Travellers' Informaitons

LACATION

It borders with the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China in the North and India in the East, South and West respectively.

LANGUAGE :

Nepali is the national language of Nepal. Educated people understand and speak English as well.

TIME :

Nepal Time is 5 hours 45 minutes ahead of GMT and 15 minutes ahead of Indian standard time.

PEOPLE & RELIGION

Nepalese people are mainly divided into two distinct groups the Indo- Aryans and the Mangoloids.
Kathmandu Valley is the spiritual and cultural meeting point of all these groups.
Nepal is the only Hindu Kingdom in the world. Hindu Temples and Buddhist shrines are scattered all over the kingdom. Nepal is the birthplace of Lord Buddha, the Light of Asia. There is a complex blending of Hinduism and Buddhism in Nepal.

WHAT TO WEAR

Except in formal gathering informal clothes are acceptable mostly everywhere. Warm garments are required in October-March. An umbrella or a rain coat are must for the rainy season.

CURRENCY & FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Nepali Rupee notes come in Rs.1, Rs.2, Rs.5, Rs.10, Rs.20, Rs.50, Rs.100, Rs.500 and Rs.1000
denominations. Coins come in 5p, 10p, 25p, Rs.1 & Rs.5 denominations.
Foreign currencies must be exchanged only throught the banks or authorized foreign exchange dealers. The receipts from such transactions are to be obtained and retained. Visitors can exchange foreign currency at the foreign exchange counter at the airport upon arrival. Visitor other than the Indian nationals have to make the payment in hotels, travel or trekking agencies and air tickets in foreign currency. Non-Indian visitors are not allowed to import or export Indian Currency. The approximate value of one US Dollar is equivalent to Rs. 50.97 as of June 1995

ENTRY POINTS :

By Air: Tribhuvan Internaitonal Airport, Kathmandu.

By Land:

(1) Kakarbhitta

(2) Birgunj

(3) Belhiya (Bhairahawa)

(4) Nepalgunj

(5) Dhangadi

(6) Jogbani (Biratnagar) and

(7) Mahendra Nagar in Nepal-India border and Kodari in Nepal-China border.

The overland tourists entering the Kingdom with their vehicles must possess an international carnet.

CUSTOMS

All baggage is subject to customs' check at the point of entry. Visitors are allowed to bring in the consumable articles such as liquor one bottle up 1.15 litres, 200 sticks of cigarette, 15 rolls of photo film and 12 rolls of movie camera film. Visitors are also allowed to carry one binocular, one camera, one movie camera, one video camera, one radio, one tape recorder, one bicycle, one wrist watch, one set of fountain pen, one perambulator, 15 radio cassettes & 10 disk records into the country on the condition that they are declared and are to be taken back on return. Carrying narcotics, arms and ammunitions are strictly prohibited.
Visitors can export souvenirs to their respective countries. The export of antiuques requires special certificate from the Department of Archaeology, National Archive Building, Ram Shah Path, Kathmandu (Tel: 214358), Gold, silver, precious stones, wild animals and their skins, horns, etc, all drugs whether processed or in their natural state, are prohibited to export.

TRAVEL ROUTE

Royal Nepal Airlines the national flag carrier of Nepal and other International airlines operate scheduled flights to Kathmandu from Bangkok, Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Dubai, Dhaka, Paro, Varanasi, Frankfurt, Paris, Hongkong, Karachi, London, Moscow, Singapore and Lhasa. The International Airlines operating their flights to Kathmandu include Aeroflot, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, China South West Airlines, Druk Air, Indian Airlines, Lufthansa, Pakistan International Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Thai International.

AIRPORT TAX

Rs. 600 per person for departure to SAARC (South Asian) Countries and Rs. 700 for departure to other international destinations. For domestic flights those flying within Nepal are required to pay Rs. 50.

INTERNAL TRANSPORT

Royal Nepal Arilines has an extensive network of air services in the interior of Nepal. This include Taplejung, Bhadrapur, Rajbiraj, Bhojpur, Phapl, Lukla, Lamidanda Tumlingtar, Rumjatar, and Biratnagar in the East; Nepalgunj, Churjhari, Surkhet, Dang, Rolpa and Jumla, in the Mid-West, and kolti, Mahendranagar, Dhangadi, Silgadi (Doti), Tikapur, Sanphebagar, Baitadi, and Darchula in the Far-Western Region.
Besides Royal Nepal Airlines, the other domestic airlines such as Nepal Airways, Everest Air, Asian Airlines Helicopter, Necon Air provide regular and charter services to different popular domestic destinations.

TREKKING PERMIT

The Department of Immigration located at Tridevi Marg, Thamel issues trekking permit for the tourists who intend to trek any part of the country.

WHERE TO GET THE INFORMATION

The Department of Tourism, His Majesty's government of Nepal provides information and service to the tourists. It also distributes different kinds of publicity materials to the tourists free of cost. There are two tourist offices and five tourism Information Centers located at difference places n the country. They are:

1.	Tourist Information Centre, Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, Tel : 470537
2.	Tourist information Centre, Basantapur, Kathmandu, Tel : 220818
3.	Tourist Office, Airport, Pokhara, Tel : 20028
4.	Tourist Information Centre, Birgunj, Tel : 22083
5.	Tourist Office, Janakpur, Tel : 20755
6.	Tourist Information Centre, Bhairahawa, Tel : 20304
7.	Tourist Information Centre, Kakarbhitta, 20208

All the Informations including fees and tariffs mentioned in this booklet are valid at the time of printing and are subject to change without prior notice.

---