Practical
Before you go.
Permits, insurance, money, health and the paperwork nobody enjoys — in the order you will actually need it.
Visas and arrival
Most nationalities can get a Nepali tourist visa on arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport or at land borders. Fill in the online form within fifteen days of travel to skip one of the two queues.
| Duration | Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 15 days | USD 30 | Enough for a short escape or a Poon Hill trip |
| 30 days | USD 50 | Covers most of our itineraries with room to spare |
| 90 days | USD 125 | For Dolpo, Kanchenjunga or a longer stay |
Bring the fee in cash — US dollars, euros or pounds are all accepted, and the card machines at the visa desk are unreliable. Your passport must have six months of validity and a blank page.
Permits
Every Aroha trip price includes the permits that trip requires. We list them so you know what you are carrying and why a checkpost may want to see your passport.
- National park or conservation area entry: NPR 3,000 for most areas
- TIMS card: NPR 2,000, required on non-restricted routes
- Upper Mustang and Upper Dolpo: USD 500 per person for ten days
- Manaslu: USD 100 per person per week in season, with a two-trekker minimum
- Kanchenjunga: USD 20 per person per week
- Climbing permits for Island Peak and Mera Peak: seasonally variable, always included
Since 2023, trekkers in Nepal's national parks and conservation areas must be accompanied by a licensed guide. Every Aroha departure meets this by default.
Insurance
Travel insurance with medical and helicopter evacuation cover is a condition of booking on every trip we run above 3,000 m. We ask for the policy number and the emergency line before departure, and we will not let anyone start a trek without it.
| Trip type | Minimum evacuation altitude |
|---|---|
| Short escapes and cultural journeys | 3,000 m |
| Lodge treks | 6,000 m |
| Climbing trips | 6,500 m |
| River expeditions | Whitewater rafting cover, Grade IV |
Check that your policy names trekking and, where relevant, mountaineering as covered activities rather than excluded ones. Many standard policies exclude anything above 4,000 m by default.
Booking and payment
A twenty percent deposit confirms your place and the guide. The balance is due 45 days before departure. Bookings made inside 45 days are payable in full.
| If you cancel | You are charged |
|---|---|
| More than 60 days before | Deposit only |
| 60 to 30 days before | 50% of the trip price |
| 29 to 15 days before | 75% of the trip price |
| Inside 14 days | 100% of the trip price |
If Aroha cancels a departure — usually because a minimum group size is not reached — you get a full refund or a transfer to another date, your choice. We confirm or cancel every departure at least 45 days out.
Money on the trail
Your trip price covers accommodation, meals, permits and staff. What you spend on the trail is drinks, hot showers, device charging, wifi and anything you buy.
- Budget USD 10–15 a day on a lodge trek for extras
- Carry rupees in small notes — nobody on the trail can change a 1,000
- There are no ATMs above Namche, Manang or Jomsom
- Card payment is available in Kathmandu and Pokhara and nowhere else
On tipping: it is customary and it is genuinely appreciated. A useful benchmark is 10% of the trip price for the whole team, given to the guide at the end and split according to a rate the crew agrees in advance.
Health and altitude
No vaccinations are required for entry to Nepal. Hepatitis A, typhoid and tetanus are commonly recommended — ask a travel clinic at least six weeks before you fly.
Altitude is the more relevant risk on most of our trips. Every itinerary above 4,000 m has rest days built in, and your guide records oxygen saturation each evening at altitude. The full picture is in our field note on altitude.
- Bring any prescription medication in its original packaging, with a copy of the prescription
- Water is treated or boiled on every trip — do not buy bottled
- Lodge food is safe; the standard advice on street food applies in the cities
- Tell us about any medical condition at booking, in confidence
Phones, power and connectivity
Buy an Ncell or NTC SIM at the airport for a few dollars. Coverage is good in the Kathmandu Valley and along the Annapurna and Everest trails to around 4,000 m, and non-existent in Dolpo and above Ghunsa in the east.
Lodges charge for device charging above about 3,000 m — typically NPR 200 to 500 per device. A power bank pays for itself in three days. Every guide carries a satellite communicator regardless of signal, and can relay a daily message to your family on request.
Demo disclosure
Aroha is a fictional brand built to demonstrate a YantraCore premium template. Every journey, guide, departure, price and review on this site is invented. No trips are sold and no enquiry reaches a real operator.
Guide profiles are fictional. The photographs beside them show the terrain each guide works in — they do not depict the people described. Photography is listed in full on the credits page.
Something not covered
Ask a person instead.
A 20% deposit confirms a place and the balance is due 45 days out. Everything else, just ask.