Conditions created by last year’s earthquakes have markedly improved: we have been advised by our travel emergency assistance provider, International SOS (ISOS), that Nepal is safe for scholastic travel, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) no longer advises against travel to Nepal.
However, caution and careful planning are both still strongly advised. For example, as of January 2016, ISOS recommended deferring non-essential overland travel in the Terai due to protests and strikes in the region. Additionally, we strongly encourage adhering to all recommendations put forth by the U.S. Department of State for any travel to Nepal.
In order to ensure that we can contact and provide services to individuals traveling abroad should incidents occur, all students, Officers of Instruction and Officers of Research traveling with students, Officers of Administration, and support staff are required to register all Columbia travel outside the U.S. with the University’s travel emergency assistance provider, International SOS (ISOS). This can be done by following the steps listed on Columbia’s Global Travel website page to Register a Trip. Also on that website, you can find contact information that you can use to reach ISOS in case of Emergencies, a wallet card that you can carry with you, and other helpful resources.
For more information regarding the University’s travel planning policy and how it addresses other types of international Columbia travel, please refer to the International Travel Planning Policy page of the Administrative Policy Library website.