Nepal

Traveling

Nepal basically lives off the tourism and travel industry. An incredible network of mountain huts has been built here and there are countless local travel agencies and guides. You can speak English very well here. There is a dense and busy bus network. The only downside is the increasingly complicated system of various trekking passes and entrances. In any case, this country is one of the easy countries to travel, suitable for beginners.

For a long time, Nepal was divided into 5 regions, which consisted of a total of 14 zones, which were again divided into 75 districts. Relatively recently (September 20, 2015), however, the country was newly divided into 7 provinces. For travelers, however, political division has no major significance.

Transhimalaya: The area „beyond the Himalayas“ in northwestern Nepal is visually Tibetan and at the same time the driest part of the country. Thanks to various restrictions and expensive entries, even the least visited, which is a shame, because it is one of the most interesting parts of this state. Most tourists see here only for a short time in Manang during the trek around Annapurna. The easternmost such area in Nepal is the Tsum Valley. Then the Nar and Phu valleys and the former kingdom of Mustang. Further west is the vast, high-lying area of Upper and Lower Dolpo. Here you will find beautiful Buddhist villages and temples and the most abandoned and remote treks of Nepal. Greater Himalayas: The most interesting areas of the country for tourists are mostly located in the north along the main Himalayan ridge and are basically defined by individual eight-thousand massifs separated by deep valleys .. From east to west are remote areas of Kanchenjengi on the border with Sikkim, a little cut off the valley of the river Arun from the adjacent massif of Makalu Barun. Then tourist Khumbu bee with Mount Everest, then Rolwaling Valley with Gauri Sankar and then along the „Death Road“ from Kathmandu easily accessible Langtang. The less visited Ganesh massif is now followed by the fashionable Mánaslu. Then there is the vast area of Annapurna. Right next door is Dhaulagiri and further west the mountains are lower and arid. Just before the border with India and Tibet, the westernmost seven-thousanders of Nepal, Api and Saipal, rise. Low Himalayas – Mahabharat: The center of the country lies in the endless green hills of Mahabharat, reaching an altitude of about four thousand meters above sea level. The mountain range is characterized by rice terraced fields on its slopes. Trekking routes in this area are mostly around Pokhára. Even the vast Kathmandu Valley is surrounded by green hills – for example, Shivapuri National Park north of the city. From these mountains there is a beautiful, panoramic view of the main ridge of the Himalayas further north. Kathmandu Basin: In the center of the country lies the vast Kathmandu Basin with the largest and capital city and the most important monuments in the form of former royal cities Bhaktapur and Patan with beautiful historic centers. The lowland flat and agricultural south of the country called Terai is interesting mainly due to the national parks with subropical jungle with wild animals, mainly rhinos. For example, the Chitwan and Bardia parks or the Parsa and Koshi Tappu reserves. The atmosphere is this part of the country closer to neighboring India. Even from here, however, a glacier mountain range can be seen in the distance.

The typical trip to Nepal mainly includes mostly amazing Himalayan tourism on world-famous frictions, but even here you can do an interesting excursion circuit for those who would like to enjoy the beautiful mountain views, but for any reason do not want to go on a long and challenging trek. You will also find interesting sights and wildlife with elephants, rhinos and tigers. So if you do not plan tourism, it will be enough for you to get to know the country roughly for two weeks.

• ** Classic Nepal Circuit **: Start in Kathmandu with the bustling tourist district of Thamel and the triumvirate of major landmarks such as the Boudhanath, Swayambhunath and the Pashupatinath Hindu Temple. Then explore the surrounding beautiful royal cities of Bhaktapur and Patan. Take a great view of the Nagarkot Himalayas before leaving the Kathmandu Valley. Follow the scenic Prithví highway to Pokháry. Here you can enjoy cruises on Lake Phewa, walks around the area and then beautiful views of Annapurna such as Sarangkot and the World Peace Stupa. Finally, enjoy the wildlife in Chitwan National Park. ** (approx. 2 weeks) ** – ** Large circuit through Nepal **: Usually adds to the classic circuit some easier hiking in just a few days in the area of Everest (Everest View trek) or Annapurna (Poon hill trek). In addition, adrenaline activities such as popular rafting on the Trishuli River or paragliding from Sarangkot ** (approx. 3 weeks) ** can be a diversification.

The classic circuits can be extended by several interesting sidetrips: – ** Excursion version of the western part of the Annapurna trek: ** from Pokhara it is possible to go by car or bus through striking villages with views of Dhualagiri, Tukuche and Nilgri via ** Jomsom ** to Muktinah ** (+ approx. 3 days) ** – ** Trip to Gorkha: ** A side trip from Prithvi Highway to the historic town of Gorkha and a trip by cable car to Manakama Temple ** (+ approx. 2 days) ** – ** Trip to Lumbini **: tour of the birthplace of Buddha at the Indian border – ** Lake Rara **: It is possible to fly to the mini airport in Talche and take a tour of the beautiful Lake Rara.

A frequent and recommended combination of visiting Nepal is with India or Tibet. No less common, although a possible combination is with Bhutan. Circuit of Nepal and India: In India it is relatively close to the mystical Varanasi and Agra with the world famous Tajmahal. Circuit of Nepal and Tibet: In Thamel you can easily arrange about a week trip to Tibet and Bhutan: Virtually all roads to Bhutan are through Nepal. But travel itineraries in Bhutan are the same practices. There are huge restrictions on travel.

One branch of the classic long land route from Europe to China also leads through Nepal (route via Turkey – Iran – Pakistan – India – Nepal – Tibet to China). India) via Khunjerab Pass and Friendship Road)

Nepal is changing its landscape and climate in bands from north to south as its altitude drops sharply. At the same time, however, also from east to west, according to rainfall. The west of the country „beyond the Himalayas“ is significantly drier than its east, strongly influenced by monsoon rainfall. The dramatic nature of the landscape is also caused by the second highest altitude difference within a country in the world: the highest point in Nepal, Mount Everest (8,848 m above sea level) and the lowest town in Kechana (63 m above sea level) in the east of the country. So the difference is an incredible 8,785 altitude meters at a very short distance. If you really want to get to know Nepal, visit each of its landscapes.

There are a number of national parks and protected areas in Nepal. However, for most, you feel that they were set up only to collect money for entry from tourists, rather than living and protecting nature here other than outside protected areas. If you want to explore all these parks, you will probably have to return to Nepal several times. – ** Highland Parks **: Sagarmatha National Park (Mount Everest), Langtang National Park, Annapurna National Park, Kanchanjunga National Park, Manaslu National Park, Makalu-Barun National Park, Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park (mountains above Kathmandu), Mustang National Park, Shey-Phoksundo National Park Rara, NP Khaptad – ** Lowland safari **: NP Chitwan, NP, Bardia, WR Koshi Tappu, WR Parsa, WR Shuklaphanta – ** Hunting areas **: HR Dhorptan

Due to the heat and stifling in the lower positions and the winter in the higher, Nepal is not exactly a suitable destination for traveling with children. Particularly high altitudes and frequent intestinal problems may not do them any good.

If you are here with the children, you can diversify the program by visiting: ZOO in Kathmandu Pony rides in Pokhara Canoeing and elephant swimming in Chitwan