How much is travel insurance to Nepal?

Nepal is a trekking destination above all else, and that shapes everything about the insurance you need. The base premium is modest, but the coverage decisions matter more here than for almost any other country.

Why Nepal is a special case

Most travellers come for the Himalayas — Everest Base Camp, the Annapurna Circuit, Langtang. A medical problem on a trek, from altitude sickness to a fall, often cannot be reached by road. The standard response is helicopter evacuation to Kathmandu, which is expensive on its own, followed by hospital treatment and, in serious cases, a medically supervised flight back to Canada. This is why a high coverage limit is not optional padding in Nepal — it is the core of the policy.

Trekking and altitude coverage

This is the decision that trips people up. Many basic emergency medical plans cap the altitude they will cover and exclude certain trekking. Our optional Sports & Activities coverage can extend protection to many treks, but you must confirm two things before departure: that your specific route and its maximum altitude are covered, and that helicopter evacuation is included. A policy that stops at a lower altitude than your trek reaches leaves you exposed at exactly the wrong moment.

What drives the base premium

The base price depends on four things: your age, the length of the trip, the coverage amount you choose, and your health, including any pre-existing conditions. A healthy traveller on a two- or three-week trek pays a modest daily rate before the activity add-on. Older travellers, longer expeditions and higher limits cost more.

The OHIP gap

OHIP covers almost nothing outside Canada and never pays a foreign hospital up front. Ontario ended most out-of-country medical coverage in 2020, so any reimbursement is a small fraction of a Nepali evacuation and hospital bill. Emergency medical travel insurance fills the gap, and our 24/7 assistance can coordinate the evacuation and care directly — critical when you are at altitude and can’t arrange it yourself.

Keeping the cost reasonable

Match the policy to your exact dates and choose a comfortable deductible, but do not trim the coverage amount or skip the altitude check to save money. In the Himalayas, the rescue is the bill you are insuring against.

Protecting the cost of the trek

A Himalayan trip carries real prepaid costs beyond flights — permits, guides, porters and teahouse or lodge bookings. Our optional Trip Cancellation & Interruption coverage is separate from emergency medical and can refund eligible prepaid, non-refundable costs if a covered reason stops you from travelling or forces you to abandon the trek partway. For an expensive, long-planned expedition, it’s worth weighing alongside the medical plan.

Pre-existing conditions

If you manage an ongoing condition, coverage generally depends on it being stable for a set period before departure — and altitude can affect some conditions, so this matters more in Nepal than most places. There’s no age limit and no medical questions under 60; travellers 60 and over complete a Medical Questionnaire that sets the premium, not eligibility. Declare your health accurately, and if you have any doubt about trekking at altitude with a condition, speak to your doctor before you commit.

Get a quote for your exact age, dates and planned trek, and confirm the altitude limit and evacuation coverage before you fly.