Nepal on a Page

Nepal is an amazing country on the Asian continent. Its capital city is Kathmandu. Nepal shares borders with India and China. It is an adventurers playground with some of the worlds best hiking trails. Nepal boasts the highest mountains in the world, which are situated in the Great Himalayan Range. Nepal also boasts four UNESCO World Heritage Sites for both cultural and natural reasons.

Demographics

The population of Nepal is approximately 28 million people, known as Nepalese or Nepali.

There are many languages spoken in Nepal, but the main language spoken is Nepali. As Nepal relies heavily on tourism, English is becoming more widespread.

The main religion of Nepal is Hinduism.

Economy

The local currency is the Nepalese Rupee. One thing to note about the currency is that it is a closed currency. This means that you will not be able to order cash prior to arriving in the country. You will need to exchange cash when you arrive. Major currencies are accepted, including Australian, without an issue.

ATMs are easily accessible in major areas, but the ATM may not accept your card. In Pokhara, the first ATM I found was not able to dispense cash, so I found another one and it worked fine.

Trip Planning

When is the best time of the year to go to Nepal?

Nepal is located in the Northern Hemisphere and has 4 seasons with vastly different weather events occurring in each one. The best time of the year will depend on what you are planning on doing while you are there, and what altitudes you are planning on reaching. Although sometimes perfect conditions are hard to obtain.

Winter – late November, December, January, February.
- Trekking in higher altitudes is very cold and it often snows.
- Visiting lower altitude areas are more mild. Kathmandu will have an average low around 3°C, while Pokhara is around 8°C.
- Winter has lowest amount of precipitation.
- The average temperatures in the southern plains which border northern India are in the low to mid-20°C range.

Spring – March, April, May.
- The temperatures are on the rise and rhododendrons start to bloom. Spring is a lovely time of the year to visit Nepal.
- Maximum temperatures in Kathmandu and Pokhara range from 25°C to 30°C.
- The southern plains are very warm, reaching daytime averages of 36°C.
- Rain starts to increase as the season wears on.
- This is the second most popular time to trek in the Himalayan ranges.

Summer – June, July, August.
- Summer is the monsoon season in Nepal and the country experiences heavy rains and downpours.
- The average temperatures hover around 30°C for both Kathmandu and Pokhara.
- Pokhara does experience significantly more rain than Kathmandu because of its proximity to the Annapurna Range.
- The southern plains are still experiencing high temperatures, but with the added bonus of higher precipitation rates.

Autumn – September, October, November.
- Autumn is the most popular time for trekkers to visit Nepal as the weather is stable and clear, and visibility is great during this time.
- Temperatures in Kathmandu and Pokhara are falling slightly to around the mid-20’s.
- The southern plain temperatures sit around 30°C for daytime averages.
- Rain is still quite high in September, but reduces in October.

Other Information

Visa requirements change from country to country, so it is important to check if you need one to enter Nepal. Travelling on an Australian passport will require you to obtain a visa. You can apply for a visa on arrival with the payment of USD. Otherwise, you can apply for a visa before you go if you have a consulate in your country, which is what I did, but only because I like to be prepared and know that my paperwork is all in order.
Power plugs – if you’re travelling from a country that uses either the C type or M type of plug, the good news is, you won’t need an adaptor. The C type style is the easiest to use because it only has 2 prongs and should be able to be plugged in to all electrical outlets.
Water safety – the water in Nepal is not safe to drink untreated, even running water in the mountainous areas. The Sawyer Mini is the best way to treat water that I have found. I researched this extensively before choosing it. The best thing about this system is that it cleans the silt out of the water as well as treating it. You can use tablets, but your water will still be dirty. However, if you use the Sawyer Mini, your water will be clearer.
Packing list – if you’re planning on hiking in Nepal, it’s important to only take what you need to minimise the weight for either yourself or your porter.

Annapurna Base Camp Trek Vlogs

The Annapurna Base Camp trek is a 9-day trek that starts a short distance from Pokhara. I booked a tour through Webjet Exclusives and travelled in March 2019. If you’d like to have a look at the trip, check out my videos.

As I was unsure about the ease of travelling around Nepal, I decided to purchase an all-inclusive package. I picked this trek over the Everest Base Camp trek because everything I read said Everest Base Camp was very busy with tourists, and I wasn’t sure how that would translate into an enjoyable trek. I also picked the Annapurna Base Camp trek because it was significantly cheaper.

The Annapurna Base Camp trek commences from just outside of Pokhara. Pokhara is an amazing city. If you haven’t organised everything you need for your trek, you will be able to either buy it or hire it there. You can either fly to Pokhara or catch one of the many buses. The bus ride will take about 8 hours and it sure is an experience.

The Annapurna Base Camp trek difficulty is generally rated easier than some of the others, but I’ve heard varying reports on how the difficulty is calculated. Some are based on the length of the trek and some are based on the altitude reached. However the trek difficulty is determined, it doesn’t really matter.

The fact is the Annapurna Base Camp trek is difficult.

No amount of training can really prepare you for the stairs that are involved in this trek. But when people talk about getting ‘trail fit’ as you go along, there is definite truth to it. Your muscles will hurt less and less with each day. Although, I need to say that by the end of the trek, I had sore knees from all the stairs.

Additionally, make sure you haven’t overpacked and are carrying too much weight. This packing list can help you refine what you take.

So was it a good time to hike the Annapurna Base Camp trek in March?

Well, of course, but it comes with a caveat.

In the month before I went, the Annapurna Base Camp had received an unusually high amount of snow and had damaged and even destroyed some of the buildings. The group was unable to make it all the way to the base camp as the Nepalese government had officially closed the trek after Chommrong.

Due to the high snowfall, there was a significant risk of avalanches. For this reason, I would be reluctant to hike the Annapurna Base Camp trek without a guide. The company that Webjet used was Outfitter Nepal. I can highly recommend their professionalism and expertise. The mountain regions can be very unpredictable, one of the porters had only made it to Annapurna Base Camp two times out of five attempts.

The good part about hiking the Annapurna Base Camp trek in March was that the views of Annapurna were crystal clear. The sunrise at Poon Hill was exquisite. Also, the tea houses were not excessively busy with tourists, so when it came to lunch and dinner, it didn’t take a long time to receive the meals. Remember that most tea houses on the Annapurna Base Camp trek will make the food fresh, so it will take time to receive your meal.

When is the best time to trek in Nepal?

Either Autumn, early Winter, or Spring. Regardless of when you go, the one thing you must be is flexible with your itinerary. As our group couldn’t make Base Camp, we plotted a different route back so we could still take in amazing views of the Annapurna Range without cutting the hike short. Remember, the mountains are unpredictable and even if you choose what you consider to be the best time of the year to hike in Nepal, you may be faced with changing conditions that are out of your control. Just go with it. It will still be an amazing experience as the Annapurna Base Camp trek is one of the best treks in Nepal.