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Capital	Kathmandu
Currency	Nepalese Rupee
Population	26.4 million
Official language	Nepali
Calling code	+977
Time Zone	NPT (UTC+05:45) DST not observed

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Useful Nepali Phrases (Click here for a detailed list)
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Hello	Namaste
How are you?	Tapaaii lai kasto cha?
Reply to “How are you?”	Malaai sanchai cha. Tapaaiilaaii ni?
What is your name?	Tapaaiiko naam ke ho?
My name is …	Mero naam … ho
Yes / No	Ho / Hoena

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Climate

Nepal has one of the best climates in the world, so visitors can arrive at almost any time of the year and find things to do that they will enjoy, as it is a matter of ‘what’s good when’. Guidebooks recommend the pre-monsoon months of March and April, when the rhododendron forests are in bloom or the post-monsoon months of October-November as the best. These seasons offer excellent conditions for high altitude treks. Fringe periods are almost equally good with far fewer tourists. The winter sunshine and generally clear skies of December and January also have a great appeal, but one should be prepared for cold mornings and evenings. During the summer months of the monsoon, the paddy fields are at their lushest and there is a wonderful range of fascinating and colorful cultural festivals.

Kathmandu remains the centre and the start point for almost every tourist arriving in Nepal. As with many cities around the world, the traffic gets busy at peak hours, so adopt careful planning to make the most of your days. Enjoy the early morning Everest sightseeing flight, which means a pre-traffic start to the day. The architecture and cultural magnificence of the great Malla era durbars of the four main cities of the valley (Kathmandu, Patan, Bhaktapur and Kirtipur) are outstanding. There is much to see so best to take your time, reduce travelling as much as possible and plan to visit sights, which are near to each other. Choose an area, start out early, linger and enjoy. There are always tucked away places to find for a light lunch or take a packed lunch with you. Kathmandu has no shortage of wonderful cultural sites to visit; palaces, Hindu temples and shrines, Buddhist stupas. Many of these sites offer a unique blend of both Hinduism and Buddhism. It is a great city for shopping too, from pashima and cashmere to jewellery, thangka paintings and trinkets.

Flights to Nepal

Nowadays getting to Nepal is easier! There are many airlines, which fly into Kathmandu, from a number of European destinations, including Turkish Airways from Istanbul. There are flights via the Middle East, including Qatar airlines, Emirates, Etihad and Oman Air. Jet Airways and Indian Airlines fly from Delhi, Mumbai and Calcutta, and for those travelling in from the East: Thai Airways, Silk Air, Druk Air and Bangladesh Biman.

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Nepal Airlines
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Lufthansa
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Turkish Airlines
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Qatar Airways
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Emirates
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Gulf Air
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Oman Air
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Etihad Airways
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Air India
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Thai Airways
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Silk Air
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Bangladesh Biman
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Travel companies with experience in Nepal

Nepal cannot be mentioned without the linked word ‘Trekking’. Commercial trekking to the foothills of the Himalayas only started in 1965. It can be anything from a 1 day hike on the rim of the Kathmandu valley to an epic 25-30 day challenge in the remote far west of Dolpa or crossing the three high passes in the Khumbu (Everest) region. The Annapurna foothills out of Pokhara offer wonderful variety and are accessible all year round. Two words of caution, firstly try to avoid the popular routes in peak season (1-20th October) and secondly do not be put off by stories that encroaching roads have ruined the finest treks. It simply is not true. There are alternate routes that have been created to avoid the roads and in any event there are few vehicles on these rough mountain roads.

Note of Caution: Lastly, never ever trek alone, have a guide, porter or friend with you. There are very rare cases of assault reported but equally a slip off the path when alone can end tragically.

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Summit Nepal Trekking
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Audley
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Adventure X
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Tigertops
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Cazenove and Loyd
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Pokhara and en-route:
For the non-trekker there is plenty of choice as well. The countryside is beautiful, so it is a pity if almost all movement out of Kathmandu is by air. The roads may not be the best or smoothest but with a sturdy vehicle and a good driver, there are wonderful sites to visit. Nuwakot, is a lovely small Newari village 3-4hours drive away. The next day you could drive down from here following the Trishuli river to the cable car to the famed Manakamana temple. Then on to the ancient city of Gorkha and the Newar trading hill station of Bandipur is also not far and has some lovely places to stay and is on the way (only a couple of hours) to Pokhara. This is a town popular with tourists, located on the beautiful Fewa Tal Lake and nestled in below the Annapurna massif and the fabled Machapuchare (Fishtail) Mountain. There one can participate in aerial sports: paragliding, micro-lite flights or the longest zip line in Asia and even the chance for the brave of heart to bungee jump.[/su_expand]
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Wild life viewing/Safaris:
The clearance of malarial carrying mosquitos from the low southern terai belt of Nepal in the late 1960s meant that previously off-limits jungles, home to the Bengal Tiger and one horned white rhinoceros, could be visited without fear. Chitwan and later Bardia National Parks were created and became accessible to tourists. Tiger Tops was built and elephant safaris were able to penetrate the tall riverine grasses and giant Sal forests to view the wildlife, now there is a great choice of jungle lodges.

Nepal offers culture, wild life, trekking, aerial sports and river rafting as well. On the many of the rivers that slice south through the Himalaya or rise on the south flanks of the range, one can raft or Kayak white water, stopping on sandy river shores to camp at night. This is a fun and relaxing way of reaching Chitwan National Park.

This short brief is aimed only to give you a feel for the country and why it is one that people return to time and again. Enjoy your visit.[/su_expand]

Volunteering Opportunities in Nepal

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Step Together
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Other Useful Resources

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The Royal Society for Asian Affairs
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Royal Geographical Society
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School of Oriental and African Studies
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[su_note note_color=”#436696″ text_color=”#ffffff”]Please note that The Britain-Nepal Society introduces the above links in good faith, but can offer no warranty as to the validity of any links or for the content or services to be found there.[/su_note]