The Best Places to Stay in Nepal

Nepal tends to conjure images of prayer flags, trekking boots, and Everest’s magnificent snow-capped peak – and rightly so. But this Himalayan nation has been quietly raising its hospitality game for years, and the result is a collection of properties that rival anywhere in Asia for character, comfort, and jaw-dropping views. We’ve rounded up ten of our favourites so pack your bags (and maybe some altitude tablets) as we’re almost certain you’ll want to visit them all.

The Dwarika’s

Kathmandu

In 1952, a man named Dwarika Das Shrestha watched a group of workmen preparing to burn a pile of historic, 13th-century woodwork from a demolished building in Kathmandu. He bought it on the spot, and then spent a further 30 years rescuing more carved pillars, doorways, and window frames from across the valley to create what is now the 76-roomed Dwarika’s Hotel and a living homage to Nepali culture. Inside, you’ll feel like you’ve stumbled across a 15th-century Newari palace (with exceptionally good plumbing), complete with handloomed blankets and antiques as far as the eye can see. There’s also a Japanese restaurant serving matcha ice cream and a tranquil pool flanked by stone dragons, but the highlight is Krishnarpan restaurant that serves iconic Nepali dishes from all over the country in ceremonial feasts at low-slung tables.

Barahi Jungle Lodge

Chitwan National Park

Nepal does safaris too, and ultra-smart, eco-luxe Barahi Jungle Lodge is just 100 metres from Chitwan’s boundary, separated only by the gentle flow of the Rapti River. Sprawled across 12 glorious, emerald hectares, the thatched cottages are the Flintstones with a luxury twist, including hand-crafted bathtubs and private balconies with views over the tangled jungle scenery. There’s a magnificent, Ayurvedic spa for shoulder-loosening massages, but the experiences are a must: jeep safaris – beginning with a river boat at dawn – to spy one-horned rhinos and Bengal tigers, treks to thundering waterfalls and local villages, and sundowners at the confluence of two rivers as jungle sounds fill the air.

Shinti Mani Mustang

Mustang 

Perched high in the mystical Kingdom of Mustang, just where the Kali Gandaki carves through dramatic, wind-sculpted cliffs, Shinta Mani Mustang is Bill Bensley at his most theatrical. From the outside it’s all fortress-like lines and earthy textures but step inside and you’ll find saffron-hued textiles and tiger shaped rugs, floral-carved wood and fabulous yak-fur sofas, all set off by a serene rooftop terrace for cocktails and Himalayan sunsets. In between treks, pay a visit to Tsewang Gyurme Gurung, an 11th-generation practitioner of Tibetan medicine or ‘amchi’ based at the lodge who will carve a personalised program of shoulder-loosening wellness using Himalayan plant and ancient, herb-based therapies.

The Nanee

Bhaktapur

The owners would rather you didn’t call The Nanee a hotel, and actually a “Museum of Life” is indeed a more apt term! Set in medieval Bhaktapur, a three-minute walk from the UNESCO-listed Durbar Square, The Nanee has no perimeter wall: the courtyard is shared with the local community, and that’s entirely the point. The 18 rooms follow ancient Vaastu principles – there are no TVs, although tablets are available if you’re desperate – and its inspiration comes from the town’s iconic Nyatapola Temple. It’s worth staying for the food alone: local ladies cook lentil pancakes on clay stoves in the Bara Shop, while the Chef’s Table is 10 courses of immersive Nepali gastronomy with an entertaining running commentary.

Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge

Pokhara

Opened in 1998 by Sir Edmund Hillary, the visionary behind Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge was Lt Col. Jimmy Roberts (visit his namesake library for a good read), a Gurkha officer who pioneered trekking tourism in Nepal. He spotted the ridge on which the lodge sits while organising the Royal Trek for King Charles in 1980 – and the rest is history. Arranged like a traditional Nepali village, the 18 stone bungalows are a staggering 1,000 feet above the Pokhara Valley with views of Machapuchare, Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, and Manaslu – and there are no TVs to distract you. The infinity pool was voted one of the finest by the Sunday Times and floating in it while gazing at snow-capped peaks is exactly as good as it sounds. 

Nepali Ghar

Kathmandu

In the thick of Thamel’s buzz, boutique Nepali Ghar is refined to a tee. Once the home of a Brigadier Colonel during the Rana regime, the 200-year-old Seto Ghar wing is a lesson in character with its neoclassical arches and yellow-green cornices and the 61 rooms blend heritage with modern comforts including pillowtop beds, Netflix and soundproof windows. But it’s the details that stick: lemongrass diffusers and brass basins in the bathrooms, a team that remembers your name from the moment you arrive, and a rooftop serving Nepali and Mediterranean dishes with temple-studded views. Its location is also incredibly handy for the Garden of Dreams (five minutes) and Durbar Square (ten), with a meditation hall for when Thamel gets too much.

The Happy House

Everest Region

Built in 1973 by an Italian count whose Everest expedition required 6,000 porters to carry his mountaineering kit and with a name coined by none other than Sir Edmund Hillary who enjoyed staying during his return visits to Nepal, there are few properties in the world with a backstory quite like this one. Located in the teeny tiny village of Phaplu (45 minutes by helicopter from Kathmandu) and 2,500 metres above sea level, it’s actually a traditional Sherpa home, beautifully restored into a 10-room guest house. Inside, every wall is hand-painted with Buddhist Thangka frescoes by a Sherpa master and the roaring log fires and burning juniper, quiet meditation spaces, cosy treatment room and pretty garden complete with fluttering prayer flags all add up to make a place that is quite simply, heaven. 

Ghandruk Lodge

Annapurna Region

Proof you can trek the Himalayas without roughing it, Ghandruk Lodge, set high in the Annapurna mountains, is built around a 19th-century Gurung house. In the modern bedroom wing, you’ll find 18 en-suite rooms, each the perfect post-trek respite with their immaculate showers, thick blankets, and hot water bottles, and the views of Annapurna South, Machapuchare, and Gangapurna are spectacular. Activities are focused on hiking and walking and are always led by knowledgeable local guides but if you have a moment to hang up your boots, Ghandruk town is a fascinating place to explore. For many years, it was a major recruiting centre for Gurkhah regiments and many of the retired soldiers still live in the slate-roofed houses.  

The Pavilions Himalayas

Pokhara

Asia’s Leading Green Resort for 10 years running, The Pavilions is Nepal’s first self-sustainable luxury eco-resort. It runs on solar power, harvests rainwater, and converts waste to biogas and yet, it’s nothing less than luxurious with a capital L – think private villas with jacuzzi tubs, a spa stocked with custom Himalayan botanicals, and an infinity pool that gazes over the rice paddies below. The property itself is split into two, with either Farm or Lakeview rooms (reached by a dawn paddle across Phewa Lake), though both offer farm-to-table dining from the organic gardens, daily yoga sessions, and spectacular 8,000-metre vistas of Mount Manaslu. The hotel also takes pride in giving back to the local communities, and  50-70% of profits are ploughed into projects, including schools and training programmes. 

Landruk Lodge

Annapurna Region

Across the valley from Ghandruk, reached by suspension bridge and a trail of stone steps through a flourishing rhododendron forest, are the green and white bungalows of Landruk Lodge. The 12 pretty rooms, terrace and dining areas are all orientated to face the peaks and the views are sublime – mist-swirled valleys, green, carpeted slopes and the mighty Annapurna’s snaking into the distance. But the real draw is Landruk’s honey hunters, Gurung men who scale sheer cliffs on bamboo ladders to harvest honeycomb from the world’s largest honeybee twice yearly in spring and autumn. But even without the spectacle, dawn lighting up the Himalayas here is worth every step.

The Nepalese properties that have emerged over the past decade are testament to a hospitality scene that matches the stunning landscape for ambition and authenticity. Whether you’re soaking in a heritage hotel’s rescued woodwork or floating in an infinity pool with Manaslu in your sightline, you’ll find that Nepal does accommodation with the same thoughtful intensity it brings to everything else.