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Kathmandu in February
Good month: February is in the middle of the recommended season (October – April). Against it: Dust and Smog in the Valley. Maha Shivaratri at Pashupatinath and Holi (Fagu Purnima) can fall this month.
The season runs to the end of April, 2 months away.
3 days in Kathmandu in February · from ₹12,640 for two
Stay, food & local travel; getting there extra
The weather in February
What the season does to Kathmandu this month.
Heads up
Dust and Smog in the Valley
Kathmandu's air is at its worst in the dry months, with dust from traffic and road works and, from March to May, smoke from forest fires that also turns the mountain views to haze. Carry an N95 mask for the city and for long road journeys.
What’s on in February
Timing a trip around these changes what you pay and what you can book.
Maha Shivaratri at Pashupatinathdates shift yearly
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, many from India, and thousands of sadhus camp at Pashupatinath for Shiva's night. Queues for darshan last hours, roads round the temple close, and the area is crowded day and night; foreign visitors are sometimes kept out of the main day's rush.
Holi (Fagu Purnima)dates shift yearly
Colours are thrown in the hills, Kathmandu included, a day before the Terai (Janakpur, Chitwan, Lumbini) celebrates with India. Basantapur and Thamel are the centres in Kathmandu; wear old clothes and keep phones in a bag.
What it costs
For two sharing a room; 3 days on the ground, getting there not included.
Budget
₹12,640 for two
- Room a night₹1,250
- Food a day, each₹975
- Main sight entry, each₹90
Mid-range
₹30,741 for two
- Room a night₹4,380
- Food a day, each₹2,250
- Main sight entry, each₹90
Luxury
₹75,280 for two
- Room a night₹13,750
- Food a day, each₹5,250
- Main sight entry, each₹90
Totals cover the room (taxes included), food, local transport, entry and a 10% buffer: the figures the planner opens on. These are typical rates; Tourisma has no month-by-month rates for Nepal yet, so they don't move with the month.
Getting there
Fly into Kathmandu (KTM)
Flights from India: from 10 cities, one way from ₹6,500
Routes compared
Entry rules
No visa needed
- Carry your Indian passport or your original Election Commission voter ID card. Aadhaar is not accepted as a travel document for Nepal, and airlines refuse boarding on it.
- Flying in: show the same ID at check-in in India and at immigration in Kathmandu. No visa, no fee and no form for Indian citizens.
- Crossing by road (Sunauli, Raxaul–Birgunj, Kakarbhitta and the other border points): walk or drive across with the same ID. Bringing an Indian vehicle needs a customs permit (bhansar), paid per day at the border.
- Trekking or visiting a national park: you still need the park or conservation-area permits (Indians pay the lower SAARC rate), shown by region in this plan.
Carry: Valid Indian passport, or original Election Commission voter ID card (not Aadhaar); Children: a passport, or a birth certificate or school identity card when travelling with a parent who has valid ID; Over 65: a passport or voter ID is safest. A Home Ministry communique lets over-65s (and under-15s) use other government photo ID, Aadhaar included, but the Embassy of India in Kathmandu says Aadhaar and PAN cards are not valid for India–Nepal travel, so check with your airline; Two passport photos and photocopies of your ID, for trekking and park permits.
Indians need no visa for Nepal and sources give no fixed limit on the stay. Accepted IDs: passport or voter ID only; Aadhaar is not accepted. Rules for minors and other photo IDs vary by airline, so check with yours, or with the Embassy of India in Kathmandu, before you go.
Checked 2026-10; confirm with the embassy before you fly.
Elsewhere in Nepal in February
Also in season this month.
- Bandipur · great month
- Bardia (Thakurdwara) · great month
- Bhaktapur · great month
- Ghandruk · great month
- Ghorepani (Poon Hill) · great month
- Ilam · great month
- Patan (Lalitpur) · great month
- Pokhara · great month
Nearby in Kathmandu Valley:
Want this as a real plan?
Kathmandu in February, day by day, priced for your group.