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climate
Best: Oct, Nov, Feb, March.
OK: Dec-Jan [cold]
Worst: mid June - mid Sept [rains, cloud over mountains, travel problems - including flights - and leech overload on hikes]
Length of stay
Min. worthwhile stay, not incl. flights: 4 days [Kathmandu Valley only], but beware of flight delays on return.
Recommended: 9 days- 3 weeks.
Festivals Guide
[dates are based on the moving Nepalese lunar calendar, so vary year by year.]
*Especially lively/colourful
KV = Kathmandu Valley only.
Late Jan/early Feb, Basant Pancha 1 day
Feb-March, Losar, Tibet New Year, KV 1 day and a couple of days before.
Feb-March, Maha Shivarat 1 day, especially wacky at Pashupatinath temple, Khatmandu.
Feb-March, Holi/Fagu a week of mad water and coloured powder-throwing.
March-April, Chait Dasain 3 days of animal sacrifices.
April-May, Nawa Barsa KV, 5 days of wild events in Bhaktapur.
April-May, Rato Machendranath Jatra KV, weeks to pull a monster chariot around Patan.
July-Aug, Gunhi Punhi KV, funny costume days in Bhaktapur.
Aug-Sept, Indra Jatra KV, a week of crazed processions and masked dancing in Khatmandu.
Sept-Oct, Dasain Nepal's biggest festival and two weeks long but not as visually exciting as some, and very gory.
Oct-Nov, Tihar a 5 day festival of light, the third being the most entertaining with candles and fireworks everywhere.
Cuisine Guide
Not exactly renowned for its local dishes, Nepal nevertheless offers some excellent almost-Indian dishes of spicy vegetables, samosas, meat and bread, and almost-Chinese noodles, though too many budget travellers still stick to the global staples of burgers, chips, pizzas and pies.
Up in the mountains almost-Tibetan cuisine is the staple, hearty soups, potatoes and pasta.
Vegetarians will have no problems here.
Drinks
Boiled water is served with meals but unreliable, so better to stick with bottled. Check the bottle seal is unbroken before use, refilling from a tap is not unknown.
Fruit juices and lassis are delicious roadside drinks but check that they aren't boosted with tap water or sugar.
Good beer, wine and spirits are readily available.
Why Travel to Nepal
It's relaxed and comfortable, with a fascinating culture and full of weird folk and amazing buildings and monuments.
Shopping is sensational and at low prices.
Nepal is a well-supported hiking country with sensational mountain views, plenty of tracks and no shortage of little tea-houses/crash pads en route, with charming hosts.
A sort of compressed India-crossed-with-China, Nepal is doable in a week, if you must.
Downside
- City life can be a bit grubby, including the food! [that explains the lowish health rating].
- There are currently some political/security issues, though they don't usually impact on tourists who stay in well-travelled areas, but beware if you trek off-piste. The upside is there are far less travel herds than previously.
Where to go
1] ***Kathmandu Valley has three incredible medieval towns, full of bizarre monuments and pleasant, peculiar people - sadhus [holy men] being a prime example. All three towns are within an hour's taxi/ bus/ rental bike ride of each other.
Katmandu needs at least three days to explore.
Bhaktapur needs two days+, Patan one day +.
2] ***Pokhara is a relaxing mountain/lake resort town, great for views, relaxing, short and long hikes. This is one of those small towns where neo-hippies get stuck indefinitely. [And that a good thing!]
It's four hours from Kathmandu by a good bus and needs at least two days. See Nepal Pictures II, above.
Other less well-known hill towns with more history or culture but marginally less convenience are Gorkha, Manakamana and Tansen.
3] *Wildlife Reserves: The best known and most geared-up to tourists is Chitwan National Park, Tarai, where tourists go picture hunting for one-horned rhinos and tigers, by elephant - though tigers are rarely seen. Needs 2/3 days and is best Oct - Feb.
Also possible but a little less sorted are Bardia National Park, Lumbini [Buddha's birthplace], and Janakpur, a Hindu holy city.
Nepal Activities Guide
Trekking: Mainly from Pokhara, including the serious stuff out to Fishtail and Annapurna base camp. From a few hours to a few weeks Nepal supplies the routes, the vast scenery, the little colourful villages en route and the porters or guides, all at knock-down prices. Classic routes are sometimes known as teahouse-treks and supply all the necessities at the right times.
Trekking permits are no longer required, though some areas are still out of bounds, Mustang for example. See Maoists, right.
Wildlife: Mostly at Chitwan, see above. Kind of interesting and cheapish, but not of course comparable to Kenya's Masai Mara in terms of wildlife seen!
White water rafting: One to four days on spectacular rivers, sometimes very remote, with camping. Beginners OK. Best Oct, Feb, March.
And if you like being in fast water kayaking, hydrospeeding and canyoning are also on offer.
Mountain Biking: this is a terrific country for biking, with clear air, little traffic and amazing views, though it can get hilly! Best Oct-March, 2 days +.
Motor Biking: there's plenty of trail bike hire available in Khatmandu and not much traffic outside Khatmandu, so - Maoists permitting - this is a superb country for two wheeling. Beware that road rules are a convenience and may be ignored by others and road maintenance is erratic, as is the behaviour of bicycles, dogs, chickens and cows. Kill a cow and you may spend 12 years in Nepal - and not in a Pokhara guest house...
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