Kathmandu eSIM
In Kathmandu you connect to Ncell or NTC, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The median across the country is 21 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- Ncell and NTC
- Real speed in Nepal
- 21 Mbps median, 5 Mbps for the slowest tenth264 travellers across Nepal, rolling 90 days
- 5G
- 4G only
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Kathmandu
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $9.89 | $9.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $6.30 | $18.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $5.58 | $27.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $4.99 | $49.89 | |
| 20 GB | Never expires | $4.39 | $87.89 |
How Nepal compares across Asia
- Speed rank
- 26 of 26 destinations we sell in Asia
- Regional median
- 44 Mbps
- Consistency
- The slowest tenth still reaches 24 percent of the median
- Upstream networks
- 2, Ncell, NTC
- 5G
- 4G only
- Next fastest nearby
- Myanmar, 22 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 2: Kathmandu, Pokhara
- tenth percentile
- 5 Mbps
- Behind these figures
- 264 travellers, rolling 90 days
Landing at Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM)
- Airport
- KTM / VNKT
- Distance
- 6 km from the centre of Kathmandu
- Wifi on arrival
- Free wifi in the terminalTribhuvan International Airport is one of 19 public locations in Kathmandu where free Wi-Fi internet service is provided by Nepal Telecom, WorldLink and Vianet.
- SIM on arrival
- SIM counters or vending in the terminalNcell tourist SIMs are sold at Tribhuvan International Airport. The original passport is needed to register and activate the card.
Getting into Kathmandu
- Road transfer from Tribhuvan airport to Thamel and central Kathmandu (KTM)
- Sajha Yatayat Route 3, Ratna Park to Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM)
Worth knowing about Kathmandu
- Tribhuvan is only 6 km east of Thamel, the main tourist district, so the transfer is short even without any rail link.
- The airport runs on a single 3,350 m tabletop runway, which is why delays cascade during peak periods.
- Tribhuvan is Nepal's main international gateway, connecting to over 40 destinations in 17 countries, with separate international and domestic terminals.
- Ncell tells tourist SIM buyers to bring the original passport to register and activate the SIM card.
- Ncell TouristPro packages run 7 days for NPR 595, 14 days for NPR 995 and 28 days for NPR 1,995, each with unlimited data and voice plus 100 SMS.
- Ncell tourist SIMs are sold at Tribhuvan International Airport, at Ncell Centres at major entry points and cities, and at authorised Ncell retail outlets nationwide.
- Ncell also sells a tourist eSIM through an online Tourist eSIM Platform, which can be bought before arriving in Nepal.
- To register a phone brought from abroad, the Nepal Telecommunications Authority asks foreign applicants for a clear scanned copy of the passport and an immigration department stamp or boarding pass.
- Nepal's Mobile Device Management System also asks foreign applicants which country they arrived from and when. Buying or selling an unregistered device is unlawful. Dial *#06# to read an IMEI.
- Free Wi-Fi internet service is available at 19 public locations across Kathmandu, including Tribhuvan International Airport, the premises of Pashupatinath Temple and the New Bus Park.
- Nepal Telecom, WorldLink and Vianet jointly provide Kathmandu's free public Wi-Fi, an initiative of the Minister for Communication and Information Technology coordinated by the Nepal Telecommunications Authority.
- Bandwidth at Kathmandu's existing free Wi-Fi sites was upgraded from 10 Mbps to 150 Mbps, and the data allowance per device raised from 100 MB to 500 MB.
- Sajha Yatayat Route 3 runs between Ratna Park and Tribhuvan International Airport. Normal frequency of operation on its lines is 15 minutes to 25 minutes.
- Tribhuvan International Airport sits at 1,340 m elevation, and its single 3,350 m runway has a slope of 1.2 percent.
- Kathmandu stands at an elevation of 1,324 metres. About 65 percent of its roughly 1,400 mm of annual rainfall falls during the monsoon months of June to September.
Sources for this page
Other cities in Nepal we cover
- Pokhara
- 147 km from Kathmandu, nearest airport PKR