Considering the enduring popularity of Nepal as a travel and adventure destination, there are surprisingly few direct international flight connections into Kathmandu and fares are normally much higher than they are to nearby Indian cities such as Delhi.
If you are coming during the prime travel and trekking months of October and November, book your long-haul and domestic flights well in advance. However, overland and air-travel connections to India are extensive, so it’s easy to combine a dream trip to both Nepal and India, with possible add-ons to Bhutan and Tibet.
By Air:
About 26 different aircraft operate their regular flights to Nepal including National Flag carrier Nepal Airlines. Nepal is mostly accessible by transit point flight than direct. Currently, these airlines operate international flights to Nepal where you can choose your best option to book the flight as per accessible point.
» South Asian
Druk Air
SpiceJet
IndiGo
Air India
Jet Airways
Biman Bangladesh
Bhutan Airlines (Tashi Air)
» South East AsianThai Airways
Malaysia Airlines
Air Asia X
Malindo Air (from February 6, 2015)
Silk Air
» China/Korea
Air China
China Eastern Airlines
China Southern Airlines
Dragonair
Sichuan Airlines
Korean Air
» Gulf
Air Arabia
Etihad Airways
FlyDubai
Oman Air
Qatar Airways
Europe
Turkish Airlines
» Airlines of Nepal operating international flights:
Buddha Air
Nepal Airlines
By Land: 
All visitors coming to Nepal by land must enter only through one of these entry points
» Kakarbhitta
The eastern border crossing at Kakarbhitta offers easy onward connections to Darjeeling, Sikkim, Kolkata and India’s northeast states.
» Birgunj
The border crossing from Birganj to Raxaul Bazar is handy for Patna and Kolkata. Buses run from the bus station in Patna straight to Raxaul Bazar
» Belhiya, Bhairahawa
The crossing at Sunauli is by far the most popular route between India and Nepal. Regular buses run from Sunauli to Gorakhpur from where you can catch trains to Varanasi.
» Nepalgunj
Few people use the crossing at Nepalganj in western Nepal as it’s not particularly convenient for anywhere else. The nearest town in India is Lucknow, where you can pick up slow buses to Rupaidha Bazaar (seven hours), near the border post at Jamunaha. You might also consider taking a train to Nanpara, 17km from the border.
» Dhangadi
The little-used border crossing from Dhangadhi to Gauriphanta, Uttar Pradesh, is useful for moving on to Lucknow, New Delhi or visiting Dudhwa National Park
» Mahendranagar
The western border crossing at Mahendranagar is also reasonably convenient for Delhi. There are daily buses from Delhi’s Anand Vihar bus stand to Banbasa (10 hours), the nearest Indian village to the border.
» Kodari in the Nepal-China border
The vast majority of travellers enter Tibet at Kodari/Zhangmu on the Friendship Hwy, though organised groups can trek from Simikot through far-western Nepal to Mt Kailash. Other road connections, including the road from Tibet to Mustang and the new road between Kyirong and Langtang, are not open to foreigners.
The overland tourists entering the country with their vehicles must possess an international carnet or complete customs formalities.
» Car & Motorcycle
A steady trickle of people drive their own motorbikes or vehicles overland from Europe, for which an international carnet is required. If you want to abandon your transport in Nepal, you must either pay a prohibitive import duty or surrender it to customs. It is not possible to import cars more than five years old. Make sure you bring an international driving permit.
Nepal makes things easy for foreign travellers. Visas are available on arrival at the international airport in Kathmandu and at all land border crossings that are open to foreigners, as long as you have passport photos to hand and can pay the visa fee in foreign currency (some crossings insist on payment in US dollars). Your passport must be valid for at least six months and you will need a whole free page for your visa.
All foreigners, except Indians, must have a visa. Nepali embassies and consulates overseas issue visas with no fuss. You can also get one on the spot when you arrive in Nepal, either at Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan Airport or at road borders at Nepalganj, Birganj/Raxaul Bazaar, Sunauli, Kakarbhitta, Mahendranagar, Dhangadhi and even the funky Kodari checkpoint on the road to Tibet.
A Nepali visa is valid for entry for three to six months from the date of issue. Children under 10 require a visa but are not charged a visa fee. Your passport must have at least six months of validity. Citizens of South Asian countries (except India) and China need visas, but, if you’re only entering once in a calendar year then these are free.
Gratis visa for 30 days available only for tourists of SAARC countries.
Visa extensions are available from immigration offices in Kathmandu and Pokhara only and cost a minimum US$30 (payable in rupees only) for a 15-day extension, plus US$2 per day after that. To extend for 30 days is US$50 and to extend a multiple-entry visa add on US$20. If you’ll be in Nepal for more than 60 days you are better off getting a 90-day visa on arrival, rather than a 60-day visa plus an extension.
The unit of currency in Nepal is the rupee, usually addlepated to NRs. Exchange rates at the time of writing were US$ 1 = NRs 102 (2018), to get per day rate http://nrb.org.np/fxmexchangerate.php The Nepali rupee (Rs) is divided into 100 paisa (p).
There are coins for denominations of one, two, five and 10 rupees, and banknotes in denominations of one, two, five, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 rupees. Since the abolition of the monarchy in 2008, images of Mt Everest have replaced the king on all banknotes. Foreign currencies must be exchanged only through the banks or authorized foreign exchange dealers.
The receipts from such transaction are to be obtained and retained. Visitors can exchange money at the foreign exchange counter at the airport upon arrival also. Indian currency Rs. 500/- and Rs. 1,000/- notes are not allowed to be brought into Nepal, will not be exchanged and will not be accepted for transaction of any kind
Tipping has become the accepted norm throughout the Indian subcontinent, and Nepal is no exception. Ten rupees will keep luggage porters and the likes at your hotel happy, and as a rule of thumb for restaurant waiters and trek staff and figure should be roughly 10 per cent of the bill or their wages for the trip. This can be rounded up or down, depending on your satisfaction with the service provided. Generally speaking there should be a very good reason for not giving a tip at all in such situations, as this will be taken as a serious put-down.
All baggage is X-rayed on arrival and departure, though it’s a pretty haphazard process. In addition to the import and export of drugs, customs is concerned with the illegal export of antiques.
You may not import Nepali rupees, and only nationals of Nepal and India may import Indian currency.
There are no other restrictions on bringing in either cash or travelers cheques, but the amount taken out at departure should not exceed the amount brought in.
Officially you should declare cash or travelers cheques in excess of US$2000, or the equivalent, but no one seems to bother with this, and it is laxly enforced.
Nepal has every category of accommodation facility, ranging from international standard star hotels and resorts to budget lodges. To ensure safety and quality service, it is advisable to use the services of Government registered hotels, lodges, travel agencies; licensed tour guides and hire only authorized trekking guides or porters.
Comfortable accommodation in the regional cities of Nepal, such as Nepaljng and Biratnagar, is limited. However Kathmandu, Pokhara & Chitwan (the main town in central Nepal) offers innumerable hostels, guesthouses and hotels offering rooms form the most basic cells to deluxe air-conditioned suites with panoramic mountain views, 24 hr. room service with all the facilities.
In Kathmandu, budget accommodation for foreigners in concentrated in the Thamel area of town, but this has become a veritable tourist ghetto, for removed in character, atmosphere and price form the rest of the city. Anyone who has been to Nepal can recommend favorite lodgings in Kathmandu or Pokhara, and it is an unfortunate fact that any place recommended in the more popular travelers’ guidebooks will be packed during peak season.
If the mayhem of Themal is too much, seek out more peaceful, cheaper accommodation at Bodnath or in Patan or Bhaktamur.
The variety of food on offer in the restaurants of Kathmandu and Pokhara is as diverse as the accommodation available in hotels. Restaurants in Kathmandu’s Thamel vie with each other to provide the most comprehensive and imaginative menus, though often the food and service are mediocre. European and continental fare almost always disappoints, and by far the best way of finding good service and food is to seek out the places where Nepalis eat. Traditional Newari cuisine and Indian food are good bets.
Getting a table at any of the more popular and well established restaurants in town during peak season requires prior booking. Countrywide, the staple diet is dalbat (dal= lentils cooked as a wateriy soup, bat= boiled rice), typically eaten twice a day. Nepalis don’t breakfast as much, but take their first dalbat late in the morning. They then eat again after sunset, when the work of the day is done.
Once on trek, either boil (just bringing water the boil, at any altitude, is now accepted to be sufficient to sterilize it) or treat all drinking water with tincture of iodine or push (2-4 drops per liter, left 15-20 minutes, depending on the level of contamination and temperature). Do not use mineral water on trek! It is ridiculously expensive, and discarded plastic water bottles have far surpassed toilet paper as the biggest popular trekking routes.
The modern telecommunications age has arrived in Nepal with a vengeance. There are countless telephone, fax, email and internet bureaus providing almost cost price access to international communication all over Kathmandu, and to a lesser extent in other major towns. These offer telephone and fax services at a fraction of the costs charged by hotels, and similarly cheap email/internet services. The use of internet has revolutionized the way the international travelling community keeps in touch.
For those who still wish to avail themselves of more conventional postal services, the General Post Office (GOP) in Kathmandu is at Sundhara. There are poste restante facilities available. If you are staying in Thamel, it will save you a long trip to the GPO to use on of the many posting services offered by places such as hotels and book shops. For a modest free they will take your letters and cards there and see them franked. Always use airmail; surface mail- via India – is unreliable.
If there is one thing that will enrich any visit to Nepal it is a knowledge- however rudimentary of the Nepali language and a willingness to attempt conversation with those you meet during your travel. Carrying a simple phrase book will pay enormous dividends, and if you are fortunate enough travel with a Nepali who speaks some English you will have much fun learning the basics of spoken Nepali. It linguistic roots are in Sanskrit, the ancient Indo-European literary language of India.
The vast majority of Nepalis are friendly, helpful and scrupulously honest, but constant exposure to what can only be perceived as giddy levels of affluence and the carefree attitudes of foreigners in the more popular areas has led many into temptation. A level of vigilance of care of required in these place- to keep honest folk honest as much as anything.
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