US urges caution on Nepal travel WASHINGTON: The United States on Friday cautioned Americans about travel to Nepal, warning of a rise in both political violence and street crime in the land of Mount Everest. The State Department "warns US citizens of the risks of traveling to Nepal and urges caution when traveling in the country," a warning said. It advised Americans who decide to visit Nepal to be ready to change their travel plans at short notice depending on developments. The State Department warned that potentially violent clashes could erupt with little notice due to the political chaos since Maoist leader Prachanda quit as prime minister on May 4. The United States also said that violent crime and harassment of women were on the rise, including in popular tourist areas of Kathmandu. Several foreigners have reported thefts from their hotel rooms while asleep, while visitors have also been duped by scams or extorted while on trekking routes, the State Department said. The travel warning threatens to be a blow to Nepal's thriving tourism industry, which employs around 300,000 people in one of the world's poorest nations. A record of nearly 550,000 foreign tourists visited Nepal in 2008, two years after a peace deal that ended the decade-long Maoist insurgency. Nepal, hoping to bank on the peace dividend, had set a goal of attracting one million tourists a year by 2011.