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Best time to visit Nepal

When is the best time to visit Nepal? We think it’s from October to December, but it may well depend on whether you’ve got plans to go to Chitwan National Park, Kathmandu or Everest Base Camp. Our guide to the best time to go to Nepal offers temperature and rainfall charts, as well as month-by-month highlights and expert travel recommendations from folks we trust.

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Best time to visit Nepal

Autumn in Nepal is a trekker’s paradise: cloudless and dry, neither too hot nor too cold, and the clear mountain views resplendent.

October to December is the best time to visit Nepal, as dry days make trekking easier and offer good visibility. Spring (late February to mid-April) is also a great season to trek in Nepal. Autumn brings exceptional clarity, the dust washed away by the monsoon; spring days are warmer and longer. The summer monsoon is between June and September, so these usually aren’t the best months to visit, especially as June is the hottest month in Nepal. However, it is an incredible time to see the country alive with growth and freshness. Winter – especially January and February – is very chilly. Wrap up warm and you’ll be some of the only visitors in the mountains.

Call us for the best time to go to Nepal

A month by month guide on when to go to Nepal

January in Nepal

Tiger safaris start

Coldest month

Low season for trekking

Nepal in January is very cold. It very rarely snows in Kathmandu – even in this, the coldest month of the year – but the average low is around 1°C. Tiger watching season starts mid-January. In Bandipur National Park, villagers cut the long grasses for thatch, meaning wildlife is easier to spot. Few people trek. High passes are blocked with snow – so check before setting out, stay low, or prepare for detours.

February in Nepal

Warming up at the end of the month

Still cold at night

Few crowds

It’s a chilly start in Nepal in February, but as the month progresses it starts to get spring-like. Late February is the start of trekking season. There are very few crowds, but the high peaks might not be visible because of cloud; lower-altitude treks might be most comfortable. Holi festival can fall at the end of February, adding a splash of colour to precede the spring flowers that come next month.

March in Nepal

Spring flowers in the Langtang Valley

Start of spring trekking season

Second most popular time after autumn

The start of spring proper. Flowers bloom in Nepal in March, and there are longer days and longer trekking opportunities, though views might sometimes be obscured by cloud. Lots of small group trips start: everything from wildlife watching to an Everest circuit, and it’s the busy season in popular trekking areas. In lowlands like Bandipur, it’s the start of summer, and it’s getting warm on tiger tracking trips.

April in Nepal

High-altitude trekking

Rhododendrons

Hot at low altitude – for tiger watching

Rhododendrons welcome trekkers into Nepal in April. Kathmandu is sunny and in the lowland areas it’s starting to get hot. If you don’t mind temperatures in the 30°Cs and 40°Cs, you might be lucky enough to see tigers coming to water sources in Chitwan National Park. For cooler climes, go trekking and go high, as snow has melted from the passes and you can rise above any low cloud.

April is a great time for our Nepal trek with Chitwan National Park safari holiday

May in Nepal

Warm to very hot

Last good month for hiking and wildlife

Monsoon approaching

Nepal in May is enjoying the warmest months. It is also the calm before the storm: clouds begin to gather and showers begin to fall as a precursor to the monsoon season. It can be hot and humid in Pokhara and Kathmandu, with afternoon showers, and it can be 35°C in Chitwan National Park. Sneak to Everest Base Camp just before the monsoon comes for the chance run into lots of interesting trekking parties heading for the summit.

May is a good time for combining Bhutan, Tibet and Nepal

June in Nepal

Start of monsoon

Upper Mustang remains dry

Some trekking trails and roads closed

June means monsoon across most of Nepal, except for in the far north: the Mustang and Dolpo regions lie in a rain shadow and this is a good opportunity to visit areas which are very cold outside of summer. As for trekking elsewhere in Nepal in June: it’s off. Trails and roads are closed by landslides and floods; leeches thrive. National parks are closed for wildlife watching as the roads are not driveable.

During April and May there are lots of expedition groups planning to get to the top of Everest. We interact with them a lot.

– Kush Hari Phuyal, from our adventure specialists Intrepid Travel

July in Nepal

Peak monsoon

Farmers hard at work in rice paddies

Trekking trails and tea houses closed

It’s the wettest month of the monsoon across Nepal in July. In Pokhara, one of the rainiest places in the country, nearly 80cm of rain falls in the month. Between June and July, you might encounter the Ropain Festival, which marks the start of rice paddy planting season – the monsoon is essential for farmers. If you want to trek, go to the dry and remote Upper Dolpo or Upper Mustang, or hop over to neighbouring Ladakh, as these lie in rain shadow areas.

August in Nepal

Still hot and wet

Last monsoon month

Trekking trails and tea houses closed

Nepal in August is still hot and wet. As with all monsoon months here, it doesn’t necessarily rain all day, but it does rain every day; the monsoon rains tend to fall in the late afternoon or at night, and mornings can be sparkling and clear. Rice paddies are lush with green shoots and water rushes through the valleys. It’s still a good time to go to the Dolpo and Mustang regions.

September in Nepal

Start of autumn trekking season

Some rain might stick around

Better at end of the month

The teahouses on the trekking trails are open again to visitors. Nepal in September sees the monsoon disappearing, and by the end of the month, rain has totally cleared and the country is fresh: insects, dust and cloud washed away. Months of stable weather and clear skies are to follow. As September progresses, the weather just gets better and better.

October in Nepal

Most popular trekking month

Stable weather

Loads of walking options

The way the replenished landscapes spring to life during autumn is spectacular. Don’t forget your camera. This is the best and most popular month for trekking, but for something different, Nepal in October is also a great time for rafting. As climate change extends the monsoon, October remains the most reliable dry, cloud-free trekking month.

October is a great time for our small group holiday to Nepal

November in Nepal

Clear skies

Stable weather

Great for trekking

Nepal in November might be experiencing its clearest skies of the year, which means great views of mountain peaks. There are easy trekking conditions all the way through this month before the quieter season begins in colder December. Tihar, the Diwali-like festival of lights, lasts for five days around this time of year. In Nepal, it particularly celebrates animals, and it’s a lovely time to be in the country.

December in Nepal

Snow leopard spotting

Trekking in popular areas still possible

Colder and quieter

In Nepal in December, it’s getting cold and it’s the end of the busy trekking season. However, it’s not unbearably cold, and it’s still possible to trek if you’re prepared to be flexible about the colder weather at altitude, and the possibility of detouring due to snow. You can do the Annapurna Circuit or walk in the Everest region. It’s also a great time to look for snow leopards.

December is a great time to go on our snow leopard trek in Nepal

Chitwan, Nepal Weather Chart

MIN °C

MAX °C

RAIN (mm)

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

181

JUN

511

JUL

868

AUG

778

SEP

363

OCT

NOV

DEC

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Best times to visit Nepal for festivals & events

Holi (February or March)

Holi is a three-day festival held in February or March and known as the festival of colours, or the festival of love. It’s traditional to throw coloured powder at each other; although it’s a deeply religious celebration, it brings out the kid in everyone and you’ll see fully grown adults chasing each other in fits of laughter.

Tiji (mid-May)

A prayer for world peace: that’s what Tempa Chirim (shortened to Tiji and sometimes called Tenchi) is about. This three-day Buddhist festival sees monks banish evils through ceremony and dance in Lo Manthang, the capital of Upper Mustang, an isolated and less-visited region in the north-west of Nepal. Villagers might also fire off guns to ensure that the demons have truly fled.

Ropain (June)

Not many travellers visit Nepal during its monsoon but it’s the time of year where the rice paddies are planted, and with this comes a festival to celebrate the arrival of green shoots and swelling waters. At Ropain, people go out in the rice paddies to prepare them for planting. Songs are sung – and perhaps a bit of mud is slung as people play in the wet fields. Beaten rice and yoghurt is the traditional food of choice.

Teej (August or September)

With red sarees and red tika, Hindu women in Nepal celebrate Teej with feasting and dancing. Whilst prayers are offered to the longevity and health of their spouses, it’s a time for women – they get a public holiday and do not work, and married women return to their childhood homes. It’s also a time of sisterhood, and for self-expression in a society where women’s voices are not often heard.

Dashain (September or October)

One of the country’s biggest festivals, Dashain is a Hindu celebration of the harvest and the victory of good over evil, particularly the victory of the goddess Durga over the demon Mahishasura. Its celebrations can last for 15 days and each day has a special significance and events. Animal sacrifice is an important part of the festivities and occurs on the eighth day.

Tihar (October or November)

Expect five days of festivities in Nepal for the festival of light. In Nepal, Hindus especially celebrate animals. Crows, dogs, cows and ox are worshipped on different days, and dogs, ox and cows adorned with garlands. On the fifth day, it’s time to turn attention to non-furry parties. The fifth day is especially for siblings to celebrate each other, and then everyone feasts. It’s a lovely time to be in the country.

Our travellers also ask…

What is the coldest month in Nepal?

January is the coldest month in Nepal and, as you might imagine, as you reach higher and higher altitudes it gets colder and colder. There’s a lot of snow about on the mountains.

Which month is the rainy season in Nepal?

The monsoon in Nepal is from June to early September, but rains can start in May. The rainiest months are July and August and by mid-September clouds have cleared, leaving a dry, bright autumn. However, climate change is making the rainy season – Nepal’s monsoon season – last longer and become more unreliable.

When is the worst time to visit Nepal?

Not many people fancy visiting Nepal in the monsoon months of June, July and August. Although it’s very lush and it doesn’t rain all the time, it’s a bad time for wildlife watching and for trekking, and lots of paths are closed – or might even be washed away. The other quiet season is winter, as it can be very cold on trekking paths, especially at night, though people still come in fewer numbers to experience the paths in the quiet.