As an alternate, why dont you try by bus/jeep from Pokhara? It's much easier than before and you can reach in one day.

It's ridiculous.  Airlines do that because they charge more than double to foreigners for the same seat.  Government should force these airlines to allocate at least half the seats for Nepali citizens.

@ STAT: I might have to.

in 2001, i turned down a university job offer elsewhere in the belief that one should serve one's own country and went to nepal.  the discrimination in the offices of ktm were almost discernable. they came in small doses at first but were blatant in some cases later on. no one would give you a decent job anywhere, unless you had a "source" or were ready to teach in a private school. after seeing my frustration, a friend's dad tried helping me, but i thought what good was i if i had to use a "source" to implement skills that i had acquired over 20+ years in school.
newbies with "sources" got into UN jobs. others into WWF. a myriad kids without any discernable skills hopped into one INGO after another.
after five years of frustration and almost hungry, i left nepal for the states and haven't gone back since.
after the initial struggle to stabilize here, i found plenty employers who were happy to give me a shot to use my skills for their good.
your story reminds me of what i went through those days. it seems discrimination hasn't gone away since Gyanendra left.
good luck to you.
Muktinath le sabai ko rakchya garun ra nepali lai sadbuddi deun!

thats so retarded...how cud they deprive a nepali citizen from visiting a holly place...f*** those airlines

We never seem to learn. Once, I was kicked out of a bus because I was a Nepali in the middle of nowhere between Pokhara and Kathmandu... Jaya Nepal.