Nepal · Nepal
May
Pre-monsoon window — Everest summit week, increasing clouds, but still excellent for lower circuits.
Best match
#5 of 12 months
There are better months for Nepal — see the full ranking below.
See when to go instead →Climate
High
28°C
Low
15°C
Rain
130mm
Sun
7hrs/day
30-year climate normals · Open Meteo ERA5
How May scores in Nepal
Weather
Very good
Value
Good
Crowds
Above average
Events
Very good
Atmosphere
Excellent
What you gain in May
- ↑May is Everest summit month: the weather window typically opens between May 10–25, and the concentration of summit attempts in this period creates the most dramatic high-altitude activity visible from EBC and Kala Patthar; watching 40–50 headlamps moving up the SE Ridge through binoculars from the EBC moraine at 3am is one of the most extraordinary viewing experiences in Nepal
- ↑Lower altitude trekking circuits (Poon Hill, Annapurna Sanctuary, Langtang Valley) remain excellent in May: the pre-monsoon warm temperatures, the tail of the rhododendron season, and the increasing lushness as moisture builds create beautiful hiking conditions at elevations below 3,000m
- ↑Pokhara and the lakeside are at their most alive in May: the paragliding season extends through May with excellent thermal conditions, the Fewa Lake kayaking is at its most pleasant, and the restaurants and bars of Lakeside have a warm social energy that the October crowd creates but May captures without the peak-season price
What you sacrifice
- ↓Monsoon-driven cloud build-up accelerates through May: mountain viewpoints above 4,000m become progressively obscured after 9–10am as afternoon cloud builds; the critical Kala Patthar view of Everest summit requires a 4am start for clear visibility, and some May weeks see the mountain invisible from Base Camp for days at a time
- ↓130mm of rain and 72% humidity represent a significant shift from April — the lower valleys and Kathmandu city are warm and humid, and afternoon showers become a daily reality; high-altitude circuits above 5,000m are still dry but the approach valleys become muddier
- ↓The Khumbu Icefall becomes increasingly unstable in May as temperatures rise: summit teams accelerate their activity to complete rotations before the icefall deteriorates; this creates a deadline-driven, high-energy atmosphere at EBC that is fascinating to observe but signals the approaching monsoon closure
How May compares to October (best month)
| Factor | May | October ★ |
|---|---|---|
| Weather | 7 | 10 |
| Value | 6 | 4 |
| Crowds | 5 | 3 |
May in other destinations
Lisbon (20.7°C)Barcelona (20.8°C)Tokyo (23.8°C)Bali (31.2°C)Santorini (19.8°C)Paris (18.1°C)New York (20.4°C)Marrakech (26.4°C)Amsterdam (16.4°C)Maldives (31.5°C)Rome (21.7°C)Bangkok (32.6°C)Istanbul (20.7°C)Vienna (19.7°C)Seoul (21.4°C)Dubrovnik (20.9°C)Rio de Janeiro (26.2°C)Kyoto (25.2°C)Phuket (32.6°C)Cape Town (18.9°C)Prague (21°C)Amalfi Coast (23°C)Mexico City (27°C)Medellín (27°C)Fiji (28°C)London (18°C)Sydney (19°C)Iceland (10°C)Tulum (32°C)Dubai (38°C)Singapore (33°C)Hoi An (33°C)Chiang Mai (33°C)Miami (30.6°C)Florence (23.1°C)Queenstown (11°C)Madrid (21.7°C)Porto (21°C)Edinburgh (15°C)Copenhagen (16°C)Budapest (22°C)Kraków (20°C)Tbilisi (23°C)Palawan (32°C)Hanoi (31°C)Osaka (25°C)Goa (33°C)Cusco (20°C)Buenos Aires (19°C)Mykonos (23°C)Zanzibar (28°C)Sri Lanka (31°C)Costa Rica (27°C)Cancun (32°C)Krabi (33°C)Athens (25°C)Seville (27°C)Cartagena (31°C)Siem Reap (34°C)Havana (30°C)Split (22°C)Taipei (30°C)Kuala Lumpur (33°C)Valletta (24°C)Ho Chi Minh City (34°C)Hawaii (29°C)Cappadocia (22°C)Dominican Republic (31°C)Jamaica (31°C)Tanzania (23°C)Seychelles (28°C)Jordan (28°C)Azores (21°C)Bora Bora (28°C)Los Angeles (22.8°C)Cairo (34.8°C)Kenya (26.1°C)Jaipur (40.2°C)Las Vegas (33.8°C)San Francisco (17.5°C)Madeira (23°C)Vancouver (17.8°C)Muscat (40.1°C)Lima (20.5°C)Cinque Terre (21°C)Kotor (22°C)Tel Aviv (27°C)Santiago (17°C)Bogotá (18°C)Bruges (17.8°C)Penang (33.2°C)Lombok (31.5°C)Cape Verde (27.8°C)Fez (27.8°C)Kerala (33°C)Kigali (26°C)Hong Kong (28°C)Oslo (17°C)Auckland (17°C)
Climate data: 30-year normals (1991–2020) from Open Meteo ERA5 reanalysis. Scores compare months within Nepal, not across destinations. Methodology →