Nepal - Travel Information
Nepal covers an area of 147,181 square kilometers, and stretches 145-241 kilometers north to south and 850 kilometers west to east. The country is located between India in the south and China in the north. Nepal is topographically divided into three regions: the Himalaya to the north, the hills consisting of the Mahabharat Range and the Churia Hills, and the Terai to the south. Elevations are varied in the country. The highest point is Mt. Everest (8848 m) in the north and the lowest point (70 meters above the sea level) is located at Kechana Kalan of Jhapa District. Altitudes increases as you travel from south to north. To the north, temperatures are below -40 degrees Celsius and in the Terai, temperatures rise to 40 degrees Celsius in the summer.
Kathmandu, the Shangri-La city of Nepal, is surrounded by Himalayan snow peaks and Blue Mountains. Kathmandu is the cradle of Nepalese civilization and culture. It is a living museum of ancient temples, palaces, shrines, squares & courtyards and living goddesses - still worshipped today.
GETTING THERE
Nepal Airlines is the national flag carrier of Nepal with flights to/from Delhi, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, Bangkok and Hong Kong. Other international airlines operating from/ to Kathmandu are Air Arabia (Sharjah), Air China (Lhasa, Chengdu), ArkeFly(Amsterdam ), Bahrain Air (Bahrain ), Biman Bangladesh (Dhaka), China Southern Airlines (Guangzhou), China Eastern (Kunming), Dragon Air (Hong Kong), Druk Air (Delhi, Paro), Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi),Fly Dubai (Dubai), GMG Airlines (Dhaka), Gulf Air (Bahrain, Muscat), Indian Airlines (Delhi, Kolkotta, Varanasi), Jet Airways (Delhi, Mumbai), Jet Lite (Delhi), Kingfisher Airlines (Delhi), Korean Air (Seoul), Pakistan International Airlines (Karachi), Qatar Airways (Doha), Silk Air (Singapore) and Thai Airways (Bangkok).
For those who wish to come by train or vehicle from India, you may enter India at the following border entry points:
Kakadbhitta
Biratnagar
Janakpur
Birgunj
Bhairawa
Nepalgunj
VISA
Visa is required for most nationalities except Indian nationals. For non-Indian nationals (except Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Cameroon, Somalia, Liberia, Ethiopia, Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan), the visa is available from Nepalese Embassies or Consulates or upon arrival at the Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu. Indian nationals are required to present some form of ID, i.e., passport, driving license, school ID, etc. Children below 10 years are exempt from the visa fee but proof of age is required.
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Period (Duration)
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Visa Fee
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15 days
(Multiple Entry)
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USD 25.00
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30 days
(Multiple Entry)
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USD 40.00
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90 days
(Multiple Entry)
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USD 100.00
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Note:
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Two passport size photos are also required to obtain visa upon arrival.
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Since Chinese, Iraqi and Afghani Nationals cannot obtain visa upon arrival at entry points, they are requested to obtain Nepalese Visa prior to arrival.
For further information, please, contact Department of Immigration, Maitighar, Impact Building, Kathmandu, Nepal, Telephone: 00 977-1-4221996/ 4223590/ 4222453, Web: www.immi.gov.np
HOTELS
Kathmandu has a wide variety of international class hotels to suit everyone's fancies and finances. Please, check under “Conference Hospitality” on the menu bar for information on the conference hotels.
LOCAL TRANSPORTATION
Metered taxis are easily recognizable by the taxi sign and black number plates and can be hailed off the street. Battery run EV tempos are also available. There are micro and normal buses with the three cities of the Kathmandu Valley. However, not all points in the cities are served by public transportation and fixed timings are practically non-existent. Taxi fares are negotiable and should be arranged beforehand.
For airport transfers, please, check under “Conference Hospitality” on the menu bar.
SIGHT-SEEINGS & EXCURSIONS
You can take advantage of your conference to visit the country as well. There are many tours and excursions to choose from in order to enrich your visit to Nepal. Please, click on “Conference Hospitality” of the menu bar to check various options available to suit your preferences.
CUSTOMS
All baggage must be declared and cleared through the customs on arrival at the port of entry. Passengers arriving at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) without any dutiable goods can proceed through the Green Channel for quick clearance without a baggage check. If you are carrying dutiable articles, you have to pass through the Red Channel for detailed customs clearance.
Visitors are permitted to import the following for their personal use: Cigarettes, 200 sticks; cigars, 50 sticks; alcoholic liquor, one bottle not exceeding 1.15 liters; beer, 12 cans; one binocular; one movie camera with 12 rolls of film or one video camera; one ordinary camera with 15 rolls of film; one tape recorder with 15 tape reels or cassettes; one perambulator; one laptop computer.
CLIMATE & CLOTHING
Nepal has a typical monsoonal two-season year. There's the dry season from October to May and there's the wet season, the monsoon, from June to September. The temperature, rainfall and climate chart for Kathmandu is below:
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MonthsTemperature (in Celsius)Rainfall Chart (in mm.)Max.Min.January19225February20425March25875April301150May3016100June3020225July2021375August2920360September2719175October231550November23410December20210
Climate Chart
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Kathmandu
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Jan.
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Feb.
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Mar.
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Apr.
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May
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June
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July
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Aug.
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Sept.
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Oct.
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Nov.
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Dec.
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Chance of a dry day
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95%
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91%
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93%
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85%
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74%
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54%
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33%
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37%
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62%
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88%
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98%
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99%
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Hours of sunshine
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5:54
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5:39
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7:37
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9:30
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5:43
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4:54
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2:37
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2:23
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3:18
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5:12
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5:12
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5:06
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Light clothing for the day and a sweater or jacket for the evenings is all you need in Kathmandu during the conference.
HEALTH
Insurance
A travel insurance policy that covers theft, loss and medical treatment is highly recommended. Make sure the insurance covers the activities that you will be undertaking during your stay in Nepal such as trekking or river-rafting.
A travel insurance policy that covers theft, loss and medical treatment is highly recommended. Make sure the insurance covers the activities that you will be undertaking during your stay in Nepal such as trekking or river-rafting.
Immunization
Nepal does not require any particular immunization for your visit. Cholera, Meningitis, Tetanus & Diphtheria, Typhoid and Gamma Globulin are some of the vaccinations that should be considered for your trip. Please consult your physician and get a complete check-up before your departure.
Nepal does not require any particular immunization for your visit. Cholera, Meningitis, Tetanus & Diphtheria, Typhoid and Gamma Globulin are some of the vaccinations that should be considered for your trip. Please consult your physician and get a complete check-up before your departure.
Prevention: the Best Medicine
Care in what you eat and drink is the most important health rule. The number one rule is ‘don't consume the water including ice’. Reputable brands of bottled water or soft drinks are generally fine. Take care with fruit juice, particularly if water may have been added.
Milk should be treated with suspicion as it is often unpasteurized. Boiled milk is fine if it is kept hygienically, and yogurt is usually good. Tea or coffee should also be OK since the water would have been boiled. Salads and fruit should be washed with purified water or peeled where possible. Ice cream is usually OK if it is a reputable brand name, but beware of ice cream that has melted and been refrozen. Thoroughly cooked food is the safest but not if it has been left to cool. Stomach upsets are the most likely travel health problem but the majority of these upsets will be relatively minor. Wash your hands frequently, as it's quite easy to contaminate your own food. You should clean your teeth with purified water rather than straight from the tap. Avoid climatic extremes: keep out of the sun when it is hot, dress warmly when it is cold. Avoid potential diseases by dressing sensibly. You can get worm infections through bare feet. Try to avoid insect bites by covering bare skin when insects are around, by screening windows or by using insect repellents.
ELECTRICITY
All electrical outlets in the hotels and other areas are 220 volts, 50 cycles, continental plugs.
MONEY
Payment in hotels, travel agencies, and airlines are made in convertible currencies. Credit cards such as American Express, MasterCard and Visa are widely accepted at major hotels, shops, and restaurants. Remember to keep your Foreign Exchange Encashment Receipt while making foreign exchange payments or transferring foreign currency into Nepalese rupees. The receipts may be needed to change left-over Nepalese rupees into hard currency before leaving the country. However, only 10 percent of the total amount may be converted back by the bank.
Major Banks, hotels, and the foreign exchange counters at Tribhuvan International Airport provide services for exchanging foreign currency. US Dollar Traveler's Cheques can be purchased from American Express at Durbar Marg and other major banks in Kathmandu.
Nepalese Rupees comes in denominations of 1000, 500, 100, 50, 25, 20, 10, 5, 2, and 1. Coins come in denomination of 10, 25, 50 paisa, 1 rupee and 2 rupees. One rupee equals 100 paisa.
MORE TRAVEL INFO
If you need maps and more travel information, please, visit www.welcomenepal.com which is the official web-site of Nepal Tourism Board.
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