Government Ayurveda Hospitals & Dispensaries of Nepal: Directory

Ayurveda is a state-recognised medical system in Nepal, and the government delivers it through a dedicated national network that runs parallel to the biomedical (allopathic) health service. The apex body is the Department of Ayurveda and Alternative Medicine (DoAA), based at Teku, Kathmandu, which plans, manages, monitors and supervises Ayurveda service programmes across the country. The department also oversees homeopathy, Amchi (Sowa Rigpa / Tibetan medicine), naturopathy and acupuncture through its Alternative Medicine division.

The service is arranged in a tiered structure. At the federal level sit the specialist institutions: the Central Ayurveda Hospital at Nardevi, the National Ayurveda Research and Training Centre (NARTC) at Kirtipur, the Singha Durbar Vaidyakhana (the government's Ayurvedic medicine manufacturer) and the National Ayurveda Medical College. Below these are provincial and district-level facilities and a dense layer of local aushadhalaya (dispensaries) that bring free or low-cost Ayurvedic care close to communities.

According to the Department of Ayurveda and Alternative Medicine, the network includes one central Ayurveda hospital (Nardevi), a provincial Ayurveda hospital (Dang), 14 zonal (anchal) Ayurveda dispensaries, 61 district Ayurveda health centres and 305 Ayurveda dispensaries (aushadhalaya). Some departmental summaries group the district health centres and former regional chikitsalaya into a combined figure of about 77 district-level Ayurveda health centres; readers should treat exact facility counts as indicative, because they are periodically reorganised under Nepal's federal restructuring.

The constitutional and policy basis for this system is explicit. The Constitution of Nepal calls for the protection and promotion of traditional Ayurvedic medicine alongside naturopathy and homeopathy, the National Ayurveda Health Policy of 1995 set the direction for expanding services, and the National Health Policy of 2014 reaffirmed the growth of Ayurveda within the wider health system.

The Central Ayurveda Hospital at Nardevi (also spelled Naradevi), in the old core of Kathmandu, is Nepal's premier government ayurvedic hospital and the national referral centre for the system. It traces its origins to an Ayurveda dispensary founded in 1918 CE (Vikram Sambat 1974) and has provided continuous Ayurveda and alternative-medicine services for more than a century, making it one of the oldest public health institutions in the country.

The hospital operates under the Ministry of Health and the Department of Ayurveda and Alternative Medicine. It runs a large outpatient department (OPD) alongside a 24-hour inpatient service. Its inpatient capacity is reported at around 100 general beds with 18 cabins, for a total in the region of 118 beds, together with round-the-clock nursing care. Free and subsidised medicines are a core part of its public-service mandate, particularly for elderly and low-income patients.

Clinical services span internal medicine (Kayachikitsa), Panchakarma (the classical five-action detoxification and rejuvenation therapies), surgery (Shalya), acupuncture and Marma therapy, obstetrics and gynaecology (Prasuti tantra and Stri roga), plus supporting radiology (X-ray, CT), laboratory diagnostics and a pharmacy. Commonly treated conditions include rheumatic and joint disorders, skin diseases, digestive complaints, women's health problems and neurological conditions.

Nardevi is also a teaching hospital: it serves as a clinical training site for students of the Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) programme, linking day-to-day patient care with Ayurveda education. This combination of history, capacity and training role is why the Nardevi Ayurveda hospital is the most searched-for government ayurvedic hospital in Kathmandu.

The Ayurveda hospital in Dang, in Lumbini Province, is the principal regional government ayurvedic hospital serving western and mid-western Nepal. Established around 2050 BS (early-to-mid 1990s CE), it grew from the earlier regional Ayurveda chikitsalaya system and now functions as a provincial-level Ayurveda hospital with a reported capacity of around 30 beds.

Located in the Dang valley, the hospital extends Ayurvedic inpatient and outpatient care to residents of the surrounding Tarai and hill districts who would otherwise have to travel to Kathmandu. Its role is significant because it decentralises specialist Ayurvedic services, including Panchakarma-based treatments, away from the capital and closer to a large rural population.

Departmental summaries also refer to provincial Ayurveda facilities associated with other regions, and Nepal's federal restructuring has been converting former zonal and regional Ayurveda units into provincial and district health centres. Because these designations continue to evolve, the Dang facility is best understood as the flagship provincial Ayurveda hospital outside the Kathmandu Valley rather than one of a fixed, unchanging set.

The National Ayurveda Research and Training Centre (NARTC), at Naya Bato, Kirtipur on the edge of the Tribhuvan University campus, is Nepal's apex institution for Ayurveda research, training and specialist patient care. It functions as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Health and Population and occupies a campus of roughly 19,482 square metres (about 30 ropani).

NARTC is organised into three blocks – a research hospital block, a research block and a training block – and runs an inpatient service of about 31 beds. Its clinical strengths lie in Panchakarma therapy for metabolic and lifestyle disorders and in Kshar-sutra treatment for anorectal diseases such as fistula and haemorrhoids, an area in which it is developing as a national centre of excellence.

Beyond Panchakarma and Kshar-sutra, the centre provides surgery (Shalya), acupuncture, physiotherapy, radiology and imaging, pathology laboratory services, dental care and psychosocial counselling, alongside yoga and meditation programmes. Its published annual reports record hundreds of Panchakarma admissions each fiscal year, reflecting steady demand for structured Ayurvedic therapy.

As a training centre, NARTC develops and delivers courses for Ayurveda practitioners and produces research and clinical documentation, helping to standardise Ayurvedic care nationally. For patients specifically seeking a dedicated Panchakarma hospital in Nepal within the government system, NARTC and the Nardevi hospital are the two main public options.

Below the specialist hospitals, most everyday government Ayurvedic care in Nepal is delivered through a wide base of dispensaries and district facilities. The department maintains 14 zonal (anchal) Ayurveda dispensaries, historically located in the headquarters of the country's former zones, which offer more comprehensive Ayurvedic outpatient services than the smallest units.

At the district level there are Ayurveda health centres – counted in departmental figures at 61 district Ayurveda health centres, with combined tallies of about 77 when former regional chikitsalaya are included. These centres provide outpatient consultation, dispensing of Ayurvedic medicines and, at better-resourced sites, limited Panchakarma and specialist services.

The widest layer is the 305 Ayurveda dispensaries (aushadhalaya) spread across local units nationwide. These are typically staffed by an Ayurveda practitioner (vaidya or kaviraj) and support staff, and they distribute classical Ayurvedic formulations – many produced by the government's own Singha Durbar Vaidyakhana – to walk-in patients, often free of charge. Together the dispensary and district tiers are what make Ayurveda genuinely accessible in rural Nepal.

Because Nepal is still consolidating health services under its federal structure, individual dispensaries and health centres may be renamed, merged or transferred between provincial and local governments. The national totals above give a reliable picture of the system's scale, but anyone seeking a specific facility should confirm its current status and services with the relevant provincial health directorate or local government.

The government's Ayurvedic medicines are largely supplied by the Singha Durbar Vaidyakhana, a state manufacturer of Ayurvedic products that produces roughly 200 different formulations and herbal preparations. One of the oldest institutions of its kind in South Asia, it operates as a development-board company under the health ministry and supplies hospitals and dispensaries across the network, underpinning the free-medicine model of public Ayurveda in Nepal.

Oversight of practitioners is separate from service delivery: the Nepal Ayurveda Medical Council, also based at Nardevi, registers and regulates qualified Ayurveda practitioners, while the Department of Ayurveda and Alternative Medicine manages facilities and programmes. Together with NARTC's research and training role and the Vaidyakhana's manufacturing, these bodies form a fairly complete public ecosystem for traditional medicine.

For patients, the practical entry points are straightforward. For general complaints, the nearest district Ayurveda health centre or local aushadhalaya is usually the first stop, offering free consultation and medicines. For structured Panchakarma or inpatient Ayurvedic treatment, the Nardevi hospital in Kathmandu and NARTC in Kirtipur are the main government options in the valley, with the Dang hospital serving the west.

Opening hours across government Ayurveda OPDs typically follow the standard civil-service schedule – roughly 9:00 am to 4:00 or 5:00 pm on working days, with inpatient wards staffed 24 hours where they exist. Because contact numbers, fees and service lists change over time, it is best to verify current details on each facility's official website or with the Department of Ayurveda and Alternative Medicine before travelling.