Last updated 7 October 2026. Flights are for Kuwait International (KWI), checked on 7 October 2026. The Central Bank of Kuwait ties the dinar to an undisclosed basket of currencies rather than to the dollar, so the dinar figures use a market rate, about KWD 0.309 to the US dollar on 7 October, and will move. We bill in US dollars or euros.
From Kuwait the flight is a small part of the bill. Jazeera Airways and Kuwait Airways both fly to Kathmandu nonstop, and the cheapest return in my search was a nonstop pair for KWD 168. The money is in the trek.
Take the three prices first. A person in a party of one to four pays US$1,399 for Budget, US$2,499 for Standard and US$4,999 for Luxury on the 12-day route, which is about KWD 435, KWD 775 and KWD 1,545, and next year's prices are identical. Then add the Kuwait ticket, visa, insurance and tips: KWD 780 to KWD 1,135, KWD 1,065 to KWD 1,385 and KWD 1,875 to KWD 2,215 respectively, with Standard worked out for a solo trekker. A passport that gets a free visa takes about KWD 15 off each.
What the search showed from Kuwait
What I looked at: economy, one adult with a cabin bag and a checked bag, out Sunday 25 October 2026, back Wednesday 11 November, one ticket, no self-transfer, and no more than one change of plane each way.
With one change allowed each way there were 15 itineraries from KWD 168 to KWD 409, and the cheapest one has no change at all: Jazeera Airways J91539 leaves Kuwait at 22:50 and lands in Kathmandu at 06:30 the next morning (about 4 hours 55 minutes), and J91540 flies back at 07:15, landing in Kuwait at 10:45 (about 6 hours 15 minutes). That pair is KWD 168, including a cabin bag and a checked bag but not a personal item.
Kuwait Airways also flies the route nonstop. Its KU1391 leaves at 22:40 and lands at 06:20. With the Jazeera return that was KWD 238, and with its own KU394 home (Kathmandu 00:10, Kuwait 04:00, about 6 hours 35 minutes) KWD 315. Connecting itineraries cost more as well as taking longer: Fly Dubai through Dubai out and home was KWD 233 but with a 24-hour-plus journey back, and a Qatar Airways return through Doha with the Jazeera outbound was KWD 340. Fly Dubai out with Turkish Airlines home through Istanbul was KWD 387. Baggage differs by fare, so read what your ticket includes.
The numbers in dinars
These are one-person totals. Fares range from the lowest to the highest itinerary I found. The extras are the 30-day visa, insurance, tips, and trail meals (Budget) or spending money (the other two tiers). A hotel in Kathmandu is quoted separately, and our family homestay costs US$15 per person per night, about KWD 5.
| One person | Trek, 12 days | Kuwait return | Visa, insurance, tips, extras | Everything, in dinars |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Budget | KWD 435 | KWD 168 to KWD 409 | KWD 180 to KWD 295 | KWD 780 to KWD 1,135 |
| Standard, solo | KWD 775 | KWD 168 to KWD 409 | KWD 125 to KWD 205 | KWD 1,065 to KWD 1,385 |
| Luxury | KWD 1,545 | KWD 168 to KWD 409 | KWD 165 to KWD 260 | KWD 1,875 to KWD 2,215 |
On Budget, plan US$25 to US$40 a day for meals, which is US$300 to US$480 over the trek. Standard and Luxury include meals, and for showers, charging and snacks you carry 20,000 to 30,000 rupees (US$130 to US$195) drawn in Kathmandu. Tips run at US$15 to US$20 per guiding day and US$10 to US$15 per porter day.
Who needs what at the Kathmandu desk
Many travellers from Kuwait hold an Indian, Nepali, Filipino, Egyptian or South Asian passport. The visa follows the passport, and the residence permit does not change it.
| Passport | On arrival in Nepal |
|---|---|
| India | No visa, no fee; the online form is still filled in. Over-tens travelling by air between India and Nepal carry a valid Indian passport, a voter ID or an emergency certificate from the Indian embassy in Kathmandu, per the Nepal embassy in New Delhi. |
| Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka | Free visa for up to 30 days, once a calendar year; normal fees after that. Afghan passports are excluded. |
| Nepal | No visa. A foreign passport plus a Non-Resident Nepali card gets a free visa on arrival. |
| China | Free tourist visa, listed by the immigration department as up to 150 days a year. |
| Philippines, Egypt and most other countries | US$30 for 15 days, US$50 for 30 days or US$125 for 90 days, paid at the airport. Children under ten pay nothing. |
The twelve nationalities that must apply in advance are Nigeria, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Eswatini (written Swaziland on the Nepali site), Cameroon, Somalia, Liberia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan and Syria. The Nepal embassy in New Delhi also lists Iran. Keep six months on the passport. Our visa on arrival guide and e-visa guide run through the application.
Nepal has an embassy in Kuwait City: [email protected], +965 25321603, open Sunday to Thursday. Check your own residence permit and ask your employer about any approval before you book. I cannot give advice on Kuwaiti rules.
An employer's medical card is not trek cover
Ask your insurer in writing whether it covers treatment in Nepal, and treat silence as a no. The travel policy you buy at home must say trekking to 6,000 m, since Kala Patthar is 5,545 m, pay for helicopter evacuation (US$3,000 to US$5,000, about KWD 925 to KWD 1,545) and cover illness as well as injury. Read our helicopter cover to 6,000 m before you buy, and send me the wording if you want a second opinion.
What each tier means on the trail
Budget, Standard and Luxury share a route and a guide and differ in comfort. Budget: carry your own bag, share a room, buy meals, fixed-wing plane to Lukla. Standard: meals paid, room to yourself, one porter between two (so none for a solo trekker, whose bag the guide carries up to 10 kg). Luxury: your own porter, a deluxe ensuite room, fruit, nuts, unlimited soft drinks, and a helicopter to Lukla and back. All of them include the permits (NPR 3,000, 3,000 and 2,000), airport transfers, the licensed guide and the loan of a down jacket and minus 15 sleeping bag, and there is no single supplement. Hotels in Kathmandu cost extra. The itinerary is on the 12-day page.
Prices by group size
1 to 4 travellers: Budget KWD 435, Standard KWD 775, Luxury KWD 1,545 each. 5 to 8 travellers: Budget KWD 400, Standard KWD 755, Luxury KWD 1,530 each. 9 to 12 travellers: Budget KWD 370, Standard KWD 740, Luxury KWD 1,515 each. 13 to 20 travellers: Budget KWD 310, Standard KWD 725, Luxury KWD 1,500 each.
Private groups and group departures are priced alike, per person. Your headcount decides the band.
Time, flat ground and the Nepali calendar
Nepal is 2 hours 45 minutes ahead of Kuwait. Kuwait is flat desert and coastline, so there is no way to practise altitude at home. At Gorak Shep, the highest night, you sleep at 5,164 m, after five to seven hours of walking on most days and two rest days built into the 12. Prepare with stairs and long loaded walks; how fit you need to be.
Dashain (17 to 23 October 2026) and Tihar (8 to 12 November) close Nepali offices, and permits need 48 hours of government working days. In crowded weeks the Lukla flights leave from Manthali, four to five hours from Kathmandu by road, with a pick-up between midnight and 2 am. If you book Luxury, you fly by helicopter from Kathmandu and avoid it.
How payment works
You pay 10 per cent to book and the other 90 per cent in Kathmandu, in US dollars or euros; cash costs nothing extra and a card adds 3.5 per cent. We cannot take Kuwaiti dinars or rupees. If your plans change, you can move it free to any date within a year, with 72 hours' notice (seven days for Tibet, Kailash and restricted areas). The deposit itself is not refunded if you cancel. A trek we cancel is repaid minus taxes, bank and card charges, and permit and flight costs already spent.
Check us first
The Everest Holiday was registered in Kathmandu in 2016, and my family has guided for three generations. Our TAAN membership number is 1586, and we have over 300 reviews on TripAdvisor, Google and Trustpilot. The registrar, TAAN, the tourism licence and the forex certificate can all be checked, though licensed companies have been involved in scams, so ask for a video call before paying. A part of each booking goes to the Nagarjun Learning Center. See also Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain.
To check numbers for your dates and group, message me on WhatsApp +977 9810351300 or [email protected].
Also on this topic: the day-by-day itinerary, permits and fees and travelling solo.
Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday. TAAN 1586.
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