Alpine Interface: Himalaya Travel Links
Many of our guests who come to the Himalaya for an Alpine Interface trip arrive in Nepal, Tibet or India for the first time, and of course, there are many questions, and many things they would like to know about. For detailed questions, please scroll through our FAQ for Nepal and Tibet.
The following list is a quick summary of our favorite hotels, restaurants, sight seeing spots, and internet portals that will help you make your time in Nepal as enjoyable as possible.
We will update this page regularly, and welcome any comments/information you might have regarding our links.
We have divided them into following locations:
NEPAL
How to get there?
There are several airlines that fly to Kathmandu on a regular basis:
Thai Airways (member of the Star Alliance)
Qatar
These are the two main ones, however, there are many flight possibilities via Delhi as well.
(Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, KLM, amongst others).
All our guests will be met at Kathmandu Tribhuvan Airport.
General information for Nepal:
Following websites offer general information for Nepal and the Himalaya:
Welcome Nepal
The official Nepal Tourism Board website.
Nepal Home Page
A very good website with lots of general information, travel information, festivals,
arts and crafts, etc.
Our favorite arts and crafts shops in Kathmandu:
For carpets and cashmere shawls, go and see Amin.
He is the owner of the 'Cottage Arts Emporium', in Thamel, diagonally opposite of the main Taxi drop-off in Thamel. He has good quality products, and always time for a cup of tea with his clients.
To watch how thankas are painted, and to learn more about the history of these beautiful paintings,, go to the Traditional Thanka Painting School in Bhaktapur, or go to Tushita Heaven Handicrafts, which is a cooperative right at Bodnath Stupa, which we will visit during our stay in Kathmandu.
Favourite Restaurants / Bars:
Kilroy's
Almost a must while in Kathmandu is to go to Kilroy's for a meal.
They offer a blend of traditional Nepali dishes as well as more traditional Western food.
The restaurant is very charming, with a beautiful garden, and it's hard to believe that you sit in a restaurant right downtown Thamel/Kathmandu.
Kilroy's runs a second restaurant, which is a steakhouse (water buffalo). The portions are huge, and the steaks just great . It is called K-too.
Fire and Ice
It might be odd to go to a pizza place in Kathmandu, but Fire and Ice makes indeed the most delicious pizzas we have come across outside of Italy. The restaurant is owned by an Italian lady, who imported the pizza oven and many other cooking utensils straight from Italy.
The pizzas are big, very good, and so are the salads, who are safe to eat without any problems.
The restaurant goers are a real mix between locals and tourists.
Fire and Ice is located at the east entrance of Thamel, right before the taxi stand.
Mike's Breakfast
Owned by American Mike Frame, this is the most popular breakfast stop.
Enjoy your bottomless cups of coffee and huge variety of breakfast options in a beautiful garden setting, listening to classical music.
The restaurant is housed in a restored European-style minimansion and is a 10-minute walk east of the Royal Palace (located at the top of Durbar Marg).
Favourite Hotels
Tibet Cottage
Tibet Cottage is a guest house situated right in the center of Thamel. It is a basic guest houses, with rooms available ensuite or with shared bathrooms. It is basic, but very clean and the owners are very friendly.
An ideal choice for smaller budgets, however still very comfortable.
Hotel Tibet***
Hotel Tibet is a modern three-star hotel in Lazimpat, approx. a 10 minute walk from Thamel.
Tsering, the owner, is very friendly, and also sales Tibetan carpets. Please ask her for more details.
The rooms are comfortable, western style, and it is much quieter than in busy Thamel.
TIBET
How to get there?
All our trips to Tibet start in Kathmandu, with an ensuite flight to Lhasa after spending some time sight-seeing in Kahtmandu. The flights to Lhasa are all included in our package price.
However, in case you would like to join one of our trips in Lhasa, here is how you can get there:
If you are aleady in China, a great experience would be to take the new train from Beijing to Lhasa. The train tracks are the highest in the world, and have just been completed. It takes 48 hours to get from Beijing to Lhasa.
We found a good website giving you lots of infomation regarding trains in China in general, and the Beijing-Lhasa train connection.
International flights to Lhasa stop over in Kathmandu, Beijing, or Hong Kong mainly. Other options are flights from Chengdu, Xian, Chongqing and Xining. Tourists usually start from Chengdu in Sichuan, because Chengdu has about 20 flights per week to the Gonggar Airport of Lhasa which takes about 2 hours and costs about CNY 1500.
General information for Tibet:
Following websites offer general information for Courmayeur and the Aosta Valley:
Lonely Planet:Tibet
The Lonely Planet website gives lots of background information for Tibet, as well as valuable travel tips.
Tibetan Government in Exile
This website does not only give you background information for Tibet, but also tries to rise awareness for the political situation of Tibet. The website is managed by the Tibetan Government in Exile.
Favourite Restaurants / Bars:
Favourite Hotels
Booking a hotel as an individual traveller can be quite daunting.
Many 'better' hotels don't take individual bookings, since they are fairly busy with groups coming and going.
However, here are some of our favourites in Lhasa you could still try:
Yak Hotel
The hotel has stunning views of the Pothala from the roof top, and is a fairly modern, clean hotel.
Ghood Gu Hotel
Another three-star hotel, very friendly staff, clean, decorated Tibetan style.
INDIA
...soon to come!
