Essential Travel tips for Nepal

Foreign tourists travelling to Nepal will need a valid passport and Nepal tourist visa. Your passport should have at least 6 months validity left on it, beyond your expected departure date.

You can obtain a Nepal tourist visa from the local embassy or consulate or on arrival at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan airport (or other major arrival points in Nepal). You'll need a valid passport, 2 passport size photos, and a completed visa application form. A Nepal tourist visa is valid for 15 days, 30 days or 90 days from date of issue.

If you're planning on venturing out into the mountains on a trek during your Nepal travels, you'll need to apply for a trekking permit. By issuing these permits the Nepalese immigration office can monitor the number of people out on a trek at that time. Permits are arranged by local agents and the costs are included in your land itinerary

All visitors entering Nepal by land must use these designated entry points and may not enter from any other point:

Kakkarvitta

Birgunj

Belhiya, Bhairahawa

Nepalgunj

Dhangadi and Mahendranagar in the Nepal-India border and Kodari in the Nepal-China border

All baggage must be declared and cleared through the customs on arrival at the entry point. Personal effects are permitted free entry. Passengers arriving at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) without any dutiable goods can proceed through the Green Channel for quick clearance without a baggage check. If you are carrying dutiable articles, you have to pass through the Red Channel for detailed customs clearance.

Apart from used personal belongings, visitors are allowed to bring to Nepal free of duty: cigarettes (200 sticks) or cigars (50 sticks), distilled liquor (one 1.15 liter bottle), and film (15 rolls). You can also bring in the following articles free of duty on condition that you take them out with you when you leave: binoculars, movie or video camera, still camera, laptop computer, and portable music system.

The export of antiques requires special certification from the Department of Archeology, National Archive Building, Ram Shah Path, Kathmandu. It is illegal to export objects over 100 years old, such as sacred images, paintings, manuscripts that are valued for culture and religious reasons. Visitors are advised not to purchase such items as they are Nepal’s cultural heritage and belong here.

The mainstream banks in Kathmandu and Pokhara all have a cash machine where you fill your wallet 24 hours a day using your normal bankcard or Mastercard / Visa. Smaller banks such as the Himalaya Bank also have cash machines, though we would recommend only using these machines during bank opening hours so as not to run the risk of losing your card if the system crashes.

Major credit cards are generally accepted in Kathmandu and Pokhara. Standard Chartered Bank and several smaller banks such as Nabil Bank and the Himalaya Bank will give an advance in rupees on your Mastercard or Visa. It's wise to carry some US dollars and rupees in small denomination notes in the smaller towns where you can't use your credit card.

You can purchase Travellers Cheques at 1% or 2% commission. Both American and European Travellers Cheques are widely accepted at most major banks in the smaller towns. The good thing about Travellers Cheques is that in the event of loss you will receive new cheques within 24 hours.

Major towns have electricity and the voltage available is 220-volts and 50 cycles. Load shedding or power cut is scheduled during the dry season and eases off once it begins to rain. However, most major hotels have uninterrupted power supply through their own generators.