thukpa at Yangling Cafe is simply amazing.
Tukpa and momo soup with chicken Tama(tama) — Nepalese soup with bamboo, herbs, potatoes and spices, worth from 1$ served in small bowls
Dalbat, aka Nepali thali, literal translation: "peas with rice." The composition of the dish includes rice, stewed vegetables or meat curry, lentil stew.
Nan and chapati- beloved by many cakes with garlic, butter, potatoes or cheese.
Palak Paneer- a green dish with unleavened homemade palak cheese and spinach. I still overate it in India, so I didn’t try it in Nepal, but almost every cafe has palak paneer.
Can be found everywhere spring rolls(Chinese dish, rolls with chicken or meat), Noodles in different variations (noodles with chicken or vegetables), fried or boiled rice(Fried rice, Steamed rice), biryani rice (spicy Indian fried rice).
Tea is also popular in Nepal. Traditional masala (as in India) - tea with milk and spices, you can order black masala - it is with the same spices, but without milk. There is Tibetan salt tea with butter.
Nepalese eat rice for breakfast, for lunch and dinner - most often dalbat. Naturally, with the right hand, because. left for other purposes.
For breakfast, it is customary for foreigners to serve scrambled eggs, potatoes, vegetables, and toast with jam. Scrambled eggs are not particularly favored. Somehow I ordered, they brought not fried, but steamed.
breakfast for 3$ looks like that:
Chicken fillet in mushroom sauce 4$ :
Noodles with chicken, from 2 to 5$:
spring rolls, 2-3$ :
Vegetable salad, $3:
What to see in Nepal
If you are planning your first independent trip to Nepal for a couple of weeks, you can not bother too much and go along a well-thought-out standard route that includes visiting several climatic zones, ancient cities, jungles and the Himalayas:
Kathmandu (1 day) - Pokhara (1 day) - Mountain trek (for example, the Poon hill trek for 4 days or the Annapurna ring trek for 6-8 days) - nat. Chitwan park (2 days) – again Kathmandu + Patan and Bhaktapur (2 days)
Kathmandu
The capital of Nepal, at least for sightseeing 1.5-2 days
Main attractions: Swayambhunath Monkey Temple, Durbar Square, Pashupatinath Crematorium Temple, Boudhanath Stupa and Tibetan Monasteries.
Near Katamandu: Bhaktapur and Patan is another + 1 day. More details with photos about cafes, must see, hotels in Kathmandu, prices for attractions and how to get everywhere for free:
Pokhara
A city in the foothills of the Himalayas, the tourist center of the country, in the vicinity of which most of the tracks in the Annapurna region begin.
Yoga in Nepal, buying clothes for tracks, paragliding, boating on the lake, wintering in Nepal - this is also Pokhara. More about
Treks in the Himalayas
Nepal has dozens of trekking routes of varying difficulty. You can read more about trekking in the articles.