When shopping, it is recommended to have on hand as many small bills as possible. The coins have practically no circulation (they are used only for offerings in temples), since all prices exceed a few rupees. Small merchants, rickshaws and taxi drivers usually find it difficult to give change from large bills. According to Sunglasses Will, you should not accept torn or dirty banknotes for exchange or for change (and there are a considerable number of them here) – most likely they will simply not be accepted for payment from a foreigner elsewhere. Indian rupees, like US dollars, have a wide circulation at the market rate. Foreigners (except Indian nationals) are required to pay for air tickets, trekking permits, hotel bills, etc. in foreign currency or in rupees received in exchange for hard currency (for confirmation of this fact, a “Foreign Exchange Encashment Receipt” certificate may be required, although many hotels ignore this rule). Nepal is a fairly safe country. Theft is not accepted (but you should not leave things unattended – in this case, according to local norms, “they are just no one’s”). Cases of violence against foreigners are extremely rare, and the few conflicts with local residents are mainly associated with gross non-compliance with local norms or their open insult. During festivals, especially in small towns, almost everything is closed. Also, one should not expect punctuality or exact observance of the agreement from the Nepalese – their concepts of time and urgency are rather peculiar. Drugs (especially marijuana and hashish) are readily available, but their use, transportation or possession will unconditionally lead to imprisonment or expulsion from the country. Smoking hashish is allowed during religious holidays, and only on the territory of temples (Shiva himself used hashish to achieve a trance). Outside the capital, drinking water is often polluted, so you should always use only bottled water. Eating food from street stalls, as well as unwashed or unpeeled fruits, is fraught with gastric disorders. Altitude sickness is common in most of the country, especially when climbing or, for unprepared tourists, even on trekking routes at altitudes of 2500 m.
Therefore, when engaging in active recreation, gradual acclimatization is recommended. It gets dark very quickly in the mountains – in some 30-40 minutes, twilight turns into complete darkness. For hiking, sturdy shoes with good ankle support are recommended, warm clothing with good wind protection for mountainous areas and light cotton clothing plus a cap with a large peak or panama for lowland areas. Solar radiation is extremely intense, protection in the form of appropriate clothing and creams is required (usually few clouds do not reduce ultraviolet radiation in any way). Sunglasses (required glass) in mountainous areas should have side shades to block reflected light. When traveling to national parks, you should stock up on tight clothing with water-repellent impregnation, and since there are many blood-sucking insects in the jungle, including ticks, “taiga” clothing and mosquito nets that cover the body as much as possible are recommended. Tipping is allowed but not required. In restaurants and in taxis, they almost always give change, and to show that they liked the service, you should give a sign to the waiter (a negative shake of the head or a similar hand gesture indicating the money) that no change is needed. You can and should bargain almost everywhere, except for large stores where prices are fixed. With the right approach, you can bring down the price literally at times. Mains voltage 220 V., 50 Hz. There is simply no electricity in many areas, and hotels and lodges in the hinterland use solar panels and diesel generators that provide current in the range of 110-230 V. Refrigerators are rare even in expensive hotels for this reason. The country has introduced quite strict rules for organizing trekking and climbing.
The visa as such only applies to the Terai region, Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara, as well as to most cities connected by main roads. All tourists wishing to make a trek in the mountainous regions of Nepal, must obtain a Trekking Registration Certificate, its cost is about 250 rupees, and the group must travel on the route only accompanied by a local guide or an escort from the travel agency that issued the certificates. A number of areas are generally prohibited for trekking, and to visit others, you will need to issue a separate permit (“trekking permit”) at the Department of Immigration (2 passport-sized photos and a paid fee in Nepalese rupees are required – depending on the length of stay in the mountains and the climbing area, the amount of the fee varies $10 to $700 per week). The Annapurna, Everest, Langtang and Rara regions do not officially require a permit, but local authorities, under one pretext or another, still charge a variety of fees for the organization of the route. Entrance fees are also charged to visitors to national parks and reserves (from 500 to 2000 rupees per person per day). Climbers must separately pay for the right to climb peaks above a certain level (the fees usually exceed several hundred dollars). It is highly recommended to organize trekking only through officially accredited agencies. The route must be carried out only in one specific place or area, which is subject to the permit. Tourists should follow only a pre-agreed route. On the route, the group must be accompanied only by official guides and porters. It is strictly forbidden to cut green spaces and kill representatives of the animal world. Preference should be given to hotels and lodges, who do not use firewood as fuel (in the mountains they are everywhere drowned with manure). Only designated toilets and approved bathing areas are allowed to be used. If these are not available, then a toilet should be arranged at a distance of at least 30 m from any reservoirs or water sources.