Nepal - Nov-2023: 1: General

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Nepal Tour - Nov-2023

1. General:

Nepal is a country sandwiched between India on three sides (East-West-South) and Tibet of China in the North. It is known for its mighty Himalayan peaks - including Mt. Everest and Hindu plus Buddhist heritage. Of about 3 crore population, about 81%!a(MISSING)re Hindus and 9%!B(MISSING)uddhist. You don’t feel that you are outside India. 1/3rd of the population lives outside the country and their remittances sustain the country's economy. Tourism is the second major revenue earner.

Geographically, Nepal has three types of terrain:

a. Tarai region - or plains - the southern belt bordering India: Janakpur, Chitwan and Lumbini in our itinerary;

b. Hills: Pokhara and Kathmandu valleys in our itinerary;

c. Mountains: Muktinath (3762 m - 12343 ft) in our itinerary - and of course the Great Himalaya Range that includes eight eight-thousanders (8000+ m high peaks).

For Indian citizens, passports or visas are not required to enter Nepal. Only Voter ID is accepted as ID proof. Aadhaar card is not accepted.

Hindi is well accepted as a language of communication. Nepali script closely resembles Hindi-Devnagari and hence sign-boards are easy to read. A definite advantage as compared to most Southern Indian states with signs in local language and people resisting to speak in Hindi.




Nepal currency (Nepali Rupees - NPR) quotes at around 160 NPR for 100 INR. However at times you are short changed at 150-155 NPR for 100 INR. Indian currency is well accepted at most shops, but you are very likely to get back Nepali currency as a change. I had read that only Rs. 100 notes in Indian currency is accepted and one should get 500 Rs notes exchanged at the border. We could freely use 500 Rs notes. Logically so, because unless they accept larger Indian currency notes freely, they might lose out on business. However, it is advisable to keep some amount in small denomination Nepali currency to facilitate quick transactions of smaller amounts.




I did not have the occasion to use the internet banking or card transactions, so I cannot comment on that.




I had also read that one should get Nepali SIM card at the border. We had good quality wi-fi available at all the hotels. It depends on your needs.




Although traffic jams in Kathmandu took almost 2-3 hrs of our time on each of the three days we were there, the congestion was because of limited space available in the valley and unlimited number of vehicles (in Kathmandu). Private four wheelers outside Kathmandu are rare, perhaps because vehicles cost a fortune in Nepal (Maruti Swift costs NPR 15-16 lacs). There are no three wheelers in Nepal. Maruti 800 (yes, good old Fronty - discarded by India decades ago) is used as taxi in Kathmandu. So as not to affect the tourists, even full sized luxury buses are allowed in the old city areas. Airport itself is at the heart of the city. Amidst all this, traffic discipline drew my attention at every junction.




We had taken this tour with ‘Kesari’ tours (of Mumbai). We had good experience of its management and services in the past and it held true this time also.




Our tour was called ‘Devine Nepal’ - 9N/10D. A shorter tour is also available. We chose this not for any religious considerations but because it covered more places. Temples are a part of our ‘tourism’. No need to consider temple-visits as ‘pilgrimage’. For us, darshans are a bonus to sight-seeing.




Our itinerary included:

1. Day-1: Mumbai-Patna - by flight. Patna-Janakpur-Mithila: 185 / 216 km (7-8 hrs) by road via Muzaffarpur and Sitamadhi. Stay at Mithila.

2. Day-2: Mithila-Chitwan: 210 km (6 hrs)

3. Day-3: Chitwan-Lumbini (Bhairahawa): 140 km (6 hrs)

4. Day-4. Lumbini-Pokhra: 200 (7½ hrs)

5. Day-5. Pokhra-Jomsom: By flight. Jomsom-Muktinath-Jomsom by bus (25 Km - 1 hr)

6. Day-6. Jomsom-Pokhra: By flight.

7. Day-7: Pokhra-Manakamana: 90 Km (3 1⁄2 - 4 hrs). Manakamana - Kathmandu: 110 Km (5 hrs)

8. Day-8. Kathmandu

9. Day-9. Kathmandu

10. Day-10. Kathmandu-Mumbai by flight.



Total road journey was around 1200 Km.




In all ‘group’ tours of Kesari, a tour manager accompanies the group who also serves as a guide. In Nepal Indian guides are not allowed to act as a ‘guide’. So, from the Bihar-Nepal border, another ‘guide’ from Nepal accompanies. At certain places in Kathmandu (eg, Patan Darbar, Bhaktapur) it is mandatory to have a ‘local’ guide, in addition to the Nepali guide. Good from the point of view of generating employment, but also adds to the cost for the tourist - having three guides.




The itinerary was well balanced. Covered major places of interest in every place. It also kept in mind that in such group tours, majority travelers are senior citizens. In our group of 22, 15 or 16 were 60+. The tour required a significant distance of walking every day, at times on slopes and climbing steps.




Food on this tour was overall okay. Basic Indian dishes for lunch and dinner with dessert. Varieties were very limited, but just sufficient. Breakfasts compensated for meals.










The sorry state of affairs of the communication and power supply system in Kathmandu. Both telephone and electric supply lines run together (as I was told). If you dial a wrong number, you might light up in the kitchen rather than the bedroom! Just a joke.



Next: Day-1: Janakpur

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