Nepal opens borders to climbers and trekkers despite Covid-19, as it looks to tourism for economic revival
- Around 800,000 people work in Nepal’s tourism industry, which has been severely affected by the pandemic
- Visitors require prior approval of their itineraries and a negative coronavirus test, must quarantine on arrival and hire a local outfitting company
Adventurers looking to scale Nepal’s Himalayan peaks and trek its mountain trails can finally do so, for the first time in seven months, as the country reopens to foreigners even as the coronavirus pandemic leaves it short of hospital beds.
Foreign visitors are a major source of income for Nepal and the closure has affected the estimated 800,000 people who work in the tourism industry.
For now the reopening will come with restrictions and mainly be limited to those seeking to climb or trek its famous peaks. Nepal is home to the eight of the 14 highest mountains in the world, including the tallest, Mount Everest.
“We are not opening the country for all visitors and only mountaineers and trekkers who have taken prior permit will be allowed to come to Nepal,” said Rudra Singh Tamang, director general of Nepal’s Department of Tourism. “We are opening to a sector of visitors who we know we can handle and manage.”
Rather than a visa on arrival, visitors now need to get prior approval, give details of their itinerary, hire a local outfitting company and have health insurance that covers Covid-19 treatment. They are required to take a coronavirus test before leaving their home country, stay for a week in quarantine at a hotel in Kathmandu and then take another coronavirus test before being allowed to climb the mountains.