Practical Information for visiting Nepal

The currency is the Nepalese rupee (NPR), pegged to the Indian rupee at a fixed 1.6 to 1. Indian rupees are accepted in some border areas, but Indian 500 and 2,000 notes are not legal to bring into Nepal.

Nepal runs on cash. Cards work in Kathmandu and Pokhara hotels, better restaurants and trekking agencies, often with a surcharge of around 3-4%. Almost everywhere else — and everywhere on trek — is cash only.

ATMs are common in the cities and charge a fixed fee of roughly NPR 500 per withdrawal regardless of amount, so take out larger sums less often. Withdrawal limits per transaction are low, which compounds the fee.

Take all the cash you need before starting a trek. There are no ATMs on most routes, the few that exist run empty, and prices climb with altitude because everything arrives on someone's back. Small notes matter; nobody has change for a 1,000 in a village.

Tipping is not a Nepali tradition but is now standard in tourism. On a trek, guides and porters are tipped at the end, usually pooled and given openly; around 10% of the trip cost is a common benchmark. In restaurants, a service charge is often already on the bill.

Most nationalities get a visa on arrival at Kathmandu airport and at land borders, paid in cash in hard currency, for 15, 30 or 90 days.

Two networks matter: Nepal Telecom (NTC) and Ncell. Ncell is generally better in Kathmandu and Pokhara; NTC has the better coverage in the mountains, which is the one that counts if you are trekking. SIMs are sold at the airport and in town, and need a passport photo and copy.

Coverage on the main trekking routes is far better than most people expect — there is a mobile signal at Everest Base Camp — but it is patchy between villages and disappears entirely on the less-travelled routes and over the high passes.

Teahouses sell wifi by the day, and in the Khumbu the Everest Link cards are the usual system. It works, and it is slow and not cheap.

Power in the cities is now reliable — the scheduled blackouts that defined the 2010s largely ended in 2018. On trek, lodges charge devices for a fee per hour, so a power bank pays for itself.

Nepal is a safe country for visitors by most measures. Violent crime against tourists is rare, and the political instability that follows the country in headlines very seldom touches travellers. The genuine risks are altitude, roads and aviation — and one fraud.

Altitude is the serious one and is covered in the health section. It kills trekkers most years, almost always after someone ascended too fast and kept going. Many popular trails ascend higher than 5,500 metres, and hikers and guides have been stranded, injured or killed. Never trek alone, hire an experienced guide from a reputable company, and make sure your condition and equipment match the route.

The helicopter-rescue scam. There are documented cases in Nepal involving unnecessary helicopter evacuations, pressure to be evacuated without a medical assessment, falsified medical or evacuation documents, and inflated billing to travellers and insurers. Use registered and reputable helicopter companies and trekking agencies, and avoid trekking packages that appear unusually inexpensive. In a real emergency the complications are the mirror image: providers often are not paid immediately, insurers do not always respond quickly, and many trekking areas have limited phone service.

Air safety. No Nepali airline currently meets international safety standards, and all of them are on the UK Air Safety List — banned from operating commercial air services to or from the United Kingdom. Domestic flying is routine in Nepal and many visitors do it without incident, but that is the official assessment of the carriers, and it is a real risk to weigh rather than a formality. Check the list when deciding whether and with whom to fly.

Roads. Public buses are often poorly maintained and accidents involving buses, frequently causing injuries and fatalities, are common — long-distance crashes on mountain roads are the country's most common serious accident, and the advice is to avoid overnight buses altogether. Travel winding sections in daylight where you can. Many mountain and hill roads are intermittently impassable during the monsoon because of landslides.

Earthquakes and landslides. Nepal is seismically active and a major quake is a question of when. Know your building's exits; in a quake, drop, cover and hold. In August 2026 major flooding in Rasuwa district and the Nepal–China border area caused widespread damage to buildings, roads and transport and communications infrastructure, with Gorkha, Nuwakot and Dhading also affected; flood- and landslide-hit areas may remain unstable, and further heavy rain or an earthquake could trigger more landslides and rockfalls.

Scams and petty theft. Thamel has the usual: fake trekking agencies, gem and carpet schemes, and “free” holy-man blessings that end in a demand. Book trekking through a registered operator you have checked. Pickpocketing happens in crowded festivals and buses. Never leave food or a drink unattended or with a stranger, and be wary of snacks, drinks, gum or cigarettes offered by new acquaintances.

Strikes (bandhs) can shut roads and shops at short notice, and are a popular form of political expression that can occur anywhere in the country. Avoid public transport during or immediately before one, because tourists have been injured doing so. Even peaceful demonstrations can turn violent and can cut access to essential services and supplies.

Solo women travel in Nepal routinely. Harassment is reported more often on remote trails with an unvetted individual guide than in towns, which is an argument for booking through an established agency rather than an argument against going.

Altitude sickness is the health risk in Nepal and it is the one that kills people. Acute mountain sickness can begin above about 2,500 metres, and its severe forms — fluid on the lungs or the brain — can develop within hours and are fatal without descent. The rules are simple and widely ignored: above 3,000 metres, gain no more than roughly 500 metres of sleeping altitude a day, take a rest day every 1,000 metres, and if symptoms do not improve, go down. No fitness level protects you and no schedule is worth it. Many popular trails ascend higher than 5,500 metres, and trekkers experience frostbite as well as altitude illness.

The Himalayan Rescue Association runs seasonal aid posts at Pheriche in the Khumbu and Manang on the Annapurna Circuit, with free daily altitude talks. Both are worth attending.

Insurance must explicitly cover helicopter evacuation and high-altitude trekking to your maximum altitude. Read the altitude ceiling in the policy; many stop at 4,000 metres, which is below most of the route. Be aware that Nepal has documented cases of helicopter rescue and insurance scams — unnecessary evacuations, pressure to fly without a medical assessment, falsified documents and inflated billing — so claims are scrutinised. Keep documentation, use registered companies, and note that serious conditions often require medical evacuation to Bangkok, New Delhi or Singapore.

Stomach illness is near-universal on long trips. Drink only treated or boiled water, including for teeth. Filter, tablets or a UV pen all work; bottled water creates waste and is not always what the seal suggests.

Routine vaccinations should be current, and hepatitis A and typhoid are commonly advised. Rabies is present and Nepal has a large free-roaming dog population; any bite, scratch or lick on broken skin needs immediate medical attention, and pre-exposure vaccination is worth discussing given how far treatment can be from a trail. Malaria risk exists in parts of the Terai, not in the hills or mountains.

Kathmandu's winter air pollution is a genuine health consideration rather than an aesthetic one, particularly for asthma. Power cuts — load shedding, caused by an energy shortage — are a year-round occurrence, frequent, short and without advance notice, which matters if you depend on refrigerated medication or a charged device.

Trekking permits are mandatory. All foreign trekkers must have a permit and must buy a TIMS card from the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal, the Nepal Tourism Board or an authorised trekking company, and independent trekkers are required to hire a local licensed guide. You also need a national park entry permit before entering official trekking regions or routes such as the Annapurna, Everest and Langtang regions, obtainable from the Nepal Tourism Board in Kathmandu or Pokhara or at park entry points. Restricted areas such as Upper Mustang, Manaslu and Dolpo need a separate, much more expensive permit and a licensed guide. Checkpoints do check.

Enforcement of the guide requirement has been inconsistent since it was introduced, and parts of the Everest region operate under their own local permit system. Check the current position with the Nepal Tourism Board or a registered agency rather than assuming — the rule has moved in both directions.

Temple etiquette. Remove shoes before entering. Walk clockwise around stupas, temples and mani walls. Leather — belts and bags included — is barred from some Hindu temples, and non-Hindus cannot enter Pashupatinath's main courtyard. Do not point the soles of your feet at a person, a shrine or an offering, and do not step over someone.

Use the right hand for giving, receiving and eating. The left is for washing.

Public affection between couples is not usual and reads as inappropriate; a hug or a kiss in public will draw attention. Dress modestly away from tourist streets — covered shoulders and knees, particularly at religious sites.

Cow slaughter and beef are illegal. Buffalo is eaten and is a different animal under the law.

Drug penalties are severe and include life imprisonment. Cannabis grows wild and is illegal to buy, sell or possess despite its visibility and its history here. Exporting antiques requires a clearance certificate from the Department of Archaeology, and genuinely old religious objects cannot leave the country. It is also illegal to take Nepalese banknotes out of Nepal.

Ask before photographing people, cremations at Pashupatinath, and inside temples. A cremation is a family's funeral, not a sight.

Nationwide emergency numbers: 100 for police, 101 for fire, 102 for an ambulance. Response times vary a great deal outside the Kathmandu Valley.

The Tourist Police are the better first call for most visitor problems — theft, disputes with agencies, lost documents. In Kathmandu the hotline is 1144; the tourist police line is +977 1 424 7041 and Pokhara is +977 61 462761.

Medical. Kathmandu has hospitals used to treating foreigners, including the CIWEC Clinic and Norvic International Hospital, both with a long record in travel and altitude medicine. Pokhara has adequate facilities; outside those two cities, serious care means being moved. Serious conditions often require medical evacuation to Bangkok, New Delhi or Singapore. Carry medical and first-aid kits.

On trek, the Himalayan Rescue Association aid posts at Pheriche and Manang are staffed in season. Helicopter evacuation is the realistic means of getting out of the mountains quickly and is expensive; your insurer generally needs to authorise it, so carry the policy number and emergency line somewhere reachable without a phone signal, and leave a copy with your agency. Note that helicopter providers are often not paid immediately and insurers do not always respond quickly, and that many trekking areas have limited access to regular phone service.

Guard against the evacuation scam even while needing an evacuation. There are documented cases of unnecessary evacuations, pressure to be flown out without a medical assessment, falsified documents and inflated billing. Use registered companies, and if you are being urged onto a helicopter without an examination, that is the moment to ask questions.

Register your trek details and expected return with your agency or lodge, and tell someone at home. On the less-travelled routes there may be no one to notice you are overdue.