Passportly

South Asia · ordinary Indian passport, tourism

NepalNo visa needed

How long you can stay

No fixed limit

Checked 17 August 2026 · some details are still being confirmed · 9 official sources

Visa at a glance

Visa fee
None to pay
Entries
Not stated
Extendable
Not applicable
Passport validity
No minimum stated

What you need to enter

  • Return or onward ticket

    Not stated

  • Proof of accommodation

    Not stated

  • Proof of funds

    Not stated

  • Travel insurance

    Not stated

  • Blank passport pages

    Not stated

  • Vaccinations

    Not stated

  • Arrival form

    Not stated

“Not stated” means no official source we checked addresses it either way — not that it is unnecessary. Carry it if in doubt.

When to go

Pick a month to see what the weather actually does.

Each month shows the best of Nepal's 3 regions — the region is named with it. Peak season is October, November, March, April — expect higher prices and crowds.

January

Excellent in Terai plains · the best month to go

Average
15°C
Rainfall
18mm
Rain days
3

The coldest month, and Kathmandu guesthouses are mostly unheated — nights fall to 2°C. Skies are at their clearest, so the Himalayan views from Nagarkot and Sarangkot are the best of the year. High passes are snowed in; low treks and the Terai are comfortable.

  • Kathmandu Valley: Good · 10°C · 14mm over 2 days
  • Terai plains: Excellent · 15°C · 18mm over 3 days
  • Trans-Himalaya (Mustang): Fair · 4°C · 14mm over 2 days

Where you go changes the answer

How Nepal's regions differ, and when it matters

⚠️ Nepal rates well in all twelve months, and that number needs reading carefully. From June to September the only part of the country with good weather is the trans-Himalaya — Mustang, Manang and Dolpo — which sits in the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri rain shadow. While Kathmandu takes 360mm of rain over 23 days in July, Jomsom takes 47mm over 10. That is a genuine answer to "where can I go in the monsoon", and it is why the classic monsoon treks go up the Kali Gandaki rather than into the hills. But it is not a Kathmandu holiday. Reaching Mustang means a mountain flight to Jomsom or several days on the road, restricted-area permits for Upper Mustang, and a tolerance for flights cancelled by cloud at the Pokhara end. Book Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan or Lumbini in July and you will spend the week indoors. Outside the monsoon this caveat falls away: October–November and February–April are excellent almost everywhere, which is why they are the trekking seasons.

What it costs

₹ · per person per day

  • BudgetHostels, street food, public transport
    ₹1,400
  • Mid-range3-star hotels, restaurants, some activities
    ₹3,200
  • Luxury4–5 star hotels, private transport, experiences
    ₹11,000

Excludes international flights. Our estimate, not an official figure — reviewed 16 August 2026. A typical trip runs 5–14 days.

Where to go

  • Kathmandu Valley

    Three former kingdoms — Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur — each with its own Durbar Square of tiered temples and palace courtyards. Bhaktapur is the best preserved and the one worth a full day. Much was damaged in the 2015 earthquake and has been rebuilt over the decade since.

  • Pashupatinath and Boudhanath

    The great Shiva temple on the Bagmati, one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the Hindu world, and — twenty minutes away — the largest Buddhist stupa in Nepal, ringed by Tibetan monasteries. The two together are the reason many Indian visitors come at all. The inner sanctum at Pashupatinath is open to Hindus only.

  • Pokhara

    Lakeside town under the Annapurnas, with Machhapuchhre rising almost vertically behind Phewa Tal. The staging post for Annapurna trekking, and pleasant enough doing nothing at all — boats, paragliding off Sarangkot, and the sunrise view from the ridge above town.

  • Chitwan National Park

    Terai grassland and sal forest holding one-horned rhino, gharial and a small tiger population. Jeep and canoe safaris from Sauraha, four hours from Kathmandu by road. Best from October to March, when the grass is short and the heat is bearable.

  • Lumbini

    The birthplace of the Buddha, marked by the Maya Devi temple and the Ashoka pillar, set in a monastic zone where dozens of countries have each built a temple in their own style. In the Terai near Bhairahwa, and easily combined with Chitwan or reached from Gorakhpur.

  • Muktinath and Jomsom

    A temple at 3,760m in the Mustang rain shadow, sacred to Hindus as one of the 108 Divya Desams and to Buddhists as Chumig Gyatsa. Reached by mountain flight to Jomsom or by jeep up the Kali Gandaki gorge. One of the few places in Nepal that is dry and clear through the monsoon.

  • Everest and Annapurna trekking

    The two classic regions: Everest Base Camp from Lukla, and the Annapurna Circuit or Base Camp from Pokhara. Teahouse trekking means beds and cooked food along the route rather than tents. October–November and March–April are the seasons; altitude, not fitness, is what turns people back.

The full rules

Everything official, quoted rather than summarised.

The detail

Conditions in full, fees, entries, and extending your stay
  • Indian nationals are outside Nepal's visa system entirely, not merely exempted from paying for it. The Department of Immigration states plainly, on its own eVisa page: "Indian citizens do not require a visa to enter Nepal." The Nepal Tourism Board puts the same rule the other way round: "All tourists / travelers of foreign nationality (apart from India) must obtain Tourist Visa to enter Nepal."
  • 🪪 Carry a valid Indian passport, or your original Election Commission voter ID card with photograph. Those two documents are accepted by every official source, by air and by land, at any age. Everything below is detail about when something else might also work — but nothing is gained by relying on it.
  • ⚠️ Two official sources disagree about which other documents are acceptable, and the disagreement decides whether you are allowed to board a flight. The Embassy of India in Kathmandu states that "Only the following two documents are valid for Indian Nationals travelling by air between India and Nepal" — a valid Indian passport or an original voter ID — and that "Other documents (Aadhaar, Pan Card, Driving License, Indian Embassy Registration, etc) are also not accepted for travel to Nepal." The Nepal Tourism Board additionally allows a "Pan card, driving license, ration card with photo and age confirmation for elderly people above 65 years" and a school identity card for children under 18. The most likely explanation is that the wider list works at the open land border while flights are held to the narrower one, but no source we could read says so. Fly with a passport or an original voter ID.
  • Both governments agree on what does NOT work: an Aadhaar card is not a valid travel document for Nepal, and neither is a certificate of registration issued by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu. The Embassy of India also rejects a downloaded or printed copy of a voter ID — it must be the original card.
  • An emergency certificate issued by the Embassy of India in Kathmandu is valid for a single journey back to India. It gets you home; it is not a document for entering Nepal.
  • The air-travel identity rule dates from 1 October 2000 and applies to Indian citizens over the age of 10, per the Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi.
  • There is no fixed limit on how long you may stay. Nepal's published stay periods — 15, 30 and 90 days, and the 150-day annual maximum — are properties of the tourist visa, which is not issued to Indians. Nepal's Immigration Act 2049 defines a visa as "a permit issued by the Government of Nepal to a foreigner for entering into and staying in Nepal" and empowers the government to exempt "any class, tribe or caste or nationality from the application of all or any of the provisions of this Act". India is so exempted, and no official source we could read publishes a maximum period for an Indian national.
  • India is deliberately excluded from the concession offered to Nepal's other neighbours. The Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi states that "Nationals from SAARC countries other than India will be issued gratis visa for up to 30 days for the first time in a year" — a free visa is still a visa, and India does not need one. If you see Nepal described as a "free 30-day visa" country for Indians, that is the SAARC rule being misapplied.
  • This record covers tourism only. Living, working, studying or owning property in Nepal as an Indian national is governed by the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship and by Nepali law, not by the entry rules above.
Extending your stay
Not applicable. There is nothing to extend. No visa or permit is issued to an Indian national, so no period runs and none can be renewed. The Department of Immigration's tourist visa extension service — US$45 for the first 15 days, then US$3 a day — applies to visa holders, which an Indian traveller is not.
Number of entries
Not stated by official sources.
Visa fee
Not applicable — no visa is required.

Common questions

Do Indians need a visa for Nepal?
No. Indian ordinary passport holders do not need a visa in advance to visit Nepal for tourism. On this page some details are still being confirmed — confirm with the relevant embassy before booking a non-refundable ticket. Last checked 17 August 2026.
How long can Indians stay in Nepal?
There is no fixed limit on how long Indians may stay in Nepal.
When is the best time to visit Nepal?
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December. These ratings are based on climate normals measured at Kathmandu, Bhairahwa, Jomsom. Nepal has more than one climate — a month counts as good if any region is, so check the month-by-month breakdown to see which one before booking.
How much does a trip to Nepal cost per day?
Roughly ₹1,400 per day on a budget, ₹3,200 mid-range, or ₹11,000 for luxury travel — per person, excluding international flights. Estimated 16 August 2026.

Sources

Every visa fact on this page comes from one of these. Verified by Rahul Chhabrani on 17 August 2026.

  1. Department of Immigration — eVisa (ETA) to Nepal: "Indian citizens do not require a visa to enter Nepal", stated twice; 150-day tourist-visa annual maximum

    Government · read 16 August 2026

  2. Department of Immigration — Visa Information: tourist visa categories, on-arrival fees (US$30/50/125) and the gratis-visa list including the SAARC concession

    Government · read 16 August 2026

  3. Immigration Act, 2049 (1992), published by the Department of Immigration — §2(d) defines a visa as the permit governing stay, §3(1) makes passport and visa the default, §14(1) empowers exempting a nationality from all or any provision

    Government · read 16 August 2026 · source last updated 2 November 1992

  4. Nepal Tourism Board — Tourist Visa: "All tourists / travelers of foreign nationality (apart from India) must obtain Tourist Visa", and the identity-document list for Indian nationals with its age limits

    Government · read 17 August 2026

  5. Embassy of Nepal, New Delhi — Visa: the 1 October 2000 air-travel identity rule for Indian citizens over 10, and the SAARC gratis visa stated as applying to nationals "other than India"

    Embassy · read 17 August 2026

  6. Embassy of India, Kathmandu — Valid Travel Documents: only a valid Indian passport or an original Election Commission voter ID for air travel; Aadhaar, PAN, driving licence and embassy registration explicitly not accepted

    Embassy · read 17 August 2026 · source last updated 17 August 2026

  7. WMO World Weather Information Service — Kathmandu climate normals (Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Nepal)

    Intergovernmental · read 16 August 2026

  8. WMO World Weather Information Service — Bhairahwa climate normals, the Terai zone (Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Nepal)

    Intergovernmental · read 16 August 2026

  9. WMO World Weather Information Service — Jomsom climate normals, the trans-Himalayan rain shadow (Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Nepal)

    Intergovernmental · read 16 August 2026

Before you book

This page covers ordinary Indian passports, for tourism only. Rules for business, study, transit and diplomatic or official passports differ and are not covered here.

Visa rules change without notice. Everything here was checked against official sources on 17 August 2026, and some details are still being confirmed. The final decision on entry always rests with immigration officers at the border. Confirm with the embassy before booking anything non-refundable.

See the 9 sources behind this page →