Travel Tips
Know What You Can Eat & Drink You can find plenty of options to eat and drink. While in Nepal, you should never miss authentic cuisine of Nepal. Nepali Dal Bhat, Thakali Platter, Newari Platter are some main course meal among others. Don’t forget to eat Mo:Mo, the favorite Nepalese dish especially when you are in Kathmandu. Be careful of the place where you eat. You can enjoy cheaper street foods, mid-range restaurant’s food or lavish meal depending on your budget and convenience. However, spices and some food might not be suitable for your taste, keep that in mind. Care to carry your own drinking water while visiting places or you can buy bottled water as well at almost every place. Nepal also has to offer different other cuisine like Indian, Continental, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, etc. You can also enjoy food of your country if you like. In case you have any food related allergies, enquire before eating. Remember, health comes first!
Know What You Can Wear You can dress the way you find it to be comfortable, however be careful about the weather. Though a small country, Nepal has varying climate. It is hot most of the time in Terai region (except in winter), cold most of the time in Mountainous region and moderate climate throughout the year in hilly region. You should carry and wear dress as per the climate/season and place you are visiting in Nepal.
Languages Nepal is a land of diverse cultures and languages, and while the local dialect changes from one place to other, a large population of the country speaks the common Nepali language, however if you know English, you will not face much trouble while communicating with either the officials or the locals. A huge chunk of the population in Nepal is comfortable with communicating in English, except the rural population. Chances are that you would almost never land in a situation where no one understands English. Also you can easily get a guide speaking your own language if English does not help.
Travel Insurance It is never a wise decision to travel without travel insurance. It protects you, your valuables, any delays or cancellations and allows you to travel with no worries.
Medicine to Carry It would be wise to carry your regular medicines. Not to mention, whenever travelling, a first aid kit should be a thing available any time. You can get to buy almost any medicine in Nepal (mostly cities), however you should take care of some special medicine and medicinal aid by yourself. In case you have any food related or other allergies, enquire before consuming or using anything and do not forget to carry medicine. Sunscreen and moisturizer should be available at your bag and applied when a need deemed. While trekking or going to higher altitude, there is a high chance of suffering altitude sickness. Make sure you carry medicine just in case. Do not push too hard beyond your capacity. Remember, health comes first!
Weather Though a small country, Nepal has varying climate. It is hot most of the time in Terai region (except in winter), cold most of the time in Mountainous region and moderate climate throughout the year in hilly region. You should carry and wear dress as per the climate/season and place you are visiting in Nepal and make other arrangements accordingly. The best time to travel to Nepal is from October till April as the weather stays pleasant in most of the region and cold in few places. From May onwards till September end, most of the places in Nepal experience extreme heat & showers.
Cultural Consideration There are some peculiar set of rules and practices to be followed while visiting some places in Nepal. For example; whenever visiting a temple, it’s customary to circumambulate the temple in a clockwise direction keeping the temple always on your right hand side. In some temples, the entrance of visitors other than Hindus is restricted, hence look for such signs or just enquire with the authorities. Especially in Pashupatinath Temple, you can see around the place but cannot get inside the main Temple.
It is also not allowed to take photographs or videos in some of the religious and traditional sites, always enquire before making one or you can just ask for permission from concerned officials.
When visiting a Nepalese house, it is customary to take off your shoes before entering into the house.
Money The official currency of Nepal is Nepalese Rupees denoted as Rs. Or NRs. Or NPR. However, major international currencies like Dollar, Euro, Pound Sterling and Indian currency is also accepted and can be used. Nepalese Rupees comes in denominations of Rs. 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 but you may also see Rs. 25 and Rs. 250 bills, these are not published now, but are well accepted. Rs. 1 and Rs. 2 are mostly used in coins while the rest are in notes. You can easily exchange currency in the cities.