Nepal Lonely Planet- Joe Bindloss.pdf

Contents

Destination Nepal

Getting Started

Events Calendar

Itineraries

History

The Culture

Food & Drink

Responsible Tourism

Environment

Outdoor Activities

Kathmandu

Around the Kathmandu Valley

Kathmandu to Pokhara

Pokhara

The Terai & Mahabharat Range

Trekking

Directory

Transport

Health

Language

Glossary

The Authors

Behind the Scenes

Map Legend

Return to beginning of chapter

Destination Nepal

For many travellers, Nepal is paradise on earth, or at the very least Shangri La.

Wedged between the mountain wall of the Himalaya and the steamy jungles of the Indian

plains, this is a land of yaks and yetis, monasteries and mantras, snow peaks and Sherpas,

temples and tigers, magic and mystery. Ever since Nepal first opened it borders to

outsiders in the 1950s, this tiny mountain nation has had an almost mystical allure for

travellers. Explorers and mountaineers came to conquer the highest peaks, trekkers came

to test themselves against some of the most challenging trails on earth and hippies came

to wander in a stoned daze through the temple-filled towns at the end of the overland

trail.

FAST FACTS

Population: 29.5 million

Surface area: 147,181 sq km (just larger than Greece)

UN Human Development Index: 142, out of 177 countries

Life expectancy: 62 years

Literacy rate: 48.6%

Gross national income: US$240 per capita

Doctors per 100,000 people: 5 (550 in Italy)

Number of seats in parliament held by women: 12 (out of 205)

Nepalis who live on less than US$2 per day: 82%

Average age: 20 years

You’ll still see a few of the original ‘freaks’ meandering through the backstreets

of Kathmandu, but they have been joined by legions of trekkers, clad in the latest

technical gear and drawn by the rugged trails that climb to such famous destinations as

Everest Base Camp and the Annapurna Sanctuary. Other travellers are drawn here by the

rush of rafting down a roaring Nepali river or bungee jumping into a bottomless

Himalayan gorge. Adventure addicts can get their adrenaline flowing by canyoning,

climbing, kayaking, paragliding and mountain-biking through some of the world’s most

dramatic landscapes.

Other travellers prefer to see Nepal at a more gentle pace, gazing towards the

peaks from Himalayan viewpoints, strolling through the temple-lined medieval city

squares of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur, and joining Buddhist pilgrims on a

parikrama (ceremonial circuit) around the giant stupas scattered across the Kathmandu

Valley. In Nepal’s wild and wonderful national parks, nature buffs scan the treetops for

exotic bird species and comb the jungles for rhinos and tigers from the backs of

lumbering Indian elephants.

But big changes are afoot in Nepal. For one thing, Nepal is no longer a kingdom.

A decade of Maoist uprising and civil war came to an end with the election of the

Communist Party of Nepal and the declaration of the Federal Republic of Nepal on 28

May 2008. Since then the last Nepali king, Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, has vacated

the Royal Palace in Kathmandu and moved to a modest house in Nagarjun, and the word

‘Royal’ has been snipped from the signboards for Royal Nepal Airlines and Royal

Chitwan National Park. After years of conflict, peace has returned to the mountains, and

an air of optimism pervades the nation.

For travellers, this means Nepal is once again open for business. Trekkers are free

to walk the mountain trails without fear of being stung for ‘donations’ or ‘taxes’ by

Maoist cadres, and travellers can roam the countryside without having to endure the

endless army roadblocks and searches that once turned bus travel into a draining ordeal.

For the first time in years, the planes touching down on the tarmac at Tribhuvan Airport

are packed full of GoreTex-clad trekkers and Nepal’s trekking lodges, hotels and

restaurants are often crammed to capacity. This is only the start of a long process of

recovery, but locals are already breathing a sigh of relief.

There have been other less-obvious benefits to the end of hostilities. Soldiers have

been pulled back from active duty to patrol the boundaries of Nepal’s national parks –

good news for wildlife, bad news for the poachers who reduced Nepal’s rhino population

by more than 30% during the uprising. The government has also turned its attention to

improving living conditions for Nepal’s workers, something that was rarely a priority

under the autocratic rule of the Shah kings. One side effect of this is that guides and

porters are charging higher fees for their services – you’ll have to dig deeper into your

pockets to go trekking than in years past.

However, there is definitely still work to do. Nepal’s infrastructure was severely

neglected during the conflict, and load shedding – a polite term for turning off the power

to save the grid from meltdown – is a daily fact of life in the Kathmandu Valley. Fuel

shortages are another problem: petrol stations run dry with monotonous regularity and

prices for cooking kerosene are soaring, driving many locals to use firewood hacked from

Nepal’s dwindling forests. Hydroelectricity has been put forward as the panacea for all

Nepal’s power problems, but most of the hydro projects approved so far aim to channel

electricity across Nepal’s borders to India and China.

‘Many people have spent a lifetime exploring the mountain trails and

atmospheric temple towns’

Getting around is also harder than it used to be, despite the easing of blockades.

After decades of under-investment, the national airline has only four working aircraft for

domestic flights, and some routes have been abandoned entirely. Private airlines have

taken up some of the slack, but most of Nepal’s rural airstrips can only receive flights in

clear weather, so delays and cancellations are the rule rather than the exception. The

dangers of flying in cloud were tragically illustrated in October 2008 when a plane

carrying European trekkers crashed beside the runway at Lukla, killing 18 people.

It’s easy to focus on the negatives. For most Nepalis, the election of a stable

government and the end of armed conflict has been a massive cause for celebration. The

rebels never targeted tourists during the uprising, and the new communist government is

now wooing foreign travellers like never before. Visa conditions have been eased, so

visitors can obtain a visa lasting up to six months on arrival, and there are plans to waive

visa fees entirely in 2011 for Visit Nepal Year.

The biggest problem faced by visitors to Nepal is how to fit everything in. Many

people have spent a lifetime exploring the mountain trails of the Himalaya and

atmospheric temple towns of the Kathmandu Valley and the Middle Hills, and they still

keep coming back for more. Our advice is to pick a handful of essential experiences and

save the rest for trip two, and three, and four, and…

Return to beginning of chapter

Getting Started

WHEN TO GO

IS IT SAFE?

COSTS & MONEY

TRAVEL LITERATURE

INTERNET RESOURCES

There are few countries in the world that are as well set up for independent

tourism as Nepal. You can rock up to the border or Kathmandu airport, obtain a visa on

arrival, organise a TIMS permit for trekking ( Click here ) and be up in the Himalaya in a

matter of days. However, there is so much to see and do that it pays to do a bit of

preparation before you arrive, not least because delays, cancellations and other

unexpected obstacles to travel are part of daily life in Nepal. After a decade of civil war

things are finally getting back to normal in Nepal and tourism is bouncing back with

gusto. Last time we updated this book many lodges were struggling to find guests. Today,

in many areas, travellers are struggling to find beds.

WHEN TO GO

The climate of Nepal can be broadly divided into two seasons. The dry season

runs from October to May and the wet (monsoon) season runs from June to September.

Autumn (September to November) and spring (March to May) offer warm daytime

temperatures, clear skies for mountain views and perfect weather for trekking, rafting or

just roaming around the Kathmandu Valley. For more information on the trekking season

Click here .

See Climate Charts for more information. The peak season for tourism runs from

October to November: the landscape is green and lush from the recent monsoon rains, the

air is crisp and clean, and the views of the Himalaya are crystal clear. However,

competition for seats on international and domestic flights can be fierce, and lodges and

hotels fill up quickly – very frustrating if you have left your bag at a particular hotel

while trekking. Always book ahead at this time of year. You should also consider the

disruption caused by the annual Dasain festival in October ( Click here ).

By early December winter is starting to creep in and most trekkers retreat from

the high-altitude trekking routes. Heading for Everest Base Camp at this time of year can

be a real feat of endurance, and the Annapurna Circuit is often closed by snow on the

Thorung La. Even the Kathmandu Valley can feel chilly after dark, and the morning mist

can play havoc with flight schedules. Tourists start to leave Kathmandu in December like

flocks of migratory birds, headed for the warmer climes of India or Thailand. However,

this is a great time to enjoy the national parks of the Terai without the crowds.

DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT…

A face mask against Kathmandu’s air pollution, especially if you plan to rent a

motorcycle or bike

Earplugs for travel on noisy turboprop planes and local buses, and for those

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