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| HOME > Nepal > Kathmandu > Travel to and from Kathmandu & Nepal | ||||
| Travel to and from Kathmandu & Nepal Air
Kathmandu is the only international airport in Nepal. The airport
is 5km east of the center of the city. For the best views of the mountains
if you are flying into Kathmandu from the east you should sit on the
right side of the plane and if arriving from the west you should sit
on the left side of the plane. There is an exchange counter in the immigration hall and one to your right after coming out of customs. The tourist information counter at the airport hands out the helpful Nepal Travellers and a free city map, and can book hotels for you for free. There are free phones, where you can book a hotel. There are regular flights to New Delhi ($162) and Calcutta on Indian Airlines and RNAC (Nepal Air). RNAC has flights to Bombay, Dubhai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Frankfurt, Colombo and London. Indian Airlines has a daily flight to Varanasi ($75). There is a 25% discount for travellers under 30 years of age on flights between Kathmandu and India. Thai Airways flies from Los Angeles to Kathmandu via Bangkok. Singapore Airlines flies from Los Angeles via Singapore to Kathmandu. Lufthansa flies from several USA cities via Frankfurt. There is an Rs 1000 (Rs 900 if departing to Southeast Asia) departure tax when you fly to SAARC countries and Rs 700 to all other international countries. International flights have to be reconfirmed at least 72 hours before the flight departure. Travel agent can reconfirm flights for around Rs 100. You
should check in at least two hours early for international flights
because many flights are overbooked. You can be bumped off a flight
if you arrive too late, even if you have a confirmed ticket. Domestic flights should be booked at least a week in advance. Many domestic flights are canceled because of the weather, so you should not be too pushed for time. I
have heard that the X-ray machines at the Kathmandu Airport are not
film safe. The Airport is 4 km east of Kathmandu. Many hotels have
courtesy pick-up service for their guests. International Airlines Domestic Airlines Buddha Air Domestic airlines are RNAC (220-757 ???214-862), Kantipath and New Rd, NECON Air (242-507, 475-231), New Rd, Everest Air (222-290, 226-941), Durbar Marg; and Nepal Airways (410-494, 412-388), Maharagunj. Bus Most of the buses arriving from outside Kathmandu Valley arrive at the New (Naya) Main (Gongbu) Bus Station, 3km northwest of Thamel on Ring Road. It is also known as the Kathmandu Bus Terminal or the “bus park.” It is about a 10-minute taxi (Rs 80 to Rs 100) or auto-rickshaw (Rs 60) ride to Thamel or Durbar Marg. Buses to the Terai and Pokhara depart from here. It is a good idea to book a long-distance bus one day in advance. If you arrive in Kathmandu on a tourist bus from Pokhara or Chitwan, you will most likely be let off at the junction of Kantipath and Tridevi Marg, not far from the Thamel area. This is also from where they depart. They may also stop near Bhimsen Tower near Freak Street. In the late afternoon the buses may stop in Balaju, northwest of Thamel. Buses that depart to places in the Kathmandu Valley
depart from the City Bus Park (also called the Purano “Old”
Bus Stand), on the east side of the city. Buses that go to places
along the Arniko Highway, such as Dhulikhel, Jiri, Tatopani, and the
Tibetan border also depart from the City Bus Park. It cost about Rs
60 to go to most hotels. Buses to outside the Kathmandu Valley depart from the New Bus Station. As the bus station is really out of the way, it most likely is a good idea to have an agent book the ticket for you. There are buses to Birganj (8 hr, 7 daily), Dharan (12 hr, 11 daily), Hetauda (8 hr), Janakpur (12 hr, 5 daily), Kakarbhitta (16 hr, 10 daily), Pokhara (7 hr, every half-hour), Narayanghat (6 hr, many), Tansen (13 hr, 2 daily), Lumbini (10 hr, 4 daily), Gorkha (6 hr, 9 daily), Sonauli (9 hr, 15 daily), Jiri (11 hr, 3 daily), Tandi Bazaar (for Sauraha, 7 hr, buses to Hetauda pass here), Mahendranagar (19 hr, 3 daily). Different companies operate tourist minibuses and buses to Pokhara and Sauraha (Chitwan National Park), and Nagarkot (Rs 100-150. To Pokhara the buses are Rs 200 to Rs 300 and to Sauraha Rs 150 to Rs 200. The minibuses cost more and are a little faster and more comfortable. Buses depart from Kantipath and Tridevi Marg. Greenline (253-885) operates a luxury coach to Pokhara and Chitwan. Travel to India Sunauli is a popular crossing point for travelers coming from Delhi or Varanasi. It takes 16 hours by train to go from Delhi to Gorakhpur. Trains take 7 hours from Varanasi to Gorakhpur. From Gorakhpur to the border towns of Sunauli/Bhairawa (Indian Rs 30) is a two or three-hour bus ride. You will be approached by travel agents to takes special buses to Kathmandu. They may try to charge you from Indian Rs 250 one way to Kathmandu. The actual cost is Indian Rs 30 to Sunauli and another Indian Rs 80 to get from Sunauli to Kathmandu or a total of Indian Rs 110. I know someone who paid Indian Rs 650 to go round trip from Gorakhpur to Kathmandu. The actual price is Indian Rs 220. There are direct tourist buses from Varanasi to Sunauli (Rs 100, 9 hr). When you cross the border at Sunauli it is just a few minutes walk to the bus station, where you get the bus to Kathmandu (Nepali Rs 118). Buses leave regularly in the morning up to around 11 am and from 4.30 to 7.30 pm. The bus ride from Sunauli to Kathmandu takes 9 to 12 hours. You could stop at Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha, after crossing the border, as it is only 22 km away from Bhairawa. You can get a train from either the New Delhi (15 hr) or Agra Fort Stations (16 hr) to Gorakhpur. Buses depart to Agra from the Old Bus stand in Mathura to Agra Fort Bus Stand, which is a few minute rickshaw (Rs 10) from the Agra Fort Station, where the trains to Gorakhpur depart. From Gorakhpur it can be hard to get a same day train to either Delhi or Agra. If you get the 8 am bus from Sunauli you will arrive in Gorakhpur at 11.30 am. There is a train to Agra at 1.30 pm, but there is a good chance by the time you arrive there will be no tickets available. You can purchase a ticket from the travel agents across from the railway station for Rs 300 to Agra. The actual price was Rs 165. It is not a good idea to purchase a train ticket from the travel agents in Sunauli, as there is a good chance that a mistake will be made and you will be charged a higher commission. If you want to get an immediate train out from Gorakhpur most of the travel agents across the street need only a couple hours to get a quick ticket. It is a very bad idea though to purchase a bus ticket to Kathmandu from them as it is easier to buy your own ticket at the bus station and you can also choice what bus you want to take at the border. You can also cross the border at Raxaul/Birganj in Bihar
via Patna if you are coming from the east, such as Calcutta. The bus
from Patna to Raxaul takes about 7 hour. From Birganj a direct bus
to Kathmandu takes 11 hours. There are both night and day buses. The
day buses can be better, as there in some interesting scenery on the
way. In you are in a major hurry or plan to book an Indian railway train it could be a good idea to use a travel agent in Kathmandu. Student Travel & Tours in Thamel, Everest Travel Service on Ganga Path, Avis Tours & Travels (411-564), Thamel, Yeti Travels on Durbar Marg, Shikhar Nepal Travels (241-669), Chhetrapati, and Pagoda Travels (252-266) are long-standing travel agencies in Kathmandu. It usually takes a travel agent a week to buy a railway ticket for an Indian train, and you have to pay in advance. It is usually best to arrange your transportation yourself, rather than go through a travel agent. A travel agent will charge you a higher price (maybe three times the normal price) and just put you on the transportation that you could easily arrange yourself. You will also be restricted to take what they have arranged for you and will not be able to adjust your situation. Also I have heard and seen that many will outright lie. For instance they will book you for a 1st class ticket from Gorakhpur to New Delhi, connecting from a bus from Kathmandu. When you arrive there will only be a 2nd class ticket waiting for you, even though you paid for a 1st class ticket. The travel agent that you pick up the ticket from will tell that this was the ticket he was told to give you by the other travel agent in Kathmandu. What can you do? Travel to Tibet It cost around $200 to fly to Lhasa one way. The travel
agent arranging your tour also arranges the visa to China. It can
take up to a week to get a visa for Tibet, unless you pay extra to
rush it. It takes five days to travel overland to Tibet. To travel to Tibet by road is usually not possible between mid-December and March, because of snow. Visas for Tibet/China are only issued
to groups in Nepal. An individual travelers should get a visa for
Tibet before entering Nepal (India is good). If may be possible to
enter Tibet with a Chinese visa that you got outside of Nepal, but
there is a good chance you will be turned back at the border, because
of the tour group policy. Some travel agencies that do tours to Tibet
are: If you know of information that is not listed here, or if you would like to help update our listings, please e-mail us at:
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