Useful Information
Nepal Tibet Bhutan family tour can be started either from Kathmandu or Lhasa or Paro. We are happy to organize your journey as per your convenient travel schedule so that compare the flight fares and let us know where you want to begin the trip.
Best Time to Go
You will be traveling across 3 countries- Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet with slightly different climatic conditions. March, April and May - September, October, November and December are the best months to travel to these destinations. The days are pleasant and the skies remain clear. While Nepal and Bhutan receive the most amount of rainfall and thunderstorms during the monsoon season (June, July, August), Tibet remains dry and receives little precipitation. Winter tends to be cold and chilly. But the upside of traveling during monsoon and winter is fewer crowds and off-season discounts.
Visa for Nepal
Tourist visas for Nepal can be obtained upon your arrival at the Kathmandu International airport (TIA) or at any immigration of Nepal. It is so simple and easy process to get a visa for Nepal, simply, fill up a visa form, submit at any immigration along with your passport and visa fee (USD 30 for 15 days tourist visa, USD 50 for 30 days multiple entries and USD 125 for 90 days multiple entries) and get a visa within a few minutes. Children under 10 are required to have a visa but are not charged for the same.
Visa for Tibet
If you are planning to start the journey from Kathmandu, please do not apply for a Chinese visa in your home country. Your Chinese visa will be canceled while applying for the Tibet visa. We will apply for the Tibet group visa at the Chinese Embassy here in Kathmandu and the embassy requires 3 working days for the Tibet group visa. We will apply for the visa along with your original passport (minimum 6 months valid from the date of travel) while you are enjoying our guided tour to Nagarkot, Bhaktapur, and Kathmandu. The visa fee for Tibet is already included in the package.
Visa for Bhutan
Visa for Bhutan will be stamped upon your arrival at Paro airport but you need to get a Visa Approval letter in advance which we will apply for you with your passport copy and give you before flying to Paro airport. Our guide from Bhutan will be waiting at the airport to receive you and look after all the necessary formalities. The visa fee for Bhutan is also already included in the package.
Arrivals and Departures (Kathmandu, Lhasa, and Paro)
We offer all the necessary arrival and departure services at all three different destinations, our tour guides and drivers will be there for your welcome and farewell receptions at Kathmandu International airport, Lhasa International Airport and Paro international airport.
Accommodation in Nepal
Our package includes 4-star hotels in Kathmandu, Nagarkot, and Bhaktapur. You will be spending 3 nights at Hotel Manaslu in Kathmandu, 1 night at Hotel Club Himalaya in Nagarkot and 1 night at Bhaktapur Durbar Square. Featured amenities include free Wi-Fi, restaurant, bar, swimming pool, spa, café and terrace for refreshment and beautiful views. Hotel Manaslu is located in the heart of the Kathmandu valley, Club Himalaya is located on the best viewpoint of Nagarkot hillside and hotel in Bhaktapur will be inside the Durbar Square.
Accommodation in Bhutan
Your accommodation in Bhutan: we will book Tashi Namgyal Resort in Paro, Namgay Heritage Hotel in Thimphu and Drubbchu Resort in Punakha. These hotels offer luxurious deluxe rooms and premium suites. Featured amenities include free Wi-Fi, multi-cuisine restaurant, bar, spa, café, and laundry service, etc.
Accommodation in Tibet
Your accommodation in Lhasa will be booked at the Shangri-La Hotel or St. Regis Hotel, the 4-star hotels renowned for its traditional Tibetan hospitality. These two hotels are located close to two of the city’s most popular landmarks- Potala Palace and Barkhor Bazaar. Rooms are traditionally decorated with en suite bathrooms. Amenities include free Wi-Fi, restaurant, bar, spa, café and terrace for refreshment and beautiful views and laundry service, etc.
Meals in Nepal
Daily breakfast and welcome dinner and fare dinner are severed in Kathmandu. Full board (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner) is served in Nagarkot. Bhaktapur will be a bed and breakfast basis.
Lunch and dinner are not included in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur. There are many choices of restaurants serving international dishes in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur. You can use popular apps like TripAdvisor orLonely Planet to choose the restaurant that serves the cuisine of your choice or you can ask your tour guide or the hotel staff for a great recommendation.
Meals in Bhutan
All meals are included in the trip cost. Our package serves continental, Nepali and Bhutanese dishes. Bhutanese dishes are usually made with chilies, cheese, meat, mushrooms, red rice, and buckwheat. Nepali dishes are not much spicy compared to Bhutanese dishes.
Meals in Tibet
Daily breakfast is included in the package. Lunch and dinner are not included in the tour price so that you will have to make arrangements on your own. There is a wide range of restaurants in Lhasa that serve continental, Nepali, Tibetan, Chinese, Thai and dishes. You can pick any one of the popular restaurants for your lunch and dinner or ask your tour guide or the hotel staff for the best recommendation.
Tour Group Size
Joining a fixed departure tour is also great fun, you will be traveling with a group of people from different countries and backgrounds and of different ages and yes, this is a great way to meet new people and make friends. For this Nepal Tibet Bhutan tour, the minimum group size is 2 and the maximum is 20 people.
Booking procedure and Payment
the scanned copy of your passport which you can send us via email or WhatsApp is enough for us to prepare Tibet Travel Permit and Bhutan visa approval. Also, we request you to send us USD 300 per person as a trip deposit in booking confirmation time. The outstanding balance is to be paid at your arrival time. You can either pay by cash, bank transfer or by our online system. If pay by credit card it charges 4% more. If the air ticket is required we will issue for you. However, full payment of air tickets should be made while issuing the tickets.
Learn a bit about Nepal- the Country of Mount Everest
If you are visiting Nepal for the first time you may be wondering what to see and expect in your trip. So many things of interest for a traveler, such a spectacular topography, such a richness of culture, tradition and wealth of flora and fauna all packed in this tiny and beautiful country, a very rare combination anywhere.
The Capital Kathmandu together with the towns of Patan and Bhaktapur are medieval cities packed with hundreds of masterpiece Buddhist Stupas and Hindu Temples, some dating back even the second and fifth centuries. It is only in Kathmandu that seven UNESCO declared world heritage sites lie in a periphery of just thirty kilometers. The medieval sights and sounds so different but so friendly to take you in its spell.
Nepal has such a topographical contrast that elevation ranges from 70 meters above sea level in Jhapa (430km east from Kathmandu) to the world’s highest mountain, Everest 8848m above sea level. This unique variation has given Nepal a varied ecosystem, both thick tropical and alpine forest swarmed with diverse wildlife, stunning peaks of the world, frozen lakes and valleys, deep gorges, mysterious caves, furious Himalayan rivers running down the hills and cool and calm lakes. In such a small country you can see tropical animals like wild elephants, one-horned rhinoceros, Tigers and also alpine animals like snow leopards, Himalayan Thar, etc...
This country is the home to two percent of all flowering plants in the world, eight percent (848 species) of the total birds of the world (more birds than in the USA and Canada combined), 11 of 15 butterflies’ families found in the world (500 species), 600 indigenous plant families and more than 300 species of orchid species and a population of 30 million people with about 60 ethnic groups speaking 70 different languages is a place with unique cultures, exotic traditions, and festivals, unique art and architectures and above all very friendly people, all very alluring to the visitors.
Being the birthplace of Lord Gautam Buddha, founder of Buddhism, Lumbini is southern Nepal is visited by Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world. The great number of Tibetan refugees with their Lamas, Rinpoche, and Stupas make Nepal a place ideal for those interested in Tibetan Buddhism. Few people know that original Tibetan culture survives in remote and exotic Nepali villages bordering with Tibet, rather than in Tibet itself. Most of these villages can be visited in one or the other treks to the Himalayas.
Tibet - The Roof of the World
Tibet located in the center of Asia, with an area of 2.5 million square kilometers. The earth's highest mountains, a vast arid plateau, and great river valleys make up the physical homeland of 10 million Tibetans. It has an average altitude of 13,000 feet above sea level.
A land of ancient Buddhist culture, awesome landscapes, artistic monasteries and centuries-old caravan trails, Tibet is a destination out of the ordinary. It is the place of ambiguity and mystery, and renowned as the roof of the world. Long considered as the forbidden kingdom, Tibet’s mystical powers draw intrepid travelers from all over the world. For many years Tibet remained shut off to the world, slowly travel routes are being opened up and travel restrictions relaxed to allow travelers to experience this mystical place.
Tibet situated on the biggest and highest plateau in the world. It melts down into the harsh Chinese interior in the north and is hemmed by in the Himalayan mountain range in the south. The eastern plateau blends with the dense forest and jungles marching up from southeast Asia. Most people conjure up images of Tibet as being a frozen and barren place but in fact, it is a diverse environment that is home to a surprising variety of animals, plant life and an agriculturally intricate and religious-driven race of people.
Lhasa is the capital city of Tibet (elevation 3,650m) a surprisingly large and well-developed city. One can spend many days in Lhasa exploring its sites, the Potala Palace, the summer palace, its many Monasteries and other beautiful places. A road journey through Tibet from Nepal offers spectacular views of the Himalayas, as first, you approach them, then pass through them, then leave them in your rearview mirror. The place abounds with High Mountain passes, ancient monasteries, exotic cities, hidden valleys, extraordinarily enchanting local people and their ancient and gentle culture. A road trip by jeep, bus or bicycle through Tibet is an unforgettable and at times mesmerizing journey. You should take the chance to visit this place while it still exists.
Tibet’s a powerful place to travel, there are so much nobleness and grace about the Tibetan people, their religion and there simplistic way of life. It can sometimes be emotionally depressing when one sees how fast the Chinese are changing and taking over this incredible place. If you want to feel empowered by the magic of Tibet, just rise at 5 am in the freezing cold morning and wander down to the central square and allow yourself to be swept away in the mass of fur-clad, prayer wheel bearing, chanting Tibetans, its such a moment as fog and incense disorientates your senses, the harmonious deep throated chanting lulls your mind to a different place. Nothing compares to the first time you see yaks galloping across the high pasture, with burly nomads watching their progress.
There are those moments as you ponder life sitting on the frozen roadside, pray flags snapping in the wind and pilgrims painstaking prostrating their way past you. Tibet is full of pictures and moments that will live with you forever. The air is always crisp and dry and heavy with the scent of yak butter and burning candles. This place emanates a sense of peace and wellness. This magical kingdom is a must on any travelers list. It’s a truly amazing place where you can loose yourself and find yourself at the same time.
Learn a bit about Bhutan - Land of Thunder Dragon
Bhutan is a small and beautiful destination where the time stands still, nature and religion combine and maintains the tiny Buddhist kingdom as the last Shangri-La. Sandwiched between Tibet and India, Bhutan is the pearl of the Himalayas. Virgin peaks rise up to 25,000 ft to the north of the kingdom and beneath steep glacial walls, alpine highlands fall to misty forests. Mountain streams cut through gorges on their way down to warmer valleys and wide marshes in the heart of the kingdom.
One distinct landscape drops to the next before finally descending to the jungle and grasslands of the southern plains. To those people who have accustomed to this domain of extremes and have always led their life with the principles of Mahayana Buddhism, Bhutan is a paradise on earth where respect for life, in all its many incarnations, endures like the land itself.
Recommended Equipment list for Nepal Tibet Bhutan excursion
- Duffel or Rucksack bag (where you can put all your stuff)
- Daypack (this is for you to carry during the tour, where you can put your passport, camera, money, water, etc.)
- Walking shoes
- Walking pants
- Waterproof jacket or raincoat (Only if you are traveling from May to September)
- Full - sleeves shirt (If you are comfortable with)
- Jumper or pile jacket
- T-shirts (4 pieces)
- Sandal
- Socks
- Woolen socks (only in winter: December to mid-February)
- Sun hat
- Beanie
- Sunblock for lips
- Sun lotion
- Sunglasses
- Thermal Long underwear (only in winter: December to mid-February)
- Sewing kit
- Medical & first aid kit
- Flashlight
- Batteries and bulbs
- Swiss army knife (Optional)
- Personal toiletries and medication which should be labeled
- Swimsuit
Why Travel with Us
Alpine Eco Trek is a locally owned travel company. Most of our staff was born and raised in the regions. Your money stays here and supports the local economy. It’s another reason why we are such good value. Read More
