Tap water in Nepal

Not safe to drink

The WHO and UNICEF put safely managed drinking water within reach of 27% of people in Nepal. National figures describe a country, not the tap in front of you.

What the sources say

WHO / UNICEF JMP

27% of the population has safely managed drinking water, meaning it is free from contamination at the point of use.

Coverage splits by where you are: 34% in urban areas against 26% in rural ones.

US CDC Travelers' Health

Advises travellers that tap water is generally not safe to drink in Nepal.

Numbeo

34.39/100 on the water drinkability and accessibility index, which Numbeo reads as “Low”. This one is crowdsourced from residents rather than measured.

Lonely Planet

Don’t drink the water in Nepal. Ice should be avoided except in upmarket tourist-oriented restaurants. While trekking, purify your own water rather than buying purified water in polluting plastic bottles.

This is a national picture, and it varies. Some cities treat their water to a standard the country as a whole does not reach. Where the water is not safe, boiling, filtering or sealed bottles are the usual options, and ice and raw salad washed in tap water carry the same risk as the water itself.

What bottled water costs you here

Drinking tap water instead of bottled would save one adult about 219$ a year in Nepal, and keep several hundred plastic bottles out of circulation.

Work out your own saving

Places in Nepal

Water quality is local. These places have their own readings.

Elsewhere in Asia