Lonely Planet Nepal Travel Guide Book: My Review in 2025

Last Updated: January 03, 2025

Author: Narayan Mourya

Rating: 4.5/5

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Hi everyone, I am Narayan, a travel and trek enthusiast. Over the 10 years I have travelled to different parts of Nepal and helped explore this country to almost hundreds of visitors from around the world.

Today, I am going to give my review to you about the recent Lonely Planet Nepal Travel Guide that I read to explore some parts of Nepal.

This edition that I read had comprehensive information explaining everything from arriving in Nepal to completing a safe and responsible trip.

What Value Lonely Planet Nepal Guide Adds to Your Trip

From the moment you turn the first pages of this guide, you will notice that the book is filled with the real time experiences of the real people. It is based on the most recent experiences the people share with you.

Whether it is an experience of a traveler in Kathmandu, feeling so grateful about Bouddha, or it is from an explorer fascinated by Terai of Nepal, all the words come from actual travelers. Which makes you feel the authenticity of the information you read.

Personally, my favorite thing about Nepal is its culture and tradition, and I loved how this guidebook starts with the introduction to different temples and pagodas of Nepal.

The cultures that are reflected through Jatra (carnivals) and Chariots are introduced in the beginning of this guidebook.

Nepal has done remarkable work to conserve the wild animals like Tiger, Rhinos and Elephants, that part is also highlighted in the beginning of the book, which I really liked.

Many explorers of Nepal are fascinated with the spiritual and sacred side of the country which is very nicely explained in this guidebook. You will definitely feel thrilled to read the facts mentioned here. Moreover, there is advice about some Meditation Courses, Dharma Talks and Spiritual Experiences that you can explore while you are in Nepal.

Comprehensive information with the maps, diagrams , photographs and illustration makes it easy for you to navigate through the whole journey in Nepal.

How this Guidebook Represent the Mountains of Nepal

If you are an enthusiast for the mountains and trekking, this book will provide you all the information needed for a proper hike or trek to Nepal. With acclimatization tips to suggestions for best weather, this guide will navigate you properly to explore the mountains of Nepal.

From suggestions of low altitude regions of Everest to extensive information about Annapurna region, you will be fulfilled with information about the Himalayan Ranges.

How Lonely Planet Guide Helps you Find Good Hotel

I found it really helpful when in one segment I was provided a tip to get the hotel discounts. After reading this guidebook I realize that the booking time and traveling season is a significant factor to decide your hotel pricing in Nepal.

Food and Culture

In the different segments of the book  you will be guided through the different delicacies you can find around Nepal. Whether it is about much loved Nepali momos (dumplings) or it is about popular Newari dishes, this book will explain properly for the food lovers.

Planning your Trek with Lonely Planet

In the segment that explains to you the proper plan for trekking to Nepal, this lonely planet guidebook excels with the preciseness.

It covers every aspect of trekking like when to trek, what kind of trek suits you, about food, room, guides, porters, costs, gears, altitude, safety and everything.

The Lonely Planet Outdoors Information

I liked the way outdoors in Nepal was addressed in Lonely planet guidebook. The suggestions for some adrenaline rushes like Bungee Jump, Rock Climbing, Everest Skydive that you could do in Nepal were really helpful.

The Lonely Planet: Guide Section ( Page 60-301)

When I arrived at the The Guide section, I felt really excited because it had all the sections I could expect from my trip guide. From finding my way to planning my days everything was covered in this segment.

The information was backed by some local recommendation and advices from pro-travellers, which really added extra value to every statement made by this guide section. From page 60 to page 301 , these total 141 pages of the book are the core . They have all the necessary helpful information that you will need while traveling to Nepal.

The guide starts with introduction of Nepal’s Medieval Masterpieces in Kathmandu, in between covers all the historical, natural and cultural wonders, and in final pages explains about less popular but majestic religious sites like Gosai Kunda.

If you read this ‘The Guide’ section thoroughly you won't miss anything about Nepal. From popular Durbar Square of Kathmandu to the tea farm in the Illam, from Pokhara an amazing city of western Nepal to Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve in the eastern Nepal, from northern mountains like Everest to Southern plain like Chitwan you will find the ins and outs of everything in Nepal in this segment of Lonely planet.

The Toolkit Segment

Another interesting segment in the book was the Toolkit segment, in this section you are provided the information about every logistics and every tool involved in your trip to Nepal.

Visas, sim cards, taxi, motorcycle rentals, bus, domestic flights, credit cards, exchange rates, atms, vaccinations, health and safety, medicines, bug sprays, shoes, clothes ,bottles, languages, and many more, it was really impressive to see how minutely Lonely Planet have mentioned all the details a traveler might need while embarking into a journey to Nepal.

Nepal for LGBTQ+ Travelers

On one of the final pages of the Toolkit segment, Lonely Planet has mentioned that Nepal is one of the more welcoming countries in the SOuth Asia for LGBTQ+ travelers.

Though you won’t find many LGBTQ+ venues and separate facilities for this community, still the environment in the hotels , clubs and restaurants will be gay friendly. Book also stated that Kathmandu holds a friendly pride march on the second Saturday of June.

The Nepal Storybook

This final segment of the Lonely Planet guidebook dives into the different stories of Nepal. It enlightens the history of different Nepali places, shares the stories of Nepalese people, and introduces you to myths and mysteries .

Hindu-Buddhist Crossover

One of the major highlights for me in this guidebook was how well it delved into the Hindu and Buddhist coexistence in Nepal. Travelers can feel that spiritual freedom here in Nepal when they witness the harmony among people.

The way the crossover between Hinduism and Buddhism was represented in the book is really inspiring. I liked the fact that faith in Nepal is not so much a rivalry between religions and how Nepalese people share their culture and even some festival events among the people of different religions like Buddhism and Hinduism.

Personally I have noticed statues of Buddha found in the Hindu temple and vice versa, so I am a witness of this harmony among the different religions in Nepal.

Nepal’s Temple and Monasteries as Per the Lonely Planet

In this guidebook , the information and visual representations of the temples and monasteries in Nepal have been another major highlight. Where its from the streets of Kathmandu, or from the narrow stoned alleys of Kagbeni, Mustang, you will get the glimpses of temples and monasteries in different pages of this guidebook.

As the book states entering a monastery or temple in Nepal is to enter a sacred space, where you will see paintings and sculpture of bodhisattvas, enlightened beings, deities and mantras, that can take you into a different world.

FAQs

Is Lonely Planet still a thing?

Based on my reading and information I could get, I would definitely say that yes Lonely Planet is still a thing.

Why is Lonely Planet so popular?

This was the question I asked to myself as well, but now I realized why it is so popular, the perfect graphical representation, realtime experiences of the travelers and all the minute details I can offer makes it so popular.

What is Lonely Planet about?

Lonely Planet is about helping and guiding the travelers. This guidebook I read about Nepal was really helpful for understanding Nepal.

Is The Lonely Planet a good guide?

Based on my reading of this Nepal Guide, I would say yes Lonely Planet is a good guide.

We urge all travellers to engage with their travel carbon footprints. Lonely Planet

About Author

Narayan Mourya is a travel enthusiast, he is a graduate in Physics and Economics, that made him very much inclined to know about natural and social science. He is an avid reader and loves to read different fictions and non-fictions. Here he is giving an account of his experience reading and implementing Nepal Guide from Lonely Planet.