Slowly I am dizzy from the constant back and forth of the Nepalese government regarding the quarantine of incoming tourists. Therefore I formulate it cautiously: Apparently the Ministry of Tourism now seems to have agreed on a regulation, which could possibly last for a longer time. According to this regulation, people entering Nepal – provided they have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus or have a negative PCR test that is not older than 72 hours – have to be tested immediately after arriving in Nepal.
“Short quarantine”
In the hotel in Kathmandu, they then have to wait for the result. If the test on arrival was negative, they can move freely in Nepal. In this case, the previously obligatory one-week hotel quarantine becomes only a “short quarantine” for entrants. Mountaineers and trekking tourists will hardly notice this, as one or two days in Kathmandu at the beginning of an expedition or trekking trip are usually part of the schedule anyway.
Three teams on Annapurna
“We expect that climbers and trekkers who were postponing expeditions or trips due to tough rules will be coming to Nepal after this decision,” Mira Acharya, director at the Nepal’s tourism department, told the news agendy AFP.
By today (26 March), the Ministry of Tourism has issued permits for six expedition teams, according to its own information: for four mountaineers who want to climb Nuptse (7,861 meters) – this was the first permit this spring – , a single climber on Manaslu (8,163 meters) and three teams on Annapurna (8,091 meters) with a total of 40 members, including 15 female climbers. The first Everest expedition team, the 16 climbers from the Royal Guard of Bahrain, also received their permits.
