5 Reasons to Visit Nepal

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If you’re dreaming of a destination that offers incredible landscapes, outrageous value and some of the friendliest people in the world, then Nepal may be the perfect travel destination for you. If you’ve ever dreamed of climbing the highest mountain in the world, then it’s likely that Nepal is on your travel bucket list. While the Everest Basecamp is an excellent reason to visit Nepal, the truth is there’s so much more to this incredible country – so if you’re on the fence about whether Nepal should be your next travel destination keep reading to get inspired and to learn more about this fascinating country.

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Spiritually:
With just over eighty percent of the population identifying as Hindu, nine percent identifying as Buddhist,   Nepal is regarded as a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multicultural country. Nepal is also considered the birthplace of Buddhism making it a wonderful place to visit for those wanting to get in touch with their spiritual side. Sages and Yogis alike have visited Nepal for many centuries. Spread across Nepal are some of the most incredible temples which provide a deeper insight into Nepal’s rich and historic culture. They also make for some incredible photos. One of the most famous temples in Nepal is the stunning Pashupati temple – better described as a collection of temples – which is unfortunately only accessible to people of Hindi faith. However, from the outside, you can still get a glimpse of how incredible this temple really is. Another special temple in Nepal is the Janakpur temple which is often regarded as Nepal’s answer to India’s Taj Mahal – it’s a very different style of temple that’s both striking and colourful. It is also Nepal’s largest temple, so if your itinerary allows, be sure to visit this incredible site.

Excellent Value for Money:
Due to its location and currency, Nepal remains a really good value place to travel to when compared to travelling to Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the United States – your money will simply go much further here because it is a developing country. This is great for those of us who are travelling on a budget and hoping to find a destination that won’t break the bank. According to the website BudgetYourTrip.com the cost for a person to travel to Nepal for one month is $835 USD as of April 2018 and for comparison for a month in France that price skyrockets to $5278 – which is consierably more! This is course just a rough estimation as so many factors will go into how much you spend, such as what kind of activities you want to do, what kind of standard of travel you want to do, how you’ll travel, what kind of accomodation you will want to stay in and so forth – but it’s a great way to get an estimation of how much a trip will cost. If you’ve been somewhere recently, why not see how well the estimator guesses how much your destination ‘should have cost’ for the time you were there and compare it to what you actually spent! Then you can see how accurate it may be for you.

Because Nepal is a developing country it will let you stretch your money a bit further than it might go elsewhere, allowing you to either travel longer or perhaps travel to a higher standard than you could usually justify. Whether you choose to go on a tour or do it yourself, you’ll be surprised by how much value for money you get in Nepal and it may be hard to find another country in the world that offers you more.

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Incredible Nature:
If you love fresh air, landscapes so stunning you have to pinch yourself to see if they’re real and Instagram-worthy shots around every corner. Of course there’s the Himalayas and if you’re adventurous I’m sure the Everest Base Camp is on your list of things to do. I suggest doing a ton of research before you go to make sure that you find a great Everest basecamp trek well in advance to ensure you don’t end up missing out.   You’re going to want to arrive in Nepal at least a few days if not a week in advance to give your body tons of time to adjust to the altitude and thinner air before you do the Basecamp trek. You’ll be able to learn more about the culture of Nepal and how the religion intertwines itself even high up on the mountains as you trek higher and see the stunning prayer flags from the summits of the mountains. Beyond the beautiful scenery, Nepal is home to some interesting animals too and a visit to Chitwan National Park will quickly ensure that you are exposed to some of the best wildlife Nepal has to offer – this is sure to delight travellers of all ages, so is perfect if you’re traveling with children or those who are young at heart.

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An Opportunity To Help
In April of 2015 Nepal was devastated by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that killed almost 9,000 injured over 22,000 and thousands more homeless and financially impacted. Even three years on, Nepal is still trying to recover and tourism numbers are down. A great way to help the economy to recover is by visiting and spending your tourism dollars to help stimulate the economy. Choosing to spend your vacation in Nepal instead of somewhere else is a great way to show support and to inject money directly into local businesses. While after a natural diaster of this magnitude there tends to be big campaigns by organisations such as Red Cross, a few years on most countries and people have forgotten about the damage done but the truth is to recover from an earthquake of this size would probably take at least a decade if not longer. Visiting and spending your money is a great way to help in your own way if you’re already considering a trip to Nepal!

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The Food
Chances are you’ve probably not had too many chances in your life to experience Nepalese food – well you’re going to be spoiled for choice if you plan a trip to Nepal. One of the most popular dishes in Nepal is the staple Daal Bhat – you may have tried a Daal before which is named after ‘lentils’ and Bhat is named afer rice so you might guess it’s a lentils and rice dish. If you find that you love it, why not consider taking a cooking class in Kathmandu to learn how to make this Nepalese staple meal? Have you ever tried Momos? Besides having a cute name, they’re absolutely delicious especially if you’re a dumpling lover, like I am. Momos are basically Nepals answer to chinese-style steamed dumplings and are usually filled with a distinctive blend of spices that gives them that curry flavour. Sel Roti is another favourite of mine that is basically a sweet bread, a flour based dessert that’s fried in a ring shape. Yes, it’s as good as it sounds. If you love cheese, then don’t miss out on trying Yak cheese. You’ll even be able to find some home comforts around Nepal such as apple pie, which will be a little different from home but just as delicious. Nepal food is delicious but can get a little same same after a while so just be prepared for the curry flavouring and a lot of lentils.

Nepal is a wonderful budget friendly destination that has so much to offer. Have you been before? I’d love to hear how you found it!