Indian Tourists to Nepal Hit a Record High in 2026 — and They're Here to Trek

For most of the last half-century, Indians came to Nepal to shop, gamble, or pray. In 2026 they are increasingly coming to walk — and they are arriving in numbers Nepal has never seen. In May 2026 alone, 40,782 Indian visitors flew into Nepal — the highest monthly total ever recorded and a 32.66% jump over the same month a year earlier. India is now, by a wide margin, Nepal's largest tourism source market.

It is part of a much bigger wave. More than 30 million Indians travel abroad every year, and the country's outbound-travel market is projected to nearly triple over the next decade. Nepal — a short hop away, visa-free, and familiar — is perfectly placed to catch it.

From shopping trips to summit treks

Nepal Tourism Board data shows a clear generational shift in why Indians come. The shopping tourism of the 1970s–90s gave way to casinos and city breaks in the 2000s–2010s; today the fastest-growing reason is adventure — trekking, nature and pilgrimage.

“The younger generation wants experiences,” hotelier Yogendra Shakya told The Kathmandu Post — and for this generation that means the Everest Base Camp and Annapurna Base Camp trails, motorbike road trips, and the high pilgrim routes. Operators are feeling it directly: trekking agencies report inquiries climbing rapidly month on month.

Why Nepal is suddenly the easy choice

“Nepal has become attractive because Indian travellers do not need visas, Indian currency and QR payments are accepted in many places, and visitors can even bring their own vehicles,” said Nepal Tourism Board director Mani Raj Lamichhane. Add airfares that have collapsed — Delhi–Kathmandu for around Rs 15,000 — and a weekend trek in the Himalaya is now genuinely accessible to India's middle class.

Pilgrimage is surging alongside the trekking boom. China raised the 2026 Kailash Manasarovar quota to 24,000 pilgrims (from 20,000 in 2025) routed through Nepal — and demand has already passed 40,000, spilling naturally into trekking and sightseeing add-ons. For more on the practicalities, see our guide to whether Nepal is safe and visa-free for Indian travellers.

The record numbers are good news for Nepal's economy — and a useful nudge for anyone still on the fence. If you want the classic Annapurna Base Camp trek, the bucket-list Everest Base Camp, or a gentle first taste on Ghorepani Poon Hill, we arrange permits, a licensed guide and all logistics end to end — so you just walk.

Source: The Kathmandu Post — “Indian tourists return to Nepal in record numbers” (2 June 2026); Nepal Tourism Board arrival data.

Cover photo: Bijaya2043 via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).