Nepal Tour With Parents during Diwali

We as a family mostly plan our annual family holidays during Diwali Holidays. In November 2018 I traveled to Nepal along with my Parents. Keeping their age in mind, I planned a comfortable and slow itinerary. This post would be short concentrating on our exact itinerary and some really useful tips for Nepal Travel. This tiny Himalayan Nation has a lot to offer in terms of Tourism besides Mount Everest.

Flights Booked :

From New Delhi to Kathmandu: Indigo Airlines at 11.45 a.m. IST from Terminal 3 Delhi, It reached Tribhuvan International Airport at 1.45 p.m. IST. It takes 2 hours to reach Kathmandu from New Delhi.

From Kathmandu to New Delhi: Nepal Airlines at 5 p.m. IST from Tribhuvan International Airport, It reached T3 Terminal Delhi at 6.40 p.m.

Summerhill House

Stay Booked At :

Summerhill House Patan 

Address : Ekantakuna, Jawalakhel, Lalitpur , GPO Box: 3896, 40000

Phone No.: +977 1 5000810

This home-style guest house was beautiful and surrounded by greenery situated in a quiet neighborhood. It had tastefully done decor in heritage Nepali Style. They have a small restaurant cum Cafe serving Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner. Breakfast was complimentary. There is no lift facility. The rooms were spacious. Payment preferred is Cash in NPR or INR. There was no Online Payment facility available. I prefer to book all stays during international travels from Booking.com. They are best among other Hotel aggregators websites. They have swift and effective customer care and they do not charge you while booking a hotel. Payments are to be done at the property after you reach there.

Bhakhtapur Square

Itinerary Day Wise That We followed :

Conveyance :

We booked our car from the Hotel reception for the first 2 days. For the next two days, we hired local taxis from the Patan Taxi Stand. Taxi charges between INR 800 to INR 1500 depending on the number of hours. The day we went to the Chandragiri Hills and Nagarkot Village, we paid a little more for the Cars, around INR 2500 – INR 3000.

Chandragiri Hills

Other Information :

Languages Spoken in Nepal: Nepali, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Understands English & Hindi

Currency in Nepal: Nepalese Rupee (Conversion 1INR=1.6NPR)

Foods to try in Nepal: Daal Bhat Tarkari, Momo, Chatamari, Dheedo, Aloo Tama

Most Important:

Nepal is a Cash dependant country. Money Exchangers are everywhere, offering fixed rates for Dollars, Euros, and Indian Rupee. Just do not change your cash at the Airport. Rates there might be higher. The most prevalent currencies are NPR (Nepalese Rupee), INR (Indian Rupee), Dollars and Euros. Local venders accept NPR and INR ( denominators of 100s only), they will give you back change in NPR. We paid at the Hotel in INR cash as they did not have a card machine. At all Tourist spots, you can pay in Cash in NPR or INR.

Indian Forex Cards issued by AXIS Bank and Niyo Global does not work in Nepal and Bhutan. I came to know this the hard way after we reached Nepal. I planned to pay at our Hotel using my forex card but it could not happen. Then I tried to withdraw cash from a local bank in Kathmandu, that too failed. Thankfully I had a State Bank of India ATM Card, which worked at the ATM, but SBI charged an exorbitant currency conversion fee. For a withdrawal of INR 5000, which was the maximum limit per day per card in an ATM, a fee of INR 600 was deducted from my account. I hope you learn from my experience and carry enough cash.

Kathmandu during Diwali

Diwali in Nepal in November 2018 coincided with the Kukur Tihar – “ Day of the Dog “ festival. We saw so many cute dogs, both pets and street ones been worshipped with Tilak and garlands. Dogs were offered their favorite snacks. It is also called the Khicha Puja by the Newars. They acknowledge the cherished relationship between humans and dogs.

In Nepal, Dogs occupy a special place in Hindu mythology. Every home or street dog get special treatment on this day. On the eve of Diwali Night, entire Kathmandu Valley was lit up. Nepalis celebrate Diwali with Music and Dance, not with Crackers. I along with my Parents has a wonderful Diwali vacation in Nepal. Nepal is a safe travel destination for Solo Travelers. Nepal gets a lot of American and European tourists and Everest Climbers.

Pashupatinath Temple Courtyard

Nepali Momos

Only Con of Nepal: Nepal has not been able to improve its Roads post the unfortunate Earthquake in April 2015. Main roads were okay, but other lanes were broken, dusty, and unpaved.

I hope I could share some useful insights from my Nepal Trip. If you liked this post, read about my Jordan trip too.

For more Travel Inspiration for traveling in the year 2020, follow this link. However, plan your next travel only after this World Epidemic of Coronavirus has subsided.