14 Things to know Before coming to NEPAL

What's up beautiful people and welcome to another video. If you're watching this video it probably means that you are coming to Nepal and I could not be more excited for you. In this video I'm going to explain to you the 14 things you really should know before coming to Nepal to make your travels as easy as possible. Number one on the list is don't forget to visit Kathmandu. A lot of people fly into Kathmandu and they immediately go out to their tracks or to other places in Nepal. But I recommend to visit Kathmandu so much because this city is so vibrant. There are so many things to do here and I loved my time here. Also if you are planning to go trekking a big tip is that you can buy everything that you need in Kathmandu city. So definitely stay here for a few days and do some good shopping there because the prices are good and the quality of the products is even better. Number two is don't over bargain. Bargaining is very common in Nepal but it is super important to be considerate of this because a lot of vendors and shopkeepers often rely on sales to support their families. So what for you or me could be maybe one or two euros that can feed a few people in the family. So be definitely really considerate about this and don't bargain too much. Number three is a really important one and this is to bring passport sized pictures because these are essential for a lot of various purposes. The first one is to obtain a sim card. If you want to get a local sim card at the airport you need to have an ID photo and also for tracking permits you need these and sometimes even for hotel check-in. So I would recommend to bring four to six passport size pictures. Number four I will immediately dive into this is how to get a sim card. This is super important because staying connected to the internet is just a feeling of safety and it is good for a lot of purposes. You can stay connected by getting a local sim card. These are available at the airport and in a lot of major cities. If you want to get a sim card you need to have a passport sized photo. A big tip is also when you exit the airport there are a lot of providers so I would really suggest to get a sim card there if you want to do it this way. But if you want to make it even easier for yourself there are lots of e-sim companies. I like to use holafly so I will put the link in my description. When you have wi-fi you can just install your e-sim. This might be a hassle-free way of doing it so whatever you prefer you can either choose for an e-sim or you can do it at the airport. Number five is to install the Indrive app. I really loved using this app because they also offer transport from and to the airport which is really really nice and it is just a way of getting around there. So we use this app a lot and another big tip that I also have for you guys is when you have a driver that you actually like just get his or hers whatsapp number and you can just call them whenever you want it because this was for us way more convenient than booking through the app all the time. So I just ended up saving numbers of the drivers that I like and just calling them all the time. So that's a big tip for you guys to use this as well. Number six what I think is also a really important one that you should definitely not skip eating local food. The food in Nepal is so so good. There are so many things that you can try here. A lot of people only come for the trekking. They go immediately in the mountains and there are so many ways of exploring the local cuisine. What I really like is going on food tours in Kathmandu. This is definitely a must do because there are so many alleys that you would never ever walk into. If you don't have a guide or you're not doing a tour like this and I think there's not a better way to explore the culture of Nepal by doing a food tour. I will put a few links in my description so you can check it out for yourself. You have to try momo, dal bhat, newari cuisine and street foods like katamari and samosas. And I would also say be careful with it. Try to avoid stomach issues because that can be a little problem maybe. Number seven is also really important. If you're coming to Nepal the chances are really big that you're gonna do a hike or you're gonna do some kind of trek. There are a lot of really popular ones for example Everest Base Camp Trek. But there are also less popular ones with also if you have a less fitness level which you can do. You can decide on this for yourself. But a big tip that I have for you guys is to hire a guide and a porter. This is so important. Now that I've been spending a lot of time in Nepal I got to know a lot of local people. They've been telling me these stories that independent trekking is possible but it is very recommended to hire local guides and porters because this supports the local economy. It also provides safety and it is also better for the trekking experience. But what I think is super important that a lot of guides start as porters and you have to start as a porter. So by hiring a porter you actually help them on their journey to become a guide and to be higher up in the community because the porter life is really hard. This is a big tip that I want to give to you guys to be also as friendly as possible because these porters live a really hard life. It's very difficult and I just want to support them as much as possible. Then number eight is the best time to visit. This is super important to know because timing your visit can impact your experience big time. The best seasons to visit are spring so March until May and autumn which is September until November. Then you have most likely the chance for clear skies and moderate temperatures. The most important thing is to avoid the monsoon season which is June until August due to heavy rains and landslides and you don't want to have that on your trip. That immediately brings me to number nine which is the unpredictable mountain weather. This is definitely something that I experienced firsthand when I was doing my Mardi Himal trek. You have to keep in mind that when you are in the mountains you are in the full force of nature. There is nothing that you can do here and sometimes you just have to surrender. I never experienced it like this before because one moment it can be sunny it can be beautiful out and the next moment huge clouds are coming in. It's getting ice cold and you get stuck into a huge snowstorm which is definitely really really scary and sometimes it can also be life-threatening. So always make sure to have a flexible itinerary and really check the weather forecast regularly. This is also again why it is important to have a guide which also knows way more about this. Number 10 the visa requirements. This is also really good to know. I really didn't have any problem entering Nepal. We were with two girls from the Netherlands and one guy from Indonesia and we all didn't have any troubles. You can just easily get a tourist visa which is available on arrival for a lot of nationalities. You can fill out the application form, provide a passport photo and then pay the visa fee. I would make sure to check the website to make sure for your nationality what the requirements are but there's a big chance you can just easily get a tourist on arrival visa. Number 11 is accommodation options. I just want to put it out for you that there is such a huge difference of accommodations that you can book in Nepal. You can spend as much as you want but also as little as you want. You can have luxury hotels and resorts to budget guest houses and tea houses in trekking regions. I would recommend to book in advance during peak seasons and also to read reviews for the best experiences. And I think what is also good to know that was also a big question for me. When you are trekking and you are staying in the tea houses the prices are not much at all. You normally pay 15 euros per person and the food there is not many options but it's always local food. It's always made with love which is definitely good. They provide blankets for you, you have a good bed and sometimes you have hot showers if you are lucky. The more higher you go you probably will have cold showers and eventually you won't have showers anymore but that is something to keep in mind. Then we have number 12 which is an important one to know and I wish I knew this before coming is that when you are doing a trek and it can be any trek possible you have to keep in mind that hygiene is not going to be your highest priority. In the beginning of your treks like I just said you probably will have showers you will maybe even have hot showers but the higher you go the less luxury there will be. So I think it is really important to also prepare yourself well enough when you go trekking to bring some wipes so you can still clean yourself and just to know that the higher you go the showers will only be cold or there will be no showers at all or maybe a bucket shower. So keep this in mind that you know what to expect. It's always nice to know what to expect so you know what to bring so for example the cleaning wipes or whatever you normally use. Number 13 is don't ignore altitude sickness. I never experienced altitude sickness before until I went to Nepal and it is crucial to take altitude sickness very seriously if you are looking to climb some of Nepal's tallest peaks because even if you are not going all the way up you will still probably experience altitude sickness and I would definitely bring some tablets for this. Google for yourself which pharmacy is nearby and have them guide you in this but I really recommend to bring some tablets because even I did a cable car experience and we went up there really fast and we all experienced altitude sickness already because the heights in Nepal are no joke. So take this seriously because altitude sickness is very very dangerous. And last but not least probably one of the most important thing is to respect the local culture. This is so so important because people from all over the world come to Nepal and the Nepalese people truly are one of a kind. They really have my heart. They are such beautiful and kind people and Nepal has a rich cultural heritage and diverse traditions so I would really recommend to dress modestly and remove shoes before entering homes and temples and always be respectful during religious ceremonies and it will probably also help to learn a few basic phrases in Nepali to show some respect and goodwill because the people love it when you do this. So these were the 14 things that you should know before coming to Nepal. I really hope you guys found this video informative and that you learned something from it. If you have any other questions or if I forgot something put it down in the comments below or send me a DM on Instagram. I also wanted to say that I made a whole Nepal e-guide with a lot of pages filled with all the information that I have. This will make your trip so effortlessly so easy and you will see the most beautiful things of Nepal. I'll put it down in the description below so you can check it out for yourself. Thank you so much for watching and as always I will see you in my next one!