Nepal, the land that is sandwiched between the two browbeating landmasses and powerful nations that are India and China respectively and still it superintends to sustain its cultural diversity. This land of Himalayas is full of some of the astounding features that delve everyone into the state of bewilderment. From its astonishing heights to its cultural rendezvous, Nepal offers all the major intriguing traits that make even every jaded traveler’s feet to itch again and instigates him/her to get back into this staggering adrenaline-filled world.
Despite all its magical aspects, Nepal also has a real picture of its darker side too that we often neglect. But that negative side is required to be flashed upon as well.
There is a number of excellent reasons to visit Nepal which we will share here with you. But we also want you to have an idea about its dismissive and gloomy side so that you may have an actual picture of this well-known country in your mind to take a learned decision. So, let’s have a pragmatic look at good and bad things about Nepal.
Some of the Good Things about Nepal
Famous as Backpacker’s Bottleneck
We all are familiar with the fact that Nepal arguably offers us the most convenient access to its most famous peaks where a large number of adventure aficionados do visit throughout the year. The Himalayas of Nepal includes around fifty mountains that exceed the height of 7200 meters, including the world’s ten out of the fourteen 8000 m peaks. These peaks offer great opportunities for even several of the non-mountaineers as its foothills delivers some of the tremendous chances for all. Most of the famous peaks include Mount Everest (read: Where is mount Everest located?), Annapurna, Manaslu, Lhotse, Kanchenjunga, Imja Tse, Lobuche and Pisang Peak to name a few.
Nepal’s astonishing Diverse Cultures
An amazing country of almost 30 million people with more than 100 castes and subgroups, Nepal offers vast diversity in its culture and ethnicity. The groups here usually differ by altitude and climatic zones with some of them inhabiting the alpine region of high Himalayas while the others living in the middle hills inhabiting temperate zones. Most of the population is living in its subtropical lower regions too.
Languages: The most startling fact about Nepal is that over hundreds of languages are spoken here from which Nepali and Maithili are the most prominent ones.
Religions: Another astounding fact reveals about its diversity in Religions. Majority of the population identifies as Hindus while other minorities include Buddhists, Muslims with other practising the Kirat Mundham religion as well as Christianity.
Festivals: All these diverse cultures and ethnicity proffers its own unique festival and celebrations that translates into the different cuisines, dresses and customs. More than 50 festivals are celebrated every year that exhilarates every traveller who visits Nepal for fun, entertainment and exploration. Some of the major Festivals of Nepal include Dashain, Tihar, Lhosar, Teej and Indra Jatra to name a few.
Nepal’s unique and famous locals
The people of Nepal are famous worldwide for their friendly and helping nature. They can really make your trip an astonishing and memorable experience. One can never forget the way they welcome and treat their guests. That is why hospitality in Nepal is something that remains a universally accepted fact. They are always interested in chatting with the foreigners and often give a flash upon its culture and customs. It is quite easy to communicate with them as they can be conversant in English smoothly.
Nobody can forget the taste of its lip-smacking food
Food plays an important role while travelling as you need some delicious savories after a tiring day out. Indeed, food in Nepal is always famous for its local spices and unique recipes. People often love to have delicious recipes when they visit Nepal. The famous meal which is offered to every visitor in Nepal is Dal Bhat –a uniquely cooked combination of rice and lentils which is served with the cooked vegetables.
Other local cuisines in Nepal(also read: 15 Most Popular Nepali Foods you should Try) include Newari, Noodles soup and momos. You can also relish the mouth-watering international foods that are served at many popular restaurants in Kathmandu and Pokhara. Travellers often enjoy the delicious falafel, hummus, Pizza with a cup of scrumptious coffee.
Convenience in getting Visa to Nepal
We often feel bad while getting Visa to a country planning to visit becomes difficult due to one hurdle or the other. Nepal government has made this process easy for the travelers as the country is keen to promote its tourism sector. You can get a Visa on arrival at the airport of Kathmandu. All you need to have is some cash and one passport-sized photograph. Also, you get it easily through online Tourist visa application.
Prices: $30 for 15 days Visa
$50 for 30 days Visa
$125 for 90 day Visa
Adventurous Experiences In Nepal
Nepal is full of Adventurous and recreational activities. A number of adventure enthusiasts gear up for trekking its world-famous trails where they can always find the best opportunity to have a glimpse of its astonishing nature and lush green forests. Other than trekking, adventure aficionados would also get the best opportunity to experience the white water rafting in Trishuli and Bhotekoshi. Also, experience canyoning, bungee jumping, rock climbing, mountain biking, mountaineering and paragliding et al.
Everest Mountain Flight Tours
One of the best things offered by the Nepalese Government is its Everest Mountain Flight Tours. People who cannot trek due to the shortage of time or other reasons can now feel the beauty of the world-famous peaks by taking a mountain flight. The exceptional experience of drifting over clouds and snow-covered peaks would take you to an entirely different world.
It’s miraculous religious Monks and Stupas
One of the wonderful opportunity for all the architectural enthusiasts and religious-minded people is that Nepal offers its world-famous Hilltop Swayambhunath, aka the Monkey Temple and the largest Stupa in Asia(the Boudhanath) draws the attention of every visitor.
Some of the Bad Things about Nepal
Nepal’s poor infrastructure
Undoubtedly, Nepal offers excellent hotels and restaurants for your comfortable stay but where it lags behind is its poor condition of roads. Both city and long-distance roads are pretty bad. Construction crews take long backups whenever they make the improvements. Even the roads of its capital city are of poor condition. So, you should always remain careful while driving and travelling intercity in Nepal.
Practice of charging from the tourists
All of us aware of this fact that Nepal is one of the underdeveloped nations in the world and thus it still have very little extra money. But its tourism sector has been proving a backbone for the country’s economy. The country has started a practice of earning money from its tourists by charging to access public spaces which is not a good tourist practice.
For example, Durbar Squares are a very famous spacious place for strolling and hangout. But a bit high entry fees(from 10 to 15 USD) are charged from foreigners when they like to visit and hang around on these places. These things somehow impart a negative impact and also show the darker side that is being disliked by several tourists.
Poor Internet access
Almost all of us need to have access to the Internet while travelling to remain connected with our families and to social media. But the worst thing being noticed in Nepal is its poor Internet access. It is quite unreliable and slower as well. Though the Internet is offered by all the hotels and guesthouses you shouldn’t expect too much from them that as you can only do light work on phone or laptop through that.
Unhygienic atmosphere and dirty streets
The most pathetic part of Kathmandu is its filthy air and dirty streets. On arriving, you will be welcomed with dust all over and exhausts from the trucks. Pollution on the roads makes it really difficult to breathe sometimes. Thamel is one such example where the Nepal government has been working for years. Mud during the rainy seasons offers a different obstacle for the tourists. Its overall unhygienic environment is really annoying for travelers.
Air pollution and traffic in Kathmandu
Nepal has major pollution and environmental problems. Several of its cities face all such kinds of problems especially the traffic problems in everyday life. The major reason for this is an antiquated road system that contains small and untidy roads. Tourists often get annoyed by seeing such conditions and environmental issues.
Impact of Earthquakes
Due to the drastic earthquakes in Kathmandu, some of the sites and monuments remain disrepair in Nepal. Restoration work is quite slow that is usually handled by UNESCO. Such slow processes had already led the Nepal Government to delay its Visit Nepal 2018 Campaign earlier as more time was required to complete the project. Such scenarios are still there and not much improvements have been witnessed ever.
Dozens of monkeys at Stupas
Swayambhunath Stupa is the world-famous stupa in Nepal where thousands of tourists visit every year. Its poor air quality is quite disturbing that deteriorates its spectacular views. Another worst thing is that you will be harassed by a number of monkeys who can snatch your food and can even bite without any provocation. The foul smell of their debris is another worst thing that is also discouraging sightseers and travelers. Monkeys are already badly ruining the temple area.
Leftovers by Mountaineers
It has been observed that a large number of wastes and leftovers are left by the tourists and mountaineers during their Everest voyage that is resulting in deteriorating its environment. Waste is being thrown from the windows of cars and houses that can be seen piled up on the sides of roads. Rivers are being clogged by the plastic bags and debris. Due to all such rubbish things Kathmandu has converted into ‘Trashmandu’. There is an ardent need to focus on bringing an improvement to ensure that tourists are facilitated with the best options.
Impact of Poverty
Due to poverty, underage girls are working in the Bars as dancers and waitresses which are reluctantly ruining its culture and ethnicity. Girls are facing serious issues arisen by the earthquakes in the poor economic backgrounds which seem a bit disturbing. It’s high time that the government authorities look into such issues to resolve such problems through an alternate medium.
Of all the nations in South Asia, Nepal has stored some exceptional breathtaking experiences which includes all the colours of its local cultures and its great traditions intriguing even the most intrepid travelers. Now, what we need is to take some good steps to improve the darker side of the country.
So, we are sure that the above mentioned good and bad things about Nepal would surely give you the inside scoop on what to expect on your holidays to Nepal when you are planning a trip next.
Hope you liked our article, 17 Good and Bad Things about Nepal that no one Tells You. Do you’ve any suggestions? Feel free and comment below!!