Practical Information

Passport

Your passport must be valid for at least six months when you submit your application for a visa. You should also ensure your passport is up to date, is valid for the entire length of your stay and that you have completed the emergency contact details page inside your passport.

Visa

Nepal

You can obtain your visa in advance or on arrival. The Immigration Department of Nepal has suspended visas on arrival for certain nationalities – please check if this applies to you with your nearest embassy or consulate.

Visa in advance

Apply for this through your local consulate or embassy. Further details on this option can be found here:

• For UK passport holders: https://uk.nepalembassy.gov.np/visa/
• For US passport holders: https://us.nepalembassy.gov.np/tourist-visa/
• For Canadian passport holders: https://ca.nepalembassy.gov.np/tourist-visa-application/

When applying for your visa in advance, the Nepalese government has an online application system (see links above for more info), but it is currently only accepting payments through Nepalese payment channels. Once the online form is completed, the applicant is required to print out the form and either send it, together with the passport, to the embassy, or attend in person.

Visa on arrival

1. When you arrive at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, there will be three lines. If you have already secured your visa, go straight to the Immigration line. If not:
   Fill in a tourist visa form at the electronic kiosks. After inserting your passport, the machine will automatically fill out an application form, take an electronic photograph of you and print a paper slip. If the machine won’t read your passport, complete the details manually using the touchscreen. We recommend taking a passport photo with you just in case.
   Top tip: This process can be completed through the online immigration portal (click ‘Visa On-Arrival’) within 14-days prior to arrival in Kathmandu, helping you to avoid lengthy queues at the kiosks when you come through immigration – ensure you print and bring the confirmation with you. If you have completed your visa on arrival form in advance, go directly to the visa fees counters with your printed confirmation and skip the kiosk queues.
2. Proceed to the visa fees collection counter and pay the visa fee (in cash, if possible). Make sure to keep the receipt. Card payments are not always possible, so paying in cash is easiest, most currencies are accepted but US dollars are preferred.
3. Go to the relevant immigration desk and present your tourist visa form, payment receipt and passport to obtain your 15-, 30- or 90-day visa stamp. Please check you have been given the correct visa duration.

Vaccinations and Health

Nepal

There are no required vaccinations. However, recommended vaccinations include tetanus, typhoid, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, cholera, Japanese encephalitis, rabies and tuberculosis. You will also need a yellow fever vaccination certificate if you’re arriving from a country with risk of yellow fever transmission or transiting for more than 12 hours through a country with risk of yellow fever transmission. Some travellers may also need proof of a polio vaccination. Please confirm with your doctor or travel clinic.

There is little to no risk of malaria in Nepal; therefore, antimalarial tablets are not usually advised although may be considered for certain high-risk groups. You may wish to consult your doctor or travel clinic for further advice.

Additionally, dengue fever and chikungunya are known risks in Nepal. Both are tropical viral diseases spread by daytime biting mosquitoes. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available for either, and therefore the best form of prevention is to avoid being bitten. We recommend you take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

Most of our trips to Nepal go to high altitudes where there is a risk of being affected by Acute Mountain Sickness. Our itineraries are designed to enable everyone to acclimatise to these altitudes, but you should be aware that it is still possible for you to be affected. Please refer to the Altitude Warning within the Trip Notes for further advice on AMS.

When trekking at altitude, and particularly in cold weather, there is a higher chance of developing a cough (sometimes referred to here as the Khumbu cough) or cold symptoms. These symptoms could be a result of inhaling cold mountain air or dust (in the Everest region). You can mitigate against picking up coughs and colds by washing your hands with soap and water at available opportunities and using hand sanitiser. Also wear a buff over your neck and mouth when walking at altitude, particularly in colder weather, which will help limit cold, dry air entering your airways and keep your neck and chest warm.

Ticks are known to be present in this region and can carry lyme disease, tick-borne encephalitis and other diseases. Please take care to protect yourself. You can read more about ticks here.

Local Time

Nepal's time zone: Asia/Kathmandu (UTC +05:45)

Electricity

Nepal's electricity: Plug types C (two round pins, European standard), D (three round pins) and M (three round pins) – 230V, 50Hz Mains electric 'load shedding' (planned temporary power cuts) occur regularly throughout towns and cities in Nepal. On teahouse treks, the majority of lodges now have electricity and charging facilities in the communal areas for batteries, for a fee. Battery life can be affected by cold; lithium batteries are best.

Money

Nepal's currency: Nepalese rupee (NPR) It is illegal to import or export rupees, but foreign currency is not limited, provided it is declared on arrival. Keep your change receipts, as you will need them if you want to change rupees back into hard currency at Kathmandu airport.

ATM Availability

There are ATMs in Kathmandu and Pokhara. Please do not rely wholly on cash machines as many are broken or have run out of money and all have a limit (typically 10,000 to 30,000 rupees) that you can take out at one time. If you are on the group flight, you only have one night in Kathmandu before leaving for trek and it is difficult to withdraw all the money you need for the trek through ATMs. We recommend you bring most of your money for the trek in cash and change it on arrival at the airport. Credit cards are also accepted in many of the larger shops and restaurants in Kathmandu and Pokhara.

Extra Expenses & Spending Money

We recommend taking your personal spending money in cash (US dollars, British pounds or euros can all be changed easily). Please note that any marked, torn or damaged notes may not be accepted. Please remember, £50 notes, Scottish or Irish currency cannot be changed in Nepal. Cash can be changed easily at the airport on arrival in Kathmandu or at money changers in the Thamel area of Kathmandu. Hotels in Nepal can also change up to US$300 per person. Please note, travellers cheques can NOT be exchanged in Nepal. Our staff will advise you about how much money to take with you on the trek.

You need to withdraw/exchange enough money in Kathmandu to last the duration of your trek – to cover meals, drinks, tipping and other incidentals. It is a good idea to carry spare cash on the trek in case of an emergency. Carrying a large amount of cash is unavoidable so we suggest splitting it up into a few different places – but remember to keep track of how much you have stashed where.

Prices of food and amenities in teahouses generally become more expensive the higher altitude/more remote you are and access to ATMs/money changes are extremely limited. Please allow 4,000 – 5,400 rupees (US$30-US40) per day for lunch, dinner, snacks, drinks, showers, toilet roll and charging on trek, and for meals not included in Kathmandu or Pokhara. This amount is given as a rough guideline only.

Your expenditure will be towards the top end if you buy boiled water rather than treating cold water, and depending on how many hot showers you take, if you pay to charge electrical devices, drink alcohol, use wifi on the trek and so on.

If you’d like to purchase a trekking map for 500 rupees (US$4), please speak to your Leader at the welcome briefing and he will provide the relevant map for you.

Optional excursions

A few optional tours and activities are available from Kathmandu.

Prices for a half-day sightseeing tour start from 5,300 rupees (approximately US$40) per person, based on a group of six and above. For all trips, return transport and a qualified sightseeing guide are included. The price does not include lunch or entry fees. Please enquire with your leader in Kathmandu, who can provide further information.

An optional Everest sightseeing flight is available (again, please book this locally through your leader in Kathmandu). Anyone taking an internal sightseeing flight in Nepal should pay attention to the Flying in Nepal statement.

Tipping

Tipping is customary in Nepal and usually expected. Tipping can often be an awkward affair, especially when in an unfamiliar country where you are not sure when or how much to tip. As such, your tour leader will usually offer to arrange and look after a group tipping kitty which will be used to tip hotel porters, local guides, assistant guides, porters, and the drivers. Your leader will suggest how much to contribute, depending on group size, but a rough guideline is provided below.

A tip for the leader is at your discretion and separate to the amount he will suggest for the other staff. We suggest you send an envelope around the group at the end of the trip and you can put in what you like and give to the leader on the last evening.

The following are guideline amounts received by each staff member from the group as a whole.

• Tour Leader: 35,000-40,000 rupees (usually tipped on the last night in Kathmandu)

Your trekking crew (tips are usually given on the last evening of the trek in Birethanthi)

• Trekking guides: 20,000-25,000 rupees for each guide
• Trek porters: 15,000 rupees for each porter

General tipping guidelines:

• Drivers:
  • Kathmandu to Besisahar (full day): 1,100 rupees in total from the group
  • Nayapul to Pokhara (half day): 550 rupees in total from the group
• Hotel porters: 105 rupees each time for each room
• Teahouses and lunch stops on trek: it’s customary to round your bill up to the nearest 55 rupees or 105 rupees
• Restaurants: 10% of the bill if good service

To help budget for the tips, generally there will be one member of trek staff (Leader/guide) for every four clients. You will also have one porter for every two clients to carry your luggage. If you are unsure on how much to personally budget, you can check with your leader when you arrive in Kathmandu. Please try to give all tips in local currency.

People, Places & Planet

We work hard to create trips that improve life for the people and places we visit and look after the planet we explore. Find out more about our sustainable travel ethos and practice here, and find out about the work of the Exodus Travels Foundation here.

Some sustainable travel highlights of this trip include:

People

How this trip helps improve life for local communities.

• The use of a local leader and trekking support staff (guides, porters/yak herders) means our customers will be well informed about local traditions, and cultural-social sensitivities.
• This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally owned hotels, teahouses and restaurants, the emphasis on eating locally produced food, and supporting other local enterprises.
• Following the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Exodus has supported Karma, our local partner’s Food Package Project in Nepal, which has distributed food parcels to those in need on the streets of Kathmandu at a time when lockdowns and a lack of tourism left many without an income.
• It was not until 2005 that the ancient tradition of chhaupadi (banishing menstruating women and girls to huts or sheds during their period) was made illegal in Nepal. In rural parts of the country, menstruation is still a taboo subject. Since 2018, Exodus has supported the Freedom Kitbag Project, providing reusable sanitary wear and education in reproductive health to many hundreds of women and to their wider communities.
• Exodus has had a deep connection with Nepal since the 1980s and over the years has supported, and continues to support, many Himalayan Community Projects, including an elderly person’s home, the High Altitude Workers Welfare Association, providing solar cookers, smokeless stoves and running medical camps in hard-to-reach communities, to name a few.

Places

How this trip helps protect and conserve local landscapes and nature.

• Read about our commitment to nature protection and restoration here, including our rewilding commitment for every customer who travels.
• By travelling in a small group and on foot, for the most part, led by a local leader, we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment.
• We buy our trekking permits and pay our Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP) fees, the income from which helps to preserve the region.
• Our trips adhere to ABTA’s industry-leading animal welfare guidelines to ensure the best possible practices with regard to working animals and wildlife viewing. Our animal welfare policy can be found here.
• We work with our partners on the ground to proactively eliminate or reduce waste, for example eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles and instead recommending that you refill your own reusable bottles with boiled water on the trek or that you treat tap water. Bottled water is technically banned in the Annapurna region.

Planet

How we seek to keep the carbon footprint of this trip low.

• Read about our climate action here, including our carbon reduction and compensation commitments.
• In Kathmandu, we stay at a family-run Nepali-owned hotel, rather than using a large international hotel chain, and during the trek we stay in small locally owned teahouses, which helps reduce the carbon footprint of this trip.
• Few crops grow nor do animals graze at these altitudes, and as there are no roads to the more remote villages, food is often carried along the trails by porters or yaks/mules, making its transportation footprint inherently low carbon.
• A vegetarian diet is common in Nepal, especially in the mountains where eating meat is not generally recommended due to hygiene concerns and a lack of refrigeration facilities.
• Exodus established the Braga Tree Nursery Initiative, in the Upper Annapurna Region of Nepal, in the 1980s to play a part in tackling the deforestation problem at the time, and to this day, the tree nursery sustains itself.
• The provision of solar cookers to many villages along the popular trekking routes in Nepal has helped prevent further deforestation in the pursuit of wood used for cooking.
• There is no mains electricity in the mountains and many of the teahouses use solar power for hot showers or lighting.

Tips for sustainable travel on this trip

• Leave no trace: We do all we can to ensure we leave no rubbish behind in the wild and beautiful places we visit; we ask that you do the same. If there are no recycling facilities in-country, we’d ask you to consider bringing recyclable materials home with you. When trekking, biodegradable soap, shampoo, and toilet paper are recommended. Keep to paths to reduce damage to plants and disturbances to wildlife.
• Plastic waste reduction: Avoid using plastic bottles or buying mineral water and instead use refillable water bottles wherever possible. Buy boiled water or carry water purification treatment.
• Try to buy locally made handicrafts but be wary of items made from wild animals eg shahtoosh shawls made from endangered Tibetan antelope.
• If, while packing, you find a spare bit of space in your bag then you may be interested in donating to one of our projects. Exodus supports a Porter Clothing Bank in Kathmandu and also distributes clothing to villages and schools.

 Cultural respect:

• The Nepalese greeting is namaste, with hands held in front of the face, the higher they are held, the more respect it exudes. Men will shake hands with men but not with women.
• Walk in a clockwise direction around temples or monuments. Ask permission before entering places of worship and remove your shoes. Leave leather behind before entering Hindu temples.
• Pointing your feet (the least sacred body part) at people or religious places or pointing or beckoning with a single finger is considered impolite.
• Displays of affection should be kept at bay, and loose-fitting clothing that covers legs and shoulders is advisable, especially when visiting homes, monasteries or temples.
• Do it like the locals! The left hand is associated with toilet duties, so eat, wipe your mouth, pass food, give and receive with your right hand. Only handle your own food and drink.
• Ask before you capture people on camera. Exchanging a few words or gestures beforehand can go a long way. Offering (and actually sending) a copy via post is a great way to benefit both parties.

Important Information

Optional activities and excursions

If you would like to join an optional activity or excursion outside those listed in the itinerary, your leader may be able to assist with selecting a provider. However, Exodus has not assessed the safety standards of activities or excursions that are not listed in the Trip Notes. All optional activities or excursions are undertaken at your own risk.