KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has set criteria for tourists coming to Nepal.

The ministry has stated that the Health and Safety Protocol 2077 BS has been approved regarding the conditions to be followed by the tourists coming to Nepal for mountaineering and trekking.

According to the ministry, tourists coming for trekking and mountaineering will get on-arrival visa.

Tourist groups wishing to come to Nepal for mountaineering and trekking can come to Nepal with the prior consent of the travel or trekking agency based in Nepal.

The Immigration Department will issue on-arrival visas to the tourists. For pre-approval, the Department has to submit a recommendation to the Department of Tourism for mountaineering tourists and to the Department of Immigration for trekking tourists through the Nepal Tourism Board.

Provision has also been made for tourists coming to Nepal to submit negative PCR test reports done prior to 72 hours. This health certificate will be checked by the Immigration Department at the time of issuing the visa.

At the point of receiving the on-arrival visa, the visa or pre-approval documents obtained to come to Nepal will also be checked.

Hotel booking should be mandatory in Nepal for staying in quarantine for at least seven days and the documents have to be produced at the department.

It has also been made mandatory for all tourists coming to Nepal to have insured documents worth USD 5,000 per person.

All tourists coming to Nepal must stay in the mandatory quarantine for seven days. On the fifth day of stay in the quarantine, PCR test will be done at the expense of the tourist.

Provision has been made to go for trekking and mountaineering only if the test is negative. Otherwise, they are required to stay in quarantine until the test reports negative.

Before leaving for a trekking or mountaineering permit in Nepal, guides and porters from Nepal are required to submit the insurance documents of worth Rs 1,00,000 against COVID-19.

When hiking or trekking in Nepal, a tourist has to follow the health related protocols approved by the Ministry of Health and Population of Nepal.

The ministry has informed that the tourists should follow the instructions issued by the Department earlier.