Planning a Trip to Nepal

The best time to visit Pokhara is during Spring (april) and October, because otherwise it's too cold... or it's raining season. I was @ Pokhare in August. Normally you can see around the beautiful lake the Himalaya, but the clouds covered it. Take the boat trip to the little island in the lake when it's getting dark... very romantic! But you can't visit the temple anymore. You also can rent motorbikes (if you have a license) to discover Pokhara... and if you are there, you also can do some trekking in the green mountains around the white Anapurna (Himalaya). Not in raining season, otherwise you have the litches (I had some :() and there is also no chance to see the Himalaya (I had some luck I did it)

This is a really cool old bazaar town that is just starting to have a tourist industry.  When i visited in 1999 there was almost no places to stay (my sister was living here at the time) for tourists and electricity was spotty at best. It was charming! It still has that charm, but now there are a couple of nice guesthouses and they have fixed up the main bazaar. Halfway between Kathmandu and Pokhara.

Get up really early and walk around the square - I mean like 5.30am. It is probably going to be freezing but it is the best time to interact with the locals whilst they set up the market for the day.

When in Nagarkot, i went to this hotel which over looked the Himalayan mountain range and was awesome but I had to wait almost 3 hours for the fog to clear so my tip is don't go in the months of Oct-Nov because the fog will definitely set back the experience. I heard that the best time to go is Dec-Jan.

There is NEVER really a wrong time to go to Nepal. However if you want to see more festivals I suggest going in the fall because (especially in November) there is always a festival somewhere during that time of year. When I went I went through the Fulbright program with my father, so our driver was our translator, driver, tour guide and all around good friend. But through all the gross bus travels, bad toilet stops, and not so fine hotels I really fell in love with the place!!

Namche Bazar ist ein Dorf in der Khumbu-Region in Nepal. Es liegt in einem kesselförmigen Einschnitt eines Hügels auf 3.440 m. Der Dudh Kosi fließt an Namche Bazar vorbei.

Beinahe jeder, der in der Khumbu-Region wandert, besucht Namche Bazar, da es gewissermaßen das Eingangstor zum Hoch-Himalaya darstellt. Im Dorf gibt es viele Läden und Unterkünfte. Es gibt fast alles zu kaufen, was zum Trekking benötigt wird. Allerdings liegen die Preise höher als in Kathmandu und je weiter man das Khumbu-Tal aufsteigt, um so höher werden sie, da alle Waren nur durch Träger und Lasttiere befördert werden können.

Namche Bazar ist das Verwaltungs-Zentrum der Khumbu-Region. Es gibt einen Polizei-Kontrollpunkt, eine Bank, ein Postamt und sogar eine Zahnklinik. Ebenso befindet sich hier das Verwaltungszentrum des Sagarmatha-Nationalparks und Kasernen der nepalesischen Armee.

Unmittelbar westlich von Namche Bazar liegt der Berg Kongde Ri (6.187 m) und im Osten der Berg Thameserku (6.608 m).

Auf einem Hügel oberhalb von Namche Bazar gibt es eine Landepiste (in 3.750 m Höhe). Diese wird aber selten genutzt, da der Untergrund aus losem Kies besteht und so nur für wenige Flugzeugtypen oder Hubschrauber geeignet ist. Die Piste ermöglicht es damit vor allem bei medizinischen Notfällen, Namche Bazar aus der Luft zu erreichen.

Am Samstagmorgen findet ein Wochenmarkt statt. Bis aus Tibet kommen Händler, die ihre Waren nicht nur an die einheimische Bevölkerung, sondern auch an die Touristen verkaufen. Der Markt beginnt mit Sonnenaufgang und endet gegen 11:00.

In Namche Bazar gibt es zwei Internetcafes, die den einzigen Zugang zum Internet in der Region bieten. Die Anbindung erfolgt über Satellit und kann dementsprechend keine allzu hohen Übertragungsgeschwindigkeiten bieten.

Es gibt mehrere Bäckereien, darunter auch Hermann Helmer's Bakery, deren Besitzer sein Handwerk bei einem gleichnamigen deutschen Bäckermeister in Bielefeld gelernt hat. Sie ist in der Region für ihre guten westlichen Produkte, einschließlich Pizza, bekannt.

In der Nacht herrscht Ausgangssperre, die wohl ihn absehbarer Zukunft nicht aufgehoben wird, solange es Auseinandersetzungen mit den Maoisten (KPN(M)) gibt.

Thamel is a very lively place and sometimes you just need to relax, drink a decent cup of coffee and maybe use some wireless internet - the java cafe! definately very touristy and not as cheap as other places but very nice.

Actually I entered Beni because it was the closed town I could find. What I really did was the Annapurna circuit. Now everyone who has been hiking in Nepal heard about this track but for those of you who haven`t here are some details. The track (usually done in about 20 days, we had to do it in 15 days due to lack of time but it was still quite okay) is about 230 km (if i remember it right) and circles around the Annapurna massiv (which includes first 8000 m peak ever scaled by man). If one does this trip proper fitness is nescessary. Furthermore one should know that the highest point of the trip is about 5400 m os please inform yourself about alltitude sickeness (it is potentially lethal). Nevertheless the great view of some of the highest mountains in the world and the ease of achieving great altitude (since there are lodges on the path and porters are available for a relatively small amount of money, remember that for them it is not as little, give them a nice tip at the end, furthermore in the mountainous regions it is often still the common way of transporting goods). On the track you can do a lot of daytrips which we sadly did not have time (only in Manang a village commonly used for a days break to adjust to the alltitude with a nice monastry near by and also some nice view point)
After crossing the pass (5400 m and supposedly the highest pass in the world although I heard that for a lot of them allready) the track leads down to Muktinath with a famous monastry (check the internet for more information about it). Then the trackk leads down the long valley which is very dry until you reach Tato Pani (meaning hot water and as one might have guessed there are some hot springs here so that one can take a hot path). Here the path leads in two directions the one we took is up to the poon hill (tato pani is about 1000 m highand the village one is heading to 2800 m; poon hill about 3200 m) were most people sleep over night and head out before sunset to see the sunrise which is really nice (you see the really high mountains shining pink to red if the whether is nice). from poon hill it is all down across one of the longest staircase of the world to the bust station.

You have to get up very early in Nagarkot. Around 5 in the morning you will have a clear sky and you will see most of the highest mountains in the world.

Nepal Visa Information: Effective from 16 July 2008 

Tourists who visit Nepal must hold valid passport and visa.

Entry 
Tourist entry visa can be obtained for the following duration from Nepal Embassy/ Consulate or Mission offices abroad, or at the following immigration offices in Nepal: 

Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu

Kakarvitta, Jhapa (Eastern Nepal)

Birganj, Parsa (Central Nepal)

Kodari, Sindhupalchowk (Northern Border)

Belhiya, Bhairahawa (Rupandehi, Western Nepal)

Jamuna, Nepalgunj (Banke, Mid Western Nepal)

Mohana, Dhangadhi (Kailali, Far Western Nepal)

Gaddachauki, Mahendranagar (Kanchanpur, Far Western Nepal) Multiple entry 15 days US$ 25 or equivalent convertible currency
Multiple entry 30 days US$ 40 or equivalent convertible currency
Multiple entry 90 days US$ 100 or equivalent convertible currency

Tourist Visa Extension 

Visa extension fee for 15 days or less is US $ 30 or equivalent convertible currency and visa extension fee for more than 15 days is US$ 2 per day

Tourist visa can be extended for a maximum period of 150 days in a single visa year (January – December).



Gratis (Free) Visa 

Gratis visa for 30 days available only for tourists of SAARC countries.



Indian nationals do not require visa to enter into Nepal.



Transit Visa

Transit visa for one day can be obtained from Nepal's immigration offices at the entry points upon the production of departure flight ticket via Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal, by paying US $ 5 or equivalent convertible currency. 

For further information, please, contact 
Department of Immigration
Maitighar, Impact Building, Kathmandu,
Tel:00977-1-4221996 / 4223590 / 4222453
Web site: www.immi.gov.np ) 

Bhaktapur is a museum, a movie set and another world all at the same time . Built from red brick with intricately carved wooden structures, temples, lively markets, narrow lane ways and flaming colours are an overload on your senses. Perfect for experiencing true Nepali life in an unspoiled Nepali city, Bhaktapur is the most memorable city. Bhaktapur is the religious heart of Nepal, where the people rise at 3 o'clock every morning to pray. If you're staying the night, you too will be woken up, to the sound of bells ringing all over the city. The town is World Heritage listed and is home to Nepal's tallest temple, Nyatapol Temple standing 30 metres tall.

These are some of the poorest and yet most content people I have met. It is a place visually rich in color, texture and faces. Be generous when you tip. They have nothing and your money will be spent on vitals. Their money is worth nothing - for example you can buy a beautiful hand knit wool sweater there for about the equivalent of two canadian dollars.

Patan is the sistercity of Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, and one of the 3 royal cities in Nepal (Kathmandu, Patan and Bakhtapur). The whole Kathmandu valley is really worth a visit, although the air quality is not the best. There is a lot to see: from old palaces to stupas and cremation areas, where the dead are burnt. Good Nepali food and very cheap. Even though there were quite a few security issues, the place is nonetheless safe to travel, above all since the political situation completely changed. Served by Qatar Airways, Royal Nepal, Yeti Airlines, Druk Air, Air india, Thai Airways,...

Freak Street, the Yellow House ! Much more better and cheaper than Thamel !

I loved Pokhara! So much more laidback than Kathmandu as far as shopping. Great Dhukuti store. The Himalayan Hotel is a nice clean place to stay in town and if you want more remote - the FishTail Lodge - you have to cross the river in a little hotel boat each time you come and go...