When to visit Nepal, month by month.
Keyed to the circuit most operators sell: Kathmandu + Pokhara + Everest views. For the best all-round experience, go Oct-Nov. For the lowest prices and thinnest crowds, go Jul-Aug.
Two windows, because they answer different questions. Best experience scores the weather, the headline sights and low crowds; cheapest and quietest scores only airfare and how empty it is. Special-interest seasons (skiing, Christmas markets, aurora, festivals) are kept out of the experience score and flagged on their own line, so a niche winter draw never masquerades as the best all-round month. If you care most about one thing, read that column below.
Weather and cost, month by month
| WeatherKathmandu, Pokhara | Costflights + hotels | |
|---|---|---|
| January | Cold, dry | Low fares |
| February | Mild, dry | Moderate |
| March | Warm, dry | Rising |
| April | Warm, pleasant | Peak spring |
| May | Hot, humid | Priciest fares |
| June | Monsoon starts | Holiday fares |
| July | Peak monsoon | Low fares |
| August | Wet, humid | Low fares |
| September | Monsoon eases | Rising |
| October | Crisp, dry | Peak prices |
| November | Cool, dry | High demand |
| December | Cold, dry | Holiday rise |
The Nepal attraction calendar
When each headline draw is actually at its best, or shut.
| Mountain viewsEverest, Annapurna | Trekkingtrails | WildlifeChitwan | Culturetemples & festivals | Crowdsempty is good | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Clear, cold | Cold, passes shut | Prime viewing | Temples, quiet | Quiet trails |
| February | Clear, hazing | Cold, clearing | Grass cut, open | Temples open | Fairly quiet |
| March | Haze building | Spring season | Peak rhino | Holi colours | Getting busy |
| April | Hazy | Spring peak | Hot, good sightings | Nepali New Year | Busy trails |
| May | Hazy, clouding | Warm, hazy | Very hot | Temples open | Thinning out |
| June | Cloud-hidden | Wet, leeches | Hot, flooding | Temples, quiet | Empty |
| July | Behind cloud | Monsoon | Flooded | Wet, temples | Deserted |
| August | Behind cloud | Muddy, leeches | Flooded | Festival season | Deserted |
| September | Clearing late | Season starting | Waterlogged easing | Temples open | Quiet, filling |
| October | Clearest | Peak season | Dry season opens | Dashain | Peak crowds |
| November | Crystal clear | Peak season | Great sightings | Tihar lights | Very busy |
| December | Cold, clear | Cold, clear | Cool, clear | Temples, quiet | Quieter |
What each month actually gives you
Good and quiet: cold, dry, clear, with fine high-peak views and the lowest crowds and fares of the trekking-season shoulder, but short days and valley chill.
Good shoulder: still dry and quieter, warming from the January low, with clear peaks early in the month before spring haze starts building.
Good: the start of the spring trekking season, warm and rhododendron-fresh, but the air is measurably hazier than autumn so distant peaks soften.
Good and busy: the warm, colourful peak of spring trekking, best for bloom and warmth, but hazier skies mean softer mountain panoramas than autumn.
OK and fading: hot, humid and increasingly hazy with pre-monsoon storms, thinning crowds but among the priciest airfares of the year.
Poor and the worst-value month: monsoon arrives so the mountain views you paid for sit behind cloud, yet Indian school-holiday demand keeps fares high.
Poor: the wettest month, mountains behind cloud and flight cancellations routine, though it is empty and among the cheapest for airfare.
Poor for the mountains: still monsoon with hidden peaks and flooded parks, cheap and empty but the core sights are washed out.
OK and transitional: monsoon retreats through the month, so late September starts to clear and the autumn season begins to fill in.
The best month overall: post-monsoon air gives the clearest mountain views of the year with stable weather and the main trekking season, at the cost of peak crowds and prices.
A best-of-year month: crystal-clear peaks, dry stable weather and prime trekking with Tihar lights, still busy but easing after October.
Good and quieter: cold, dry and clear with excellent high-peak views and easing crowds, though short days, valley chill and some high-altitude closures.
Worth noting
- • The monsoon does not just mean rain, it hides the mountains you came for. From roughly mid-June to September, dense cloud cover means Everest, Annapurna and Machapuchare are usually not visible at all, so a monsoon package can deliver the itinerary without the actual views.
- • Mountain flights get cancelled in the monsoon. Lukla (Everest) and other mountain routes have a high cancellation rate June to September due to rain, low cloud and wind; even in good seasons, book the earliest morning slot because afternoon cloud build-up causes most cancellations.
- • June can be the worst-value month of the year for this trip: Indian summer school-holiday demand keeps airfares elevated while the monsoon hides the peaks, so you pay high-season fares to look at cloud.
- • Spring is warmer than autumn but hazier. March to May air carries dust, pollution, pre-monsoon moisture and smoke from grass and forest fires, so long-distance Himalayan views are softer and less reliable than the crystal-clear October to November skies.
- • October to November is peak-everything on the trails. It is the clearest and most stable window, which also makes it the busiest and priciest, and it overlaps Nepal's two biggest festivals, Dashain and Tihar, when many shops close and domestic transport is jammed.
- • Winter views can be the sharpest of all, but with a catch. December to February air is dust-free so high peaks look almost digitally clear, yet high passes like Thorong La are frequently snow-closed, some high teahouses shut, and days are short and cold.
- • The Chitwan wildlife window is inverted from the mountains in the shoulders. October to March is best for pleasant safaris and open sightlines (the Tharu grass harvest around February clears the tall grass), while the hot pre-monsoon of March to April actually gives strong tiger and rhino sightings at shrinking waterholes.
- • Indians do not need a visa or even a passport for Nepal. Under the 1950 Indo-Nepal treaty, Indian citizens enter visa-free; a valid passport or Election Commission voter ID (original physical document) is accepted, though Aadhaar, PAN and driving licences are not.
Local terms
- Deepavali.
- Diwali, the festival of lights, a public holiday in Malaysia and Singapore, usually October or November.
- monsoon.
- The rainy season. In much of Southeast Asia the coasts have opposite monsoons, so one side is wet while the other is dry.
Got a Nepal package on the table?
Check its dates against this chart, and everything else your operator did not spell out. We read the fine print so you do not have to.
Conditions verified July 2026. Confirm operator and attraction dates for the year you are travelling.