Product info
Kathmandu eSIM plans
| 2GB prepaid eSIM · 7 days | $14.99$7.50 / GB | Buy eSIM |
| 3GB prepaid eSIM · 14 days | $21.79$7.26 / GB | Buy eSIM |
| Ohayu recommends5GB prepaid eSIM · 30 days | $34.49$6.90 / GB | Buy eSIM |
| 10GB prepaid eSIM · 30 days | $58.49$5.85 / GB | Buy eSIM |
| 15GB prepaid eSIM · 60 days | $78.99$5.27 / GB | Buy eSIM |
| 20GB prepaid eSIM · 90 days | $99.49$4.97 / GB | Buy eSIM |
Plan details
How much mobile data you need
What's the best eSIM for Kathmandu?
A few days in the valley – 2 GB
Maps, temples, ride-hailing.
A trek – 5 GB
Two to three weeks, offline maps.
Nepal widely – 15 GB
Valley, Pokhara, Chitwan.
A longer stay – 20 GB
Tethering - expect 4G speeds.
Coverage and network
Coverage valley, hills and high altitude
Nepal mobile networks
Nepal's mobile network is 4G rather than 5G and speeds are modest, but the reach is better than the terrain suggests - both operators have pushed coverage into the trekking regions over the last decade. Kathmandu itself is congested rather than slow.
Kathmandu and Nepal, specifically
- Thamel, Patan, Bhaktapur: Covered throughout the valley. The old durbar squares and the narrow brick lanes cause occasional dips.
- Power cuts and the grid: Nepal's supply has improved a great deal from the load-shedding years, but outages still happen and take local cells with them once battery backup runs out. Guesthouse Wi-Fi goes before the mobile network does.
- The Everest and Annapurna trails: Better than the old advice suggests. Namche Bazaar and the main Khumbu villages have coverage, and Ncell and Nepal Telecom both reach a fair way up the Annapurna circuit. It is intermittent, not continuous - expect long gaps between villages and nothing on the high passes.
- Everest Base Camp: There is coverage in the area, and it has improved markedly, but treat it as unreliable rather than assured. Altitude, weather and equipment failures all interrupt it. Do not build a plan around being reachable up there.
- The road out of the valley: The highways to Pokhara and Chitwan are covered along their length. They are also slow, landslide-prone and often closed in monsoon - checking road status is a genuine use for data here.
All of Nepal
The plan covers the whole country - the valley, Pokhara, Chitwan and the trekking regions. India and Tibet across the borders are separate.
How to install eSIM
Connected in 3 steps
- 01
Buy before you fly
Choose your data plan before your trip.
- 02
Download & install
Log in to your account, tap your eSIM, and follow the on-screen instructions.
- 03
Land & activate
Activate when you arrive in Nepal. Turn on roaming for the eSIM and it connects to a local network.
Before you buy, make sure your phone supports eSIM — see Ohayu compatible devices list or dial *#06#. It's a free request to your phone's settings. If you see the EID number — your phone is eSIM-compatible.
Arriving in Kathmandu
Tribhuvan airport
Tribhuvan has free terminal Wi-Fi, and it is a small, crowded airport where arrival can take a while - visa on arrival queues in particular. Having data before you reach the taxi rank is worth more here than at most airports.
Side by side
Kathmandu eSIM Comparison
Indicative comparison based on publicly listed Nepal plans as of August 2026. Competitor pricing and policies change - check their sites for current terms.
Frequently asked questions
Is there really phone signal on the Everest trek?
In the main Khumbu villages, yes - Namche Bazaar and the settlements along the route have had coverage for years, and it reaches further up than most guidebooks admit. But it is intermittent: long gaps between villages, nothing on the high passes, and weather and equipment outages that come and go. Treat it as a bonus rather than a plan. Carry offline maps, and if being contactable genuinely matters, a satellite messenger is the honest answer.
Where to buy a SIM card in Kathmandu?
Ncell and Nepal Telecom have counters at the airport and shops in Thamel. You will need your passport and usually a passport photo - a slightly old-fashioned requirement that catches people out. Nepal Telecom tends to reach further in the mountains; Ncell is often faster in the city.
Does the plan work during a power cut?
Usually for a while. Towers have battery backup, so a short outage passes unnoticed, and Nepal's supply is far better than it was during the load-shedding years. A long cut will eventually take local sites down - and guesthouse Wi-Fi will fail well before that.
eSIM not working in Kathmandu?
On a trek, gaps between villages and on the passes are normal and expected. In the valley, a local outage may have taken a cell down. Otherwise set Ohayu as the mobile data line, allow roaming, then toggle Airplane mode. Chat and support@ohayu.com are open 24/7.
