Nepal · Nepal
December
Early winter — cold and clear, high passes closing, but lower circuits still excellent and very affordable.
Strong option
#7 of 12 months
There are better months for Nepal — see the full ranking below.
See when to go instead →Climate
High
17°C
Low
3°C
Rain
8mm
Sun
6.5hrs/day
30-year climate normals · Open Meteo ERA5
How December scores in Nepal
Weather
Good
Value
Very good
Crowds
Very good
Events
Above average
Atmosphere
Very good
What you gain in December
- ↑December is the driest month of the year: just 8mm of rain and 6.5 sunshine hours make the clear days extraordinarily clear; the Himalayan panoramas from Nagarkot, Sarangkot, and the lower circuit viewpoints have the sharpest winter clarity of any time outside the monsoon wash-out period
- ↑Lower-altitude circuits are excellent in December: Poon Hill (3,210m), the Langtang Valley (4,984m maximum), and the Manaslu Circuit's lower sections are all accessible; the trails are quiet, prices are low, and the combination of cold, clear weather with good mountain views creates a physically brisk trekking experience
- ↑Kathmandu Christmas celebrations are more extensive than expected: the tourist district of Thamel and the major hotel areas have full Christmas decoration and events, and New Year's Eve at Thamel is a significant local celebration that mixes Nepali and international cultures in the narrow lanes and courtyard bars
What you sacrifice
- ↓High passes are closed or dangerous in December: Thorong La on the Annapurna Circuit typically closes by mid-to-late December after snowfall, and the Everest Base Camp route above 5,000m becomes icy and physically demanding without winter equipment; the full circuits are restricted to their lower sections
- ↓Kathmandu's December air quality is among the worst of the year: the combination of cold air trapping emissions in the valley, the increase in wood and coal burning for heating, and the vehicle emissions creates visible smog on many December mornings; the mountain views from the valley floor can be obscured despite the season's clear sky reputation
- ↓Teahouse temperatures at altitude in December are genuinely cold: the 3°C low temperatures in Kathmandu translate to -5°C at 3,000m and lower above that; heated dining rooms available only in the evening and sleeping rooms at 2°C or below require serious cold-weather sleeping bag investment
How December compares to October (best month)
| Factor | December | October ★ |
|---|---|---|
| Weather | 6 | 10 |
| Value | 7 | 4 |
| Crowds | 7 | 3 |
December in other destinations
Lisbon (14.4°C)Barcelona (13.8°C)Tokyo (12°C)Bali (30.3°C)Santorini (14.5°C)Paris (6.9°C)New York (5.1°C)Marrakech (18.1°C)Amsterdam (6.4°C)Maldives (30°C)Rome (11.7°C)Bangkok (30.4°C)Istanbul (9.4°C)Vienna (3°C)Seoul (3.7°C)Dubrovnik (11.6°C)Rio de Janeiro (29.5°C)Kyoto (11.3°C)Phuket (31.8°C)Cape Town (25.6°C)Prague (3°C)Amalfi Coast (13°C)Mexico City (21°C)Medellín (28°C)Fiji (30°C)London (8°C)Sydney (26°C)Iceland (2°C)Tulum (28°C)Dubai (25°C)Singapore (30°C)Hoi An (24°C)Chiang Mai (27.5°C)Miami (25.6°C)Florence (9.8°C)Queenstown (21°C)Madrid (9.5°C)Porto (14°C)Edinburgh (7°C)Copenhagen (5°C)Budapest (5°C)Kraków (2°C)Tbilisi (7°C)Palawan (29°C)Hanoi (20°C)Osaka (11°C)Goa (32°C)Cusco (20°C)Buenos Aires (29°C)Mykonos (14°C)Zanzibar (31°C)Sri Lanka (30°C)Costa Rica (25°C)Cancun (28°C)Krabi (32°C)Athens (14°C)Seville (15°C)Cartagena (31°C)Siem Reap (28°C)Havana (26°C)Split (11°C)Taipei (20°C)Kuala Lumpur (32°C)Valletta (16°C)Ho Chi Minh City (31°C)Hawaii (27°C)Cappadocia (6°C)Dominican Republic (28°C)Jamaica (30°C)Tanzania (27°C)Seychelles (30°C)Jordan (14°C)Azores (18°C)Bora Bora (30°C)Los Angeles (20.4°C)Cairo (20.8°C)Kenya (26°C)Jaipur (22.8°C)Las Vegas (14.7°C)San Francisco (13.8°C)Madeira (20°C)Vancouver (7.1°C)Muscat (27.8°C)Lima (24.2°C)Cinque Terre (12°C)Kotor (11°C)Tel Aviv (19°C)Santiago (29°C)Bogotá (18°C)Bruges (6.8°C)Penang (30.9°C)Lombok (30.9°C)Cape Verde (26.8°C)Fez (15.2°C)Kerala (31°C)Kigali (26°C)Hong Kong (19°C)Oslo (2°C)Auckland (22°C)
Climate data: 30-year normals (1991–2020) from Open Meteo ERA5 reanalysis. Scores compare months within Nepal, not across destinations. Methodology →