To make friends in Nepal, start from the fact that many people around you are leaving, and build your circle from the people who are staying. In Kathmandu, Lalitpur or Pokhara, that usually means one regular routine with the same faces: a campus group, a hike, a volunteer team or the same tea shop at the same hour. It's slower than school friendship, and you may have to rebuild when someone's visa comes through, but it works.

The short answer

  • Expect departures. An IOM profile noted that almost half of Nepali households had a member working overseas or back from working overseas.
  • Find your chautari. Villages have a resting place where people gather after work. In a city you have to choose your own regular spot.
  • Use the festival calendar. Dashain sends people home. If you're staying behind, find the others who are.
  • Moved for college or work? Join something that meets every week in your first month, before your life shrinks to your room and your phone.
  • Apps help with conversation, but not in Nepali. Rimeso circles run in English or Hindi.

We make Rimeso, so we're not neutral about it. We've tried to be fair about what each app is good at, including where others are the better choice.

How to make friends in Nepal when everyone seems to be leaving

If your friend group has thinned out, you're not imagining it. An International Organization for Migration country profile noted that "almost 50 per cent of the country's household had a member who was either working overseas or has returned." Remittances were worth about 26.6% of GDP in 2023, and the World Bank writes of "the continued departure of many Nepalis abroad in search of employment."

Numbers don't show how it feels. There's the airport drop-off, the group chat that now lights up at odd hours, and the photo of a friend in a jacket you've never seen. You're happy for them, and you've also lost the person you'd have called tonight. Both things are true.

So the question changes. It stops being "how do I meet people?" and becomes "who is still here, and who will be here next year?"

When your friends have gone abroad

  • Give the friendship a time slot. Nepal runs on UTC+5:45, so every call to another country needs arithmetic. Fix one: your Saturday evening, their morning. A regular call survives. "We'll talk soon" doesn't. More in how to keep friendships alive.
  • Find the others who stayed. Ask your friend abroad who else from the old group is still around. People in that position are often lonelier than they admit, and they'll say yes.
  • Look out for people who came back. Returnees are a big group too, and after years away many of them have lost touch with the friends they left.
  • Let new people matter anyway. It's tempting to stop trying because anyone might leave. Some will. Making new friends in Nepal means accepting that, and starting again a little faster each time.

How to meet people in Kathmandu after moving for college or work

In a village, a chautari does this job for you. It's a stone platform beside a foot trail, often shaded by a banyan or peepal tree, where travellers rest and where people gather after a day of work. Nobody has to arrange anything.

Kathmandu has nothing like it built in. If you've moved here for college or a job, you probably have a rented room, a long commute and a phone. So build your own chautari: one place where you are seen regularly.

Every friend group needs a chautari. In a city, you have to pick yours on purpose.

Pick one tea shop

Go to the same chiya pasal, the local tea shop, at the same hour, three or four times a week. Chiya, usually taken with milk and sugar, is a small enough reason to sit down. Greet the owner and sit in the same place. After a few weeks you're someone they expect, and the person on the next bench starts to nod.

Join something on campus

Tribhuvan University, based in Kirtipur, is Nepal's oldest and largest university, with more than 500,000 students across its campuses and affiliated colleges. In a system that size, nobody is going to find you. Join a group that meets every week, such as a sports team, a debate club or a volunteer unit. Our guide on how to make friends in college has more.

Hike with the same people

Hiking suits friendship, because you walk side by side and a bad joke has time to land. Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, on the northern edge of the Kathmandu Valley, has a popular hiking route for local people and tourists, and Shivapuri peak rises to 2,732 m. Suggest it to one colleague or classmate. If you find a hiking group, go twice before you decide about it.

Watch cricket with a crowd

The Nepal Premier League began in November 2024, and its finals have been played at the Tribhuvan University ground in Kirtipur. Shouting at the same umpire is a quick way to become friends. Get three people from your hostel or office to go, and you've got a group with a shared memory.

Lalitpur and Pokhara need a different approach

Lalitpur runs on long roots. Newar social life has been organised for generations through the guthi, a community system that pays for festivals, rites and the upkeep of temples and stone water spouts. You won't be joining one as a newcomer, and that's fine. What you can do is turn up and be curious. Rato Machhindranath Jatra sends a chariot about 60 feet tall through the streets of Lalitpur on a tour lasting a month. Ask a neighbour to explain what's going on, and you've started a conversation that could last the whole festival.

Pokhara is Nepal's second-largest city, with about 600,000 people in the 2021 census, and it was declared the country's tourism capital in 2024. Lakeside gives you endless people to talk to, most of whom will be gone within a week. Look past them to the people who live here and run things. Pokhara also has the country's highest number of Gurkha soldiers, so many local families already know what it means to have someone far away, and that's common ground.

Dashain, Tihar and the people left out

Festivals are when Nepal comes home. Dashain, in September or October, lasts 15 days. People return from across the country and around the world, and elders place tika on younger relatives' foreheads. If you can't get home, it can be the loneliest fortnight of your year, because everyone else has somewhere to be.

Say so to someone. Most colleagues and landlords would gladly include you, and many are unsure whether to ask. If you'd rather not ask a family, gather the others who are staying.

💡 Try this: two weeks before Dashain, message five people: "Who's staying in the city this year? Let's eat together one day." Whoever sends that message is rarely alone.

Tihar is more neighbourly. It lasts five days, and groups go from house to house singing Deusi and Bhailo, receiving money and food such as sel roti in return. If you're new on your street, open the door and be ready with something to give. You'll have met half the lane by the end of the evening.

Volunteering with people who plan to stay

Volunteers tend to be rooted in a place, which is exactly who you're looking for. The Nepal Red Cross Society, formed in 1963, has chapters in all 77 districts and listed about 90,000 volunteers in 2024. A shared job also gives you something to talk about besides who's leaving next. Ask your district chapter what they need, and show up for more than one day.

Foreigners and INGO staff in Nepal

If you've come for work, you're part of the pattern this article describes: you are one of the people who leave. INGO and embassy circles are quick and friendly, and they empty out when contracts end. Two things help. Learn Nepali, even badly, because a few sentences change every conversation at the tea shop. And accept invitations. If a colleague asks you to a family event or to Dashain tika, clear the day. Be honest about how long you're staying, too. People who've said goodbye to a lot of friends deserve to know.

Nepalis abroad: keeping a foot in both places

Many people reading this are in another time zone, waiting for a friend at home to wake up. The Non-Resident Nepali Association has national councils in 90 countries, so it's a good first place to ask about Nepali gatherings where you live. That can be a real comfort, particularly at Dashain.

Keep that, and add local friends too, or you'll be living between two places. We have guides for the USA, the UK and Australia.

Looking for a friendship app in Nepal? Read the limits first

If you're looking for a friendship app in Nepal, Rimeso is open here. It's a free Android app, with no iPhone version yet. You pick your interests, language, age group and country, and you join a small circle that answers one thoughtful question a day. Four limits are worth knowing before you download it:

  • There are no Nepali circles. Circles and questions are in English or Hindi only.
  • Your circle may not be in Nepal. Rimeso first looks for an active circle here. If there isn't one yet, it may place you in a nearby country on a similar clock. Nepal is only 15 minutes ahead of India, so that could well be a circle in India.
  • Circles are not city-based. There are no meetups, so it won't give you a hiking partner in Pokhara.
  • It's young. Some circles are quiet, especially in smaller countries.

Other options suit different people. Slowly is a pen-pal app whose letters take time to arrive, which is oddly comforting if you like writing. HelloTalk and Tandem are built for language exchange. For more on all of this, see how to make friends online, or read our Hindi guide to making friends in Nepal.

If you're struggling, the National Suicide Prevention Helpline is 1166 (hours vary), and findahelpline.com lists other support. Our guide on dealing with loneliness is a gentle place to start.

Frequently asked questions

How can I make new friends in Nepal?

Build a routine with people who are staying: a weekly campus group, a regular hike, a volunteer team or the same tea shop at the same hour. So many people leave for work or study abroad that it helps to keep adding new friends rather than relying on one group.

How do I meet people in Kathmandu?

Choose one regular spot near where you live and one weekly activity, such as a college group, a hiking group or volunteering. Hikes in Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park are popular. Seeing the same faces in the same place matters more than going to lots of one-off events.

Is there a friendship app for Nepal?

Rimeso is open in Nepal as a free Android app, with a small circle and one thoughtful question a day. Circles run in English or Hindi, not Nepali, and they are not city-based. If there is no active circle in Nepal yet, it may place you in a nearby one.

What can I do if I am alone during Dashain?

Tell someone, since many people would happily include you. Ask a colleague or neighbour if you can join them for tika, or message others who are staying in the city and arrange to eat together on one day of the festival.

Sources

A small circle that actually gets you.

Rimeso gives you one thoughtful question a day to answer with a small private circle matched to your interests. No feed, no followers, no ads. About four minutes a day.

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If you're struggling right now: Rimeso and this article aren't a substitute for professional care. If you feel unsafe or in crisis, please contact your local emergency number, or find a free, confidential helpline in your country at findahelpline.com. In Nepal you can call the government's National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1166.