Practical information - Nepal Travel Guide (2024)

Nepal's early history is depicted through the tales of theNewar, the indigenous community settled in Nepal Valley (now known as KathmanduValley) as early as the 9th century BC. There is substantial archaeologicalevidence of a Buddhist influence even during these early years; a famousBuddhist column inscribed by theemperorofIndiain 400BCE sits at Lumbini, the birthplace of Guatama Budhha, for example.Formany centuries the country was peaceful, with small kingdoms settling in thevalleys and the steep mountainous terrain protecting them from conflict. However,as Tibet began to rise in power, the northern Himalayan passes became a tradingroute and Nepal found itself in the centre of a commercial exchange. A trade relationshipwas briefly built with China, but quickly disposed of due to warring betweenTibet and China. During this time the Lichhavis were a strong ruling family andthey laid a foundation for Nepalese culture.

Then, in the 14th century, Jaya Shtiti, a greatruler in the Malla dynasty, imposed laws and social codes into the Nepalesesociety based around his Hindu beliefs. His successor chose to split thekingdom into three areas and gave each of his sons control over an area:Kathmandu, Patan and Bhadgaon. Although the dynasties ruled the majority ofthese areas, some small principalities retained their independence throughtraditional familial power. One of these, Gorkha, began to assert dominanceover the hillside and posed a threat to the dynasty ruled valleys. The Mallascouldn’t match the power of the Gorkha ruler Shah and in 1729 he conquered thevalley and chose to move the capital to Kathmandu. The Shah rulers encounteredmany problems in trying to unite a country so used to localised politics and extremediversity. With their power waning, after two successive rulings by minors ofthe Shah family, there proceeded to be around 150 years of confrontation betweenthe royal family and other families of nobility. The Shah was relegated to an honoraryposition whilst the family that dominated in these confrontations ruled thecountry. It wasn’t until 1950 that Nepalese politics moved on from a precedenceof family loyalty over the crown. This occurred because the current royal, KingTribhuvan, launched a revolution against the current dominant family, the Ranas,with the backing of diplomats from New Delhi. Under significant pressure theRanas accepted a settlement in which riling was returned to the throne and therebel forces gained positions in Nepali Congress.

A constitution was approved in 1959, however controversybetween king and cabinet caused it to be dismissed by 1962 and a new oneformed. Then with the succession of a new King in 1975, the “non-party”political system was challenged, reassessed, elections held and finally altered.In November 1990, following the appointment of an interim government whodeveloped a multiparty system, King Birendra agreed a new version of constitutionwhich provided for both a constitutional monarchy and a multiparty politicalsystem. At the general elections in 1991, Nepali Congress won and appointedG.P. Koirala as the head of government. The government struggled with modernisingNepal’s years of traditional rule and with an uprising from the Maoists, thenext decade proved very unstable. In 2008, it was declared that the monarchywould be abolished and Nepal was declared an independent democratic republic.Although Nepal’s political situation is still developing, it is now run throughgeneral elections and, as with any democratic country, the country is splitbetween the parties it votes for.

The time zone in Nepal is GMT + 5.45 (this results in an ongoing joke that the Nepalese are always 15 minutes late)

The official language of Nepal is Nepali.

English and Hindi are also widely spoken especially in the major towns and tourist areas.

• Namaste - Hello, Greetings
  
• Namaskar - The more respectful version of Namaste
  
• Hajur - All purpose term meaning yes? Pardon, Excuse me?
  
• Kasto Cha? - How are you?
  
• Thik Cha- I am fine
  
• Khana khannu bhaiyo? - Have you eaten?
  
• Dhanybhad - Thank you
  
• Tapaiiko naam ke ho? - What is you name?
  
• Mero naamAnn-Marieho - My name is Ann-Marie
  
• Pheri bhetaunlaI - Hope we meet again
  

The Nepali Rupee is a closed currency so you will not beable to buy this before you arrive. It is advisable to travel with US Dollars,as these are widely accepted. It is very important that US bills be new (less than 10 years old), crisp and untorn. If you want some local currency then we can take youto an ATM or bank. Alternatively all the hotels in Kathmandu will change moneyfor you. We recommend that you take local currency on the actual trek with you,as the teahouses prefer local currency to dollars. You will also get a more favourableexchange rate in Kathmandu.

If you are relying on a credit or debit card for emergencyfunds, make sure you tell your card issuer that you will be using it abroad, oryou may find that it won't work when you really need it.

There are 2 types of electrical sockets in Nepal – type D which are old UK style (3 round pins) and type C which are standard European style (2 roundpins) – and are 220v, same as the UK. The type D socket is commonly found inIndia, so any adapter that is suitable for India will be the right size, and aEuropean adaptor will be fine for the type C socket.

Weather should be the first thing you think about as you decide when to trek. Nepal has a bad monsoon season during the summer when the rain is torrential nearly every day. During this time Ladakh provides a drier, safer option for those wishing to travel to the Himalayan region. In the winter, the temperatures can be very, very low particularly at night.This means that, as a general rule, the best weather for trekking is in Spring and Autumn.

There is though a lot of variation in the weather between the Everest and Annapurna regions, as the Annapurnas are much drier and cooler, even during the summer monsoon period.While you should definitely avoid the Everest region from June to August you can still trek in parts of the Annapurna region during this period.

In winter, it is normally quite dry everywhere in Nepal, but it will be very, very cold. This means that trekking is possible on most routes, but you will need extra warm sleeping bag and plenty of suitable warm winter clothes. Trekking peaks and routes like the Annapurna Circuit, which involve crossing high passes, are closed during the winter.

Your safety and well-being is always the number one priority at Kandoo Adventures.

We operate all our travel destinations in accordance with the UKForeign, Commonwealth & Development Office(FCDO) advice, which publishes travel advisory notices for British nationals. We also closely follow the advice of ABTA (The Association of British Travel Agents) which provides support to UK tour operators.

In addition to this, our extensive, directly-managed operations in each of our destinations, provide us with detailed knowledge and up-to-date information, which enables us to make informed decisions and operate our trips safely.

Our office in Kathmandu is your first point of contact forany issues that arise once you are on your way to Nepal, and for the durationof your time in country. Whether you have booked an airport transfer and yourflight is delayed, or you need assistance exchanging money, we have English-speakingrepresentatives who will be able to help you with any query, and they have theadvantage of being in the same time zone. These contact details can also befound on your itinerary.

Contact telephone: +977 9851207386 or +977 9851207387

We always recommend that you regularly check the FCDO's travel advice, in order to keep up to date about the country you are planning to visit.

If you are not a UK resident, we would recommend that you visit your government's travel advisory website for further information:

• USA
  
• Canada
  
• Australia
  
• New Zealand
  

Alternatively, you may wish to visit ourTravel Updatespage or seek further information from theWorld Health Organisation.

We recommend that you wear your walking boots to travel and pack as many essential items as possible in your carry-on luggage. If your luggage is delayed we can then do our best to kit you out to start the trek on time. In the event that your luggage is delayed or lost, our procedure is as follows:

• Establish what items are missing and a contingency plan for each critical item
  
• If it reaches 6pm on the evening before starting the trek and your luggage has not arrived we recommend buying and/or hiring items immediately as a precaution
  
• We will take you to a shop where you can buy toiletry items, e.g. toothbrush. You will be able to find everything you need in Kathmandu.
  

We will do everything we can to help if your luggage is lost or delayed. Be sure to check your insurance policy coverage for lost luggage cover.

The system for booking internalflights in Nepal is unlike anywhere else in the world and this can causeconfusion and frustrations. When an internal flight is booked inNepal it is booked for a particular day NOT for a day and a time. You cannotbook for a particular timed flight. For each itinerary, eg Lukla, Pokharaetc the airlines run shuttle planes many times daily, with the number ofplanned flights reflecting booked volumes. When a booking is made, you areallocated to the airlines passenger departure list for that day and thenallocated a flight based on when you booked. The first person to book KTM-Luklaon any date will be on Flight one. The further down the list of bookings youare the higher your flight number will be.

For example, if you book with TaraAirlines and book reasonably far ahead you might be on Tara Flight 3. What thismeans is that at the start of the day Flight 1 will leave as soon as conditionsat KTM and Lukla are safe for take-off and landing.

Once Flight 1 departs, Tara may havea second plane on this itinerary so Flight 2 may depart quite quickly. Flight 3though will then be the same plane that went out on Flight one so it has to goto Lukla and then return to KTM before you can depart, so there will be a wait. If there is bad weather at Lukla, allflights will be delayed. This might be for an hour or it may be all day and atany point until late in the afternoon nobody will know if any flights aregoing.

If you book late, and are on TaraFlight 7 there is a much higher risk, if there are any delays, that your flightwill not go at all. An added confusion is that the airlines only have stampswith which they mark a boarding pass up to 4 so flight 5 becomes flight 1 againon your boarding pass although the airline knows which flight is which. Inevitably this process istime-consuming and frustrating as you need to be at the airport early and thenmay have to wait all day before being told your flight is not leaving that day.

Please also note that there are noallocated seats on the plane so clients will not be given a specific seatnumber. On the Lukla flight there is a rush to get seats on the left handside outward bound and to get seats on the right on the return as these offerthe view of the Himalaya.

Please accept that delays at Luklaand what appears to Westerners as total chaos is beyond our control and is thesame for all tour operators and travelers.

Flightsafety in Nepal

You should be aware that flights in Nepal have a poor safetyrecord compared to international flight standards. In 2013, all carriers fromNepal were put on an aviation banned list, preventing them from flying in EU airspace.This ban does not mean that these airlines are prevented from flying in Nepal,nor does it mean that an EU national cannot fly with one of these airlines.Since the ban, some airlines have been proactive and have retained anindependent aviation safety expert to audit their operations. Whereverpossible, we use one of these airlines.

FlightDelays

The majority of our trekking itineraries in Nepal involves adomestic flight. Airfields such as Lukla are among the most remote anddifficult to land on in the world and are a challenge for even the mosttechnically proficient pilots. It is not uncommon for bad weather to causelengthy delays, as the airport will be closed if the cloud cover is too great.We include one day back in Kathmandu as a contingency in case flights to orfrom Lukla are delayed but we recommend you also consider one of these options:

• Bookan international flight with a flexible ticket that can be changed at no cost

• Bookfurther days in Kathmandu as contingency days

• Beprepared to pay for the cost of a helicopter which can fly in bad weather(around US$300-500 per person)

Please be aware that in the event of a delay that affectsyour onward international flight, you will be responsible for re-booking andfor any associated costs. These costs should be recovered from your insurer.

Flight changes during Peak Season

Please note that during peak season (October - December)domestic flights will depart from Ramechhap rather than Kathmandu. Ramechhap is a 5-6 hour drive from Kathmandu and as this is a national alteration concerning all domestic flights to the Everest region, flight companies will provide transfer buses to Ramechhap from Kathmandu. The change has been implemented to put less stress on Kathmandu airport as the number of domestic flights to Lukla increases with the popularity of the region. This will only affect trips to the Everest region not Annapurna. If your trip overlaps the dates these are implemented, you may find that you fly into Lukla via Kathmandu but return via Ramechhap.

Unfortunately, in classic Nepalese style, the exact dates this will affect will not be released until a few months prior to the trekking season starting so we aren't yet able to provide dates this will affect in 2024.