The unglamorous answer that costs a tenth of an eSIM
A local Ncell or NTC SIM
A local SIM bought on arrival costs a few dollars, gives more data than any tourist eSIM, and NTC in particular reaches further up the Khumbu and Annapurna valleys — you spend twenty minutes in a queue and need a passport photocopy.
Skip it ifA traveller changing planes with two hours in Kathmandu and no time to queue. That is the case an eSIM genuinely solves.
About USD 3-8 at Kathmandu airport or any Thamel shop. We earn nothing from this.
The rest of the shelf
- Honest use case
Connected the moment the aircraft door opens
A Nepal eSIM, for the first 24 hours
Worth it for the ride from the airport and for confirming your pickup, and not worth it for the trek itself — you are paying several times the local rate for the convenience of not queueing.
Skip it ifA two-week trek. Buy one for the arrival day if you like, then buy a local SIM.
Bought directly from an eSIM provider. We have no affiliate arrangement with any of them.