How serious is overstaying, really?
+
The official language is unusually stark: a serious crime that can lead to significant fines or imprisonment. Most countries describe an overstay as an administrative matter with a fine attached. Nepal does not, and given how easy the online extension is, there is no good reason to test it.
How do the extensions work?
+
Online, up to a total of 150 days in one year. They are routine and they are done from inside the country, which makes Nepal one of the more accommodating destinations for a stay that grows. The ceiling is the constraint, not the process.
What are the rules on gold and silver?
+
Ornaments up to 50 grams of gold and 100 grams of silver. Beyond that, undeclared, the penalties are severe: fines, confiscation, detention and imprisonment of between one month and five years. It is the kind of rule travellers dismiss until they remember what a wedding set weighs.
What about carrying cash?
+
Declare more than 5,000 US dollars in banknotes, or 10,000 dollars in notes and travellers cheques combined. Two thresholds for two situations, which is unusual — most countries publish one number covering everything.
Which routes are the ordinary departures from Kathmandu?
+
Delhi, Doha, Dubai, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Lhasa carry most of it, with the Indian and Gulf sectors dominating. Delhi is the shortest and cheapest onward leg by a wide margin, and it reads entirely normally on any booking.
Is there anything to know about the land border with India?
+
The crossings are open and busy, and the visa requirement applies at them exactly as at the airport. What differs is the pace and the paperwork — a crossing at Sunauli or Kakarbhitta is slower, more manual, and produces stamps that need to actually be there when you leave.
Do I need vaccination certificates?
+
A yellow fever certificate if you are arriving from a transmission-risk country, and polio vaccination evidence if you are arriving from certain others. Both depend on your route rather than your nationality, and both are checked on arrival rather than at check-in.
How does insurance interact with trekking?
+
The requirement named at the border is healthcare and repatriation cover. Trekking above certain altitudes is excluded by many ordinary policies, which means a traveller can satisfy the border and still be uninsured for the thing they came to do. Read the altitude limit, not just the policy name.
Is there a departure tax at Tribhuvan?
+
It is included in the ticket price rather than collected separately. What matters at departure is the visa still being valid on the day you leave — with extensions done online, that is entirely in your control and entirely your responsibility.
What if my trek runs long?
+
Extend online before the visa expires rather than after, and keep the 150-day annual ceiling in view. Nepal makes this easy precisely because unpredictable trips are its normal business — the flexibility is built in, but it has to be used before the deadline rather than explained afterwards.
What should be ready before I fly?
+
The visa arranged or the dollars for one on arrival, insurance covering healthcare and repatriation at the altitude you are actually going to, the first night's accommodation confirmed, a departure date, and a passport with six months. The insurance is the item most likely to be technically wrong.
