Nepal›Far West: Bardia & Rara›Rara Lake›December
Rara Lake in December
Mixed month: December is outside the recommended season (April – June, September – November). Against it: Rara Snowbound in Winter.
The season opens in April, 4 months away.
3 days in Rara Lake in December · from ₹12,512 for two
Stay, food & local travel; getting there extra
Before you book December
Closures, crowds and rules at Rara Lake this month.
Worth knowing
Rara Snowbound in Winter
From December to March snow covers Rara and the trails to it, Talcha flights are fewer and often cancelled, and most of the few lodges close. April–June and September–November are the seasons.
What it costs
For two sharing a room; 3 days on the ground, getting there not included.
Budget
₹12,512 for two
- Room a night₹940
- Food a day, each₹1,144
- Main sight entry, each₹940
Mid-range
₹26,288 for two
- Room a night₹1,880
- Food a day, each₹2,640
- Main sight entry, each₹940
Luxury
₹56,377 for two
- Room a night₹3,750
- Food a day, each₹6,160
- Main sight entry, each₹940
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), 374 km away
Then: Flight · 10h (Kathmandu–Nepalgunj and Nepalgunj–Talcha (Mugu) flights + 1 h walk to or from the lake)
Flights from India: from 10 cities, one way from ₹6,500
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 December
Instead in season this month.
- Bandipur · great month
- Bardia (Thakurdwara) · great month
- Bhaktapur · great month
- Chitwan (Sauraha) · great month
- Ghandruk · great month
- Ghorepani (Poon Hill) · great month
- Ilam · great month
- Janakpur · great month
Nearby in Far West: Bardia & Rara:
Want this as a real plan?
Rara Lake in December, day by day, priced for your group.