Nepal is a wonderful country with many kind hearted and honest people but you should aware of the typical scams that do occur in the tourist game. Similar scams are found in India.

Kathmandu Conspiracy, Shills and Trekking Guide Scam

A Guide or porter are not necessary for all the popular tea-house treks In Nepal. This is because the areas are highly developed and not off the beaten track despite what you may have been told.

It is like walking around any village in India or Nepal, there are many village and the path is wide. You will meet the real locals on your own, each village has it's own culture so you can meet them on your own.

These days a road has been built all the way to Jomoson, you can take a jeep or bus, walk. So they try tell you you need a guide but it's much better on your own and of course much cheaper. In actuality it costs...

Airport Prepaid Taxi

Before you even leave the Kathmandu international airport you will be confronted with a government sanctioned scam. This unfortunate because it gives foreigners a bad first impression. 

Government tourist offices will try to get you to book a hotel, taxi, treks whatever in advance for a much higher price than is normal.

The prepaid taxi booth you may be used to in India is not the same in Nepal.... Read more...

Can see the Kathmandu - Pokhara bus guide.

Internet rates

Tourist internet charges can be as high at 5-15 Rs per minute. Actually Nepali price is 2 Rs per minute. You'll see many Nepalese at the same internet place as you and wonder how they can afford it.

• It's a dual pricing scheme.

Look out side the tourist bubbles and you’ll soon find local shops that Nepali use and who will charge you equally. Check this map has the cheap internet cafes listed.

Restaurant - free wifi internet. You may find many restaurants offering free wifi. This is another thing that is false because it is sooo slow.

Packaged goods

Check the dates on packages water, chips, snacks etc. Many times the date is rubbed out using paint thinner. This is sure sign of a scam. Other than that the quality and food value of these third world snacks are to be avoided.

Beware of substandard or expired water bottles. Be wary of fake good with counterfeit content such sunscreen. Anything that comes in a bottle or package should be scrutinized. I recent government study found that 50% of the packaged water to be contaminated. Improperly packaged bottled water breeds mold and bacteria around the cap. When you open the bottle smell the top.

Sun damage is another problem as most shops display their water or other goods out in the open. Water will have a plastic taste from the bottle leaching in.

Good quality bottle water brands I've found:

'Taj', 'Pokhara springs' most of the other water, unfortunately to say, is bad quality.

Taxis

You might find that the driver starts to smoke or play loud music. Just to complain to him to stop or you'll find another cab.

When you arrive again he's likely to juggle the fare around, stick to your guns. Not that all taxi drivers are bad, you just need to be careful.

Brown bread scam

Beware of the many “German Bakeries” that offer substandard foods, even coloring their white bread with molasses(or something else) to sell it as “Brown Bread” It is in fact not whole wheat (atta) but plain white with a bit of egg, which they seem to prefer.  The white is prefer by Indian so it is too much work to make the a separate batch of dough for the tourist. Much easier to simply add some color and over charge for the privilege.

Adventure sport scam

Beware of dangerous sports such as paragliding or rafting in Nepal. This represents easy money for some but risk for others. Many tourists are injured or killed in these risky thrill rides. Beware the medical or rescue facilities are inadequate in Nepal should you have an accident. The adventure companies will not pay damages and have no liability in Nepal. Travel health insurance will pay for your hospital bills but not support you for the rest of your life as a paraplegic. It is unregulated industries in Nepal.

NGO Scam

There are approximately 60,000 charities and NGO operating in Nepal. Beware of fake NGO's that do little but suck up money for themselves. Often there is an elderly good hearted westerner that arrives with a big suitcase of dollars or euros. The head guy makes a big show, takes them to some outback village and shows then the new pump or beds they bought last time, wines and dines them, takes them trekking for a few days then back to the airport sans the big bag of cash swearing he's put to good use, and not spend too much on whiskey... A good clue is that they want you to pay for volunteer work, of course this a tourist business. Many of the trekking and guide agencies have added volunteerism to their brochures. It is completely unregulated in Nepal and many trekking agency have developed this as a sideline to offer to the Gap year students who feel insecure about traveling for an extended amount of time

Donations and Charity Scams

Beware that many youth may try to get a few rupees out of you pretending to be the government etc. Just ignore them and keep walking. They can't force you to donate. (I guess now that government has changed this isn't a scam anymore.) Also you should know that many schools are being built RIGHT along the trekking routes allow foreign trekkers easy access to their donation boxes.

One sweet, one pen

Every kid in Nepal is now told to ask tourists for a sweet or pen. You can expect to be asked many time a day particularly on the trekking route maybe 50 times a day. Do not perpetuate this begging trend. Many tourist shops sell big bags of sweets for the purpose. Do not buy in to this scam.

Bus over load

Riding the roof on the roof is very dangerous. Bus operators do this because they want to make more money and they make from ticket less riders. Many people have been killed doing this, and is in fact illegal. It is also common to overload the bus. Overloading causes already old and unstable buses to become more unstable and very dangerous. If the bus must stop for a cow or another vehicle in front, the people on the roof will be catapulted off, likely being killed. Remember in Nepal and India there is no liability by private companies and there is no legal system to make them responsible.