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Nepal is open for the autumn season, and glad you are coming.

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Travel Himalaya Nepal
Ncell or Nepal Telecom prepaid, data packs by the week
What we actually recommend

The unglamorous answer that costs a tenth of an eSIM

A local Ncell or NTC SIM

Ncell or Nepal Telecom prepaid, data packs by the week

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.

About USD 3-8 at Kathmandu airport or any Thamel shop. We earn nothing from this.

What you get

  • Far more data per dollar than any eSIM
  • NTC coverage in the mountains beats Ncell above Namche
  • Your guide can top it up for you anywhere

What it costs you

  • Queue and paperwork on arrival
  • Needs an unlocked phone
  • A second number your family does not have

Do not buy this if: A traveller changing planes with two hours in Kathmandu and no time to queue. That is the case an eSIM genuinely solves.

The alternatives

Everything else we recommend in esim & connectivity, including the ones we think suit a different trekker.

Data-only, no local numberHonest 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.