MAAGSA Symposium 2026

Conference Fee:

Attendance and tea, coffee, and lunch during the symposium will be free of charge for all presenters. Information about dinner on the 28th is pending.

Non-presenting attendees will be charged a nominal fee (TBA) to contribute to the cost of meals. This fee will be waived for graduate student volunteers. 

As is customary for the Annual Conference on Nepal and the Himalaya, we ask organized panels that are well-funded by international grants to consider making a donation toward symposium production costs at their discretion. Regardless of whether you are part of an organized group, if you would like to make a donation, please contact Anna Stirr (stirr@hawaii.edu).

Lodging

Participants may stay at the Hotel Shanker (posh and pricey), where our Symposium and the Annual Conference on Nepal and the Himalaya will be held in the following days. Right now, they have a great deal for rooms, which can be accessed at Booking.com or through their own website. This deal makes the Hotel Shanker more affordable than the other hotels within walking distance, so we suggest you take advantage of it if you can! This deal may not last, and others attending the following conference may also be booking rooms here, so we suggest that you reserve your room soon. Free cancellation is available both from Booking.com and the Hotel Shankar itself, up until July 23.

Alternatives to the Hotel Shanker

The Hotel Shanker is located in the Lazimpat neighborhood, which houses upscale shops and hotels but is a relatively affordable residential area. There may also be affordable vacation rentals in the area.

Alternatively, participants may choose to stay at one of the plethora of nearby budget hotels in Thamel (20 to 30 minutes’ leisurely walk; 5-10 minutes taxi or motorbike taxi ride away). Some of these budget hotels and hostels have rooms at $7.00-$11.00 US per night; searching for them on your favorite booking sites is recommended, using Kathmandu Thamel as search terms.

Funding for Participants

Funding for everything is extremely limited this year. We are working on fundraising, and we will announce if any travel funding for SAARC-based graduate students becomes available. 

Nepal Travel

Participants should enter Nepal on a tourist visa and state the purpose of their visit as Tourism.

Citizens of all SAARC countries and most other countries are eligible for Visa on Arrival, and citizens of most SAARC countries are eligible for a gratis visa of 30 days. Please see the latest visa information from the Government of Nepal here. 

All citizens of non-SAARC countries who do not already possess a multiple-entry visa for Nepal will find it easiest to enter the country at an air border. We are not sure at this time of the land border entry situation for non-SAARC citizens.

Communications while in Nepal

You can easily obtain a SIM or e-SIM at one of the mobile phone company kiosks just after customs at the airport. To obtain a Nepali e-SIM, you must fully own your mobile phone (it must not be on installments) and it must be carrier-unlocked before you leave your home country if you live in a country where this system applies.

SIM cards are available at many shops around Kathmandu as well. E-SIMs may not be available in all places where physical SIMs are available.

Once you have a local SIM and load a bit of data on your phone, you can use the ride apps inDrive, Pathao, or Tootle to get around. (For Bangladesh residents-Pathao requires a local phone number so you do still need a Nepal SIM to use it here). You can pay cash for any rides booked using these apps.