discover Nepal

“Namaste”

Greetings to you

Nepal

is truly a gem and visitors discover this almost immediately. Backpackers learn about traveling in various ways while not getting broke instantly, seekers of peace and calm can wander through the breathtaking Himalaya or discover the magnificent wildlife and nature in Chitwan NP. The latter are obvious and well-known assets to Nepal, but there is way more to discover. Although Nepal is getting developed fast, you still have the opportunity to come across the heart of Nepal and it’s people, especially outside of the touristic areas. Any destination in this diverse country can make your visit worthwhile. If you have time to spare after your visit to Nepal’s main attractions or if you just want to explore lesser known places in this country, just wander of the beaten paths and you won’t be disappointed.

We spent many months driving in Nepal and are more than pleased to share our overlanding experience with you!

ABC trail, Nepal
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General information on Nepal

CURRENCY
Nepali Rupee – €1 = 143,99 NPR (2022)
FUEL
Nepal Oil – €1,19/L (2022) ^cash
SHOPS
– Local shops ^{(cash/smartphone )}
– Bhat-Bhateni supermarket, Garden mart, Save supermarket ^{(cash/smartphone/credit card)}
ATM
Siddharta / Nabil ATM ^{(max. 35.000 NPR/day, 500 NPR fee)}
OVERNIGHT STAY
in campervan allowed – in hotel/hostel
VISA
On arrival
SIM CARD
Ncell

Visa

Visa on arrival is available at every land border apparently (except a few where only Indian/Nepali citizens can cross).
What is very very important: you can only pay in cash for your visa and the dollar/euro notes you pay with SHOULD BE IN PERFECT CONDITION! The smallest writing, crack, ripple, bleaching of the notes will lead to them not accepting the note. We exchanged Indian rupees to dollars in India to pay for the visa. Keep in mind though that it is VERY hard to find a money exchange office in India outside of New Delhi! Although the notes looked good to us, $150 and a €50 note got rejected by the Nepali officials. The only solution you have at that time is changing money 100 m past the border on the right. There is only one exchange office at the border but the guy that works there was a true ass (sorry, but true). He charged us $15 for a $100 exchange INR-USD and then gave us dollar notes that were not accepted by immigration officials. After going back he said that it was not his problem and that we could pay around $10 to change the dollar notes to better ones.

Since the officials at the visa post show no mercy whatsoever, the only option we had was taking a one month visa and extending it in Pokhara/Kathmandu. Please note that you pay WAY more in this scenario. A three month visa costs $125 (2022). Extending a one month visa to three months will cost you $50 + $180 which is $230 dollar! Try to obtain good dollar/euro notes to save money, time and frustrations.

Extending the visa is peanuts, it shouldn’t take too long and you can do it in both Pokhara and Kathmandu, at the immigration office. You have to bring your passport (with your visa in it) and fill in an application form online (on the local computer or on your smartphone). After you filled it in, you hand over your passport and the staff will do the rest.

You can extend you visa multiple times according to the staff in Pokhara so since the extension is very expensive, it’s better to only extend it for the duration you’re really going to stay rather than extending it unnecessarily long and just go back later in your stay again. If you’re planning to do some trekking, since you’re there already, it is wise to immediately get your TIMS (Tourist Information Management System) card and ACAP (Annapurna Conservation Area Project) at the office as well.