When's the best time to visit Nepal?

When you ask the question, When is the best time to visit Nepal? Most people will quickly respond the autumn season during October and November. The mountains are clear, the weather is perfect and conditions are great, not too cold in the mountains or to hot on the flat plains. However we think that every season has something to offer...

Winter. December - Feb. At this time of year the mountains are still clear, but the temperature does drop considerably. For trekking you need to make sure you have the correct gear with especially if you are going to high altitude, and rafting is still possible but the rivers are at their lowest (and coldest) at this point so choose your river wisely and make sure you ask for a wetsuit! This is however the perfect time for a trip to Chitwan and you should spot more wildlife than at other times of the year.

Spring. March-May. This is the second busiest season in Nepal. The weather starts to warm a little making it pleasant for trekking, the snow on the mountains begin to slowly melt raising the rivers. it is also a great time for wildlife watching and a great time if you want to see all the Rhododendron forests in bloom. However, it can be quite hazy during this time so you may not get the best mountain views. This is a great time to learn to kayak as the waters start to warm up and the river levels are still low enough for beginners.

Monsoon June - September - MONSOON!!! The monsoon normally starts mid June but can vary year to year and continues on until around September. You'll be amazed the amount of water that falls down, but it doesn't rain all day every day...mostly just in the afternoons. It is extremely hot, often going above 30 degrees. The whole country turns green, loads of yummy fruits and veg will be for sale in the markets, the air is clean, however, mountain views will totally be blocked, it gets very humid, roads sometimes disappear as they are washed away, trekking paths will have more leaches than normal. A pre-monsoon trip on the Sun Kosi River around mid June can be great fun! or for experienced kayakers, or monsoon itinerary really packs a punch!

Autumn. October - November. The main tourist season and start of the dry season. Temperatures are perfect, mountains are visible virtually everyday making it the perfect time for trekkers, the rivers are at perfect levels following the monsoon making it the best time of the year for rafting and kayaking. The only drawback is that this is when Nepal is at it's busiest. But that can be great fun exploring the bars, meeting other travelers, joining group trips will be most easy at this time of year. You will also get to witness some of the best Nepali festivals (Tihar and Dashain).

No matter what time of year you come to Nepal, you can guarantee you will have a great trip.


Rough guide to the conditions in Kathmandu at different times of the year. Please note that this is a guide and conditions vary a lot depending on the region you are planning on traveling to.

	JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC
TEMP MIN °C	2	4	7	12	16	19	20	20	19	13	7	3
TEMP MAX °C	18	19	25	28	30	30	30	30	28	27	23	19
RAINFALL (MM)	15	41	23	58	122	246	373	345	155	38	8	3

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