Travel Tips

Some other important Travel Tips
Beware of tours that climb to be reprehensive companies and offer to take bargain hunting.

Shopping
Shopping can be very pleasant and exciting in Kathmandu. There are numbers of tourists' shops on the main street of Thamel, Durbar square, Patan and Bhaktapur as well in the hotel arcades bursting with tempting pieces of jewelry, images, clothes, and typical Nepalese craft. In some of the small village shops, one can obtain traditional makes and beautiful potteries. Antiques can be taken out of the country with special permission granted by the Department of Archeology. Traditional crafts men’s colony in Patan is a famous shopping center for Nepalese handicraft.

Do and Do not

• In some of the temples, entrance may be prohibited for the non-Hindus.
• Leather articles are prohibited to be taken inside the temple and stupas.
• It is better not to touch offering or persons when they are on the way to shrines.
• Beef is strictly prohibited among both Hindus and Buddhist.
• No more female animals are killed for food.
• Generally, temples, stupas, and monument are permitted to be photographed, it is better to ask authorized persons to have permission before taking up the camera.
• It is better to be properly dressed when visiting any places. Don't wear sun, sand and beachwear those are not proper dresses in Nepal. Need not to be solid and overdressed but comfortable and decently covered.
• Don't be insulted if a Nepalese lady hesitates to shake hands. In Nepal, people, especially women, do not normally shake hands when they greet one another. Instead, handshake says "Namaste".
• We are hard on drug abuse trafficking and possession of drugs are taking as serious offenses.

Foreign Currency and Credit Cards
Credit cards, Master and Visa cards are normally accepted at major hotels, shops, and restaurants. ATM is generally found in Kathmandu and Pokhara. Major Banks, hotels, and Government license holder money exchange counters and Kathmandu Airport has foreign currency exchange facility. 

Exchange rates are published in English dailies newspaper such as TheRising Nepal, The Kathmandu Post and The Himalayan Times. Nepalese Rupees are found in denominations of 1000, 500, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1. Coins are found in denominations of 100, 50 and 25 paise. One rupee equals 100 paise.

Environmental guidelines

• Please show respect for the local population, the animals and nature. Please refrain from buying threatened animal and plant parts, as well as corals.
•  Take your time, remember you are on holiday, and in some cultures, the rush is considered impolite.
•  Shopping: If you buy local products, you support the local economy. And if you bargain about the price, remember it has to be fun to shop and a good deal is when both parties are happy.
• Begging: Please do not give money to beggars, especially not children. If you wish to donate we advice give it to local projects that Trekking Mart is involved with or you may wish to donate via an aid agency.
• In most of Trekking Mart's trip areas leaders collect clean usable clothing from travelers at the end of a trip, for distribution to needy communities.

Economic

• Buy locally made crafts and support local skills to encourage the positive sides of tourism.
• Consider tipping a reasonable amount for good service.
• Bargaining is an accepted practice in all of the countries we visit- but do so in good humor and bear in mind the amount of money you are haggling over!
• Think carefully about giving money to beggars, it is often more effective to give money to a local charity to reduce reliance and expectation.

Social

• Learn some words of the local language, this is appreciated and often results in getting more out of the experience.
• Ask for permission before taking photographs out of respect for the local people.
• Enjoy the areas you visit but, if possible, try and leave in a better state than you found them in.
• Respect the local laws, customs, and cultural beliefs.
• Show respect to the local customs. Please dress appropriately, when visiting private homes or villages. Maybe learn to greet in the local language.
• Do not buy ancient artifacts or souvenirs.

Environment

• Try not to damage any plants you see on the trail.
• Wild animals should not be touched, fed or disturbed and do not encourage local people to parade animals.
• Do not collect firewood use kerosene or LPG gas for cooking.
• Our policy is to carry out all nonbiodegradable rubbish.
• Be economical in using fresh water for showering and washing as often they are in short supply.

Time Difference
Nepal is five hours 45 minutes ahead of GMT (i.e. +05:45)

Electricity
Major towns in Nepal have electricity and the voltage is 220 volts and 50 cycles. Load shedding is sometimes experienced in Nepal. However, most of the major hotels have installed their own power back generators.

Restaurant and food
Almost every kind of food representing the culinary areas of many parts of the world is available in restaurants. The hotel may have several restaurants under one roof serving a wide variety of cuisines while individual restaurants cater to several types of cuisines like Chinese, Indian, Continental, Japanese, and Tibetan, etc.