Nepal (LONELY PLANET NEPAL)

Rating:
Summary: The Traveler's Bible for Nepal
Review: Before traveling alone to Nepal, Tibet and Thailand in the summer of 1998, one of the first things I did was purchase travel books. My main purpose was to find a book which would serve as my travel guide. This was a very important factor since I wasn't even going on a tour. The right or wrong book could make or break my trip. I spent many hours at local bookstores as well as online bookstores looking for the perfect travel guide. Space was a factor for me since I wanted to travel unencumbered by a lot of luggage so I decided to buy an appropriate all encompassing book for each of the three countries. The Lonely Planet's Travel Survival Kit for Nepal was a comfort to have on my travels AND it was also an indispensable source of information for planning the trip, before I even booked my flight! If I had a question, I could usually find the answer in the book. Some particularly helpful information covered vaccines I would need prior to the trip, suggested items I should think about taking with me, highlighted many, many places of interest and included their background and history, covered visas, passports and the necessary documents along with entrance and exit fees charged upon arrival and departure and much more. Also, there are specific sections on women traveling alone, recreational activites, photos and maps, places to stay and even a section of Nepali phrases and words. If I felt uncomfortable or wasn't sure about something, all I had to do was open up my Lonely Planet and find the answer! Above all, I would definitely recommend that you find the right book for you since travelers have different needs. Peruse the books inside and out at your local library or bookstore. You can ask for recommendations and read reviews like mine, but ultimately, you're probably going to be far from home, and you want to make certain you have the essentials. This book, for me, was one of those essentials!

Rating:
Summary: The book doesn't cover the whole country
Review: It's undoubtely a very good guide, with lots of informations, but it only covers the southern part of Nepal, and contains no informartion about the Himalayan region (for example, cities such as Namche Bazaar and Lo Manthang are not covered).

Rating:
Summary: Here's another book to get in addition to L.P. Nepal
Review: This book is great! I like to travel and not be a "typical american", and this book really helped me in that effort of knowing the culture and the land. I spent 5 weeks in Nepal and was more educated about the country/traditions/culture than any tourist I ran into. I spent a week in Kathmandu, 3 weeks trekking the Annapurna Circuit, and 1 week kayaking the Seti River. I used the medical section of this book (almost everyone gets sick), but should have bought a little medical book available in the bookstores in Kathmandu. Also, the trekking information in this book is good, but it's not great. If you want the BEST guidbook for trekking the Annapurna Circuit or Everest, then go to yetizone.you know what. It's a good site and the webmaster publishes his own guidebook for cheap! It's the best darn guidebook out there without question. Everyone I ran into in Nepal that looked at my book, and I mean EVERYONE, wanted to buy it or make copies. Also, it's not really a book, it's more like a little spiral bound pamphlet, so it weighs practically nothing, and I could keep it easily accessible in my cargo pocket.

I looked at some other guidebooks, specifically, the one by Stephen Bezruchka. He is a doctor, and it shows in his guidbook. He has the best medical section of all the guidebooks, and between his and the Lonely Planet one, I learned A LOT. If I had to choose one book to take with me (weight is an issue when trekking), I'd choose the Lonely Planet, along with the guidbook from yetizone.