Nepal, a Trip of a Lifetime. Tips for Future Visitors.
- Martin Thomas
- Apr 8, 2018
- 8 min read
Updated: Oct 22, 2020
Just days back in Bangalore after our family's recent trip to Nepal and I am chomping at the bit to write a post about it.
At different times in my life I have had different reasons for traveling. Sometimes I was looking for fun, sometimes adventure and sometimes I was compelled by the need to explore and learn about different cultures. In Nepal, I discovered a new reason to travel, to find peace.
The motivation
My interest in vacationing to Nepal came from friends who have described the country as the best experience of their lives. In particular, I remember sitting with Kris one time in Torreon browsing through his Nepal photos and listening to his stories in awe.
After deciding that this past spring break was the right time, we bought our tickets. Shortly after that we had recruited a group of friends, neighbours and colleagues who also had Nepal high on their bucket list to join us. We all bought the same flights and quickly proceeded to research and build a trip plan via a WhatsApp.
As the plan evolved, I began to worry that I may have an overhyped expectation for the trip. After growing up in the Rocky Mountains of Western Canada would I be disappointed or unimpressed by the mountains of Nepal? What I didn't realise until I actually there, knee deep in the Annapurna range, was the immensity and magnitude of the Himalayas and the culture of the villages and mountains would transport me not back in time but to another beautiful magical and peaceful zone just beyond the reach of reliable wifi but thankfully still within range of my iPhone camera lense. I was surprised just how much I enjoyed this trip and how it, the Annapurna circuit in particular, became almost immediately my most treasured international life experience.
The highlights
The Annapurna circuit is a challenging trek set in the most scenic of trails. Jeremy points out where we are midway through day two on one of the many posted trail maps.
There was a new and changing landscape to be seen around every corner, each one as worthy of being turned into a painting as the last. I found I was always at the back of the pack not because I was challenged by the trek, which I was, but because I took my time to photograph and capture as much of the beauty as I could.
The price for the beauty was challenge. It wasn't easy to complete the trip in three days. I would recommend taking at least four or five days so you can slow down and enjoy things more along the way. The trail itself constantly went up and down over the mountain. Only a handful of times could my legs take solace in flat terrain.
With a botanist in our group, we made time to stop and learn about the amazing vegetation along the way.
And one my favourite things was to see the different animals navigate the trails. I still remember the sounds of the working mules as they politely jingle and squeeze past us.
We went with our son's best friend's family and a pair of colleagues from school. I recommend that you go with a group ito Nepal. Also, we had fun working together to build our itinerary. When you are actually on the trail, there always seems to be someone in the group going your pace. Our kids really benefitted from having their friends with them as they talked the whole way and were distracted from the gruelling challenge we were putting them through.
Each of us contributed one small but valuable piece to the plan and the collaboration made the fruits of our labour that much sweeter when we had more people to share and enjoy our accomplishments with.
Of course as I mentioned before, there were many moments where I feel I found a deep soulful and fulfilling peace on that mountain. The photo below was a test station in the way down from Poon Hill.
Nepal was spectacular, and I haven't even gotten into the rest of our experiences in Nepal... Pokhara and Kathmandu. As I share some important general tips below I also touch on the highlights from those places. So keep reading if you plan of visiting Nepal any time soon.
Here comes the advice
Well, as not to ruin the fun and enjoyment of planning and experiencing your own adventure in Nepal I won't be sharing any of our itinerary with you. There are lots of blogs and websites out there already with that information, I know, as I read them!
Instead, I want to use this space to fill in some of the gaps that exist in those travel blogs about Nepal and help you avoid some of the pitfalls we experienced. Hoping that it make’s your trip even better than ours.
10 essential tips for travelling to Nepal
1- Airlines were very good
Firstly, If you are coming from India like us Nepal Airlines was excellent. For that matter we used Yeti Airlines to go from Kathmandu to Pokhara and they are highly recommended as well. In both cases we let ourselves worry about quality and safety leading up to the trip. Don’t, it’s no different than any other international travel you’ve done.
Yeti was a flight on a nice airplane. We debated driving to Pokhara from Kathmandu because of the cost difference. If you have the money I would definitely fly to Pokhara, roads are crazy in Nepal. We were debating driving one way, but opted for round trip flights. If you are debating too, drive to Pokhara and fly back. After the trek you will be tired, and maybe in pain.
While airplanes were great, Kathmandu airport not so much, expect delays. The airport itself reminded us more of a bus terminal, both physically and in how it operates. Pokhara’s airport was small, cute and less ten minutes from the hotel.
2- Immigration - bring US dollars
But before I go further about Nepal, lets talk about immigration. None of us found out from our preliminary research that upon landing in Nepal immigration requires you to pay your visa in "US Dollars, EUROs or Dirams". Nepalese or Indian Rupees were not welcome. Bring $25 USD per person cash with you and you will get through immigration a lot faster than we did.
3- Overall an affordable holiday, in comparison
SAARC countries get deep discounts, but it's still an affordable holiday for citizens from other countries.
foreigners Citizens from India and other SAARC countries pay much less for everything in Nepal than other expats. There are different prices for airfare, visas and trekking permits. So enjoy. If you are like me a Canadian living in India, you are tough out of luck as it goes by your passport. Originally I had wondered if I could get a discount for residency as the Yeti Airlines flight was a third of the price for the Indian members of our group.
4- Don't waste too much time in Kathmandu
The low down on Kathmandhu is that you don't need to spend too much time there, especially if you only have a week in Nepal. Get to the mountains fast, and spend as much time as you can trekking. We had even wished we had an extra day or two to relax in Pokhara by the lake.
Our recommendation for Kathmandu is rent a car and driver from your nearest travel outlet or hotel, start early and see the highlights.
Bhaktapur Durbar Square and Pashupatinath Temple were tops on our list. Be sure to plan to arrive at Pashupatinath Temple around 8pm for the ceremony. Other sites include Patan Durbar Square, Swayambhu Temple and Thamel, where your hotel will most likely be.
5- Hotels, you get what you pay for
Cheap hotels in Kathmandu, you get what you pay for. Spoiler alert. The bed is hard! $10 a night is a steal, but in Thamel, Kathmandu you may want to pay 30-40. Some of us changed mid night the first night. All of us stayed at a better hotel on the return, which is a great idea because you are sore and tired and deserve a good night sleep. In Pokhara and along the trail there are reasonably good cheap options. In fact my favourite hotel of the trip was along the trail and only $6 a night. Tea houses were the best beds and they had warm blankets. They had water, beer (in that order of importance after 8 hours hiking), a great menu, and all things you need and want but see my next point...bring a lot of money. Not because things are expensive, but because there are no bank machines.
6- Bring lots and lots of cash to Pokhara and Annapurna.
Bank machines don’t work properly. And you will want to bring all cash on the trek. ATM trick.. No cash machines along the circuit. As a family we brought 16,000 Npr and we were really trying to penny pinch and ended up having to borrow the last night from our friends. I would say a family of four should bring 10000 rupees minimum per night on your trek, breakfast, lunch and dinner and the hotel is minimal.
7- Get a guide.
A no brainier really. And get a guide early as they voluntarily do a lot more than guide. Our guide, Lok, worked us to plan the trip we wanted, using his decades of experience on the trail. He helped us stay on pace, steadily encouraging us so that we made it to the next stop before nightfall. This was important because we had lofty goals trying to the trail in three days. Lok was connected to everyone on the trail by cell phone and would plan lunch ahead so it was ready when we got there, book tea houses so there were rooms and scheduled the taxi pickup on the last day.
While the guide will work with you to make your plan happen, one tip I would say is that 8-9 hours a day walking was too much. If you go too fast you don’t have enough time to enjoy the many sights and spots along the way. Slow yourselves down and if you can plan a trip around 5-6 hours walking a day, that’s enough. Remember its all up and down, and pretty hard. After multiple days of walking 8-9 hours it’s hard to get out of bed in the morning. Don't feel guilty about taking breaks either, its not a race.
Our guide’s name was Lok. I recommend him 100%. He can also recommend places to stay in Pokhara to suit your budget and needs.
Lok’s contact information:
Email: lokgrg006@yahoo.com
Phone: 98465 21868
8- Nine to Eleven year olds kicked our butts!
Before leaving for Nepal we wondered whether or not the trip would be too hard for our kids. Well, that was never an issue. Sure, each one of them, except the nine year old actually, had a single small issue along the trail that needed us to support them. The majority, of the time the four of them were at the front pushing the guide to go as fast as we could and talking non stop between them. The rest of us huffing and puffing up and down mountains struggling to keep up.
9- Buy the proper gear
Be sure everyone in your family or group have good hiking shoes, hiking socks, two 1-ltr water bottles, you can fill along the way. A hat, sunglasses and sunscreen as you are exposed to the sun pretty much all day. Quality backpacks.
Say yes to a walking pole. Swallow your pride and get at least one as it helps. You can rent that for cheap in Pokhara.
Dress in layers as you will be taking things on and off as you sweat and bring sufficient dry clothes and shirts. Definitely be prepared for the rain, bring a full size high quality rain poncho and cover for your bag, just in case. Luckily the rain hit us when we were already in the hotel, it rains hard!
Oh and this is worth a second mention, be sure to get all this for the kids too, it is a long, challenging trek, and we saw kids out there with running shoes or poles, and they were struggling.
You can get lots of stuff in Kathmandu, as the streets of Thamel are lined with a terrific selection of good quality products at cheap prices. Especially warm gloves and toques, cheap at 250 NPR and they make great souvenirs for next winter.
Regarding the coldest "spring" morning, Poon Hill. Get headlamps if you will do early morning in Poon Hill and warm clothes. It was cold in the morning on Poon hill.
10- Be aware of stinging needle. It will sting for 3 days. Three people in our party fell victim. It’s everywhere.
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Last but not least
Before I leave you to dream of your own adventure in Nepal, I forgot to mention the most important point of all... the people. The people of Nepal treated us wonderful. And if you do wind up trekking in Annapurna advise number eleven is bring some chocolate bars from Pokhara (they are expensive on the mountain) and be sure to be generous with these two cuties on day two when they come out asking for chocolate!
Thank you Nepal!
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