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Getting To Nepal
There
are few direct flights to Nepal, which means
most travellers from Europe, North America
and Australia have to change aircraft and/or
airline en route. Nepal's only international
airport is Kathmandu's Tribhuvan Airport.
If you want to see the mountains as you fly
into Kathmandu from Europe, make sure you
sit on the left-hand side of the plane; coming
from the USA it would be the right-hand side.
The departure tax for international flights
is appr. US$ 15, or US$10 to destinations
on the Indian subcontinent.
The
classic overland routes between Nepal and
India are still popular. Buses are usually
the quickest, cheapest and easiest form of
transport between Nepal and India. There are
three main crossing points: Sunauli-Bhairawa,
Birganj-Raxaul Bazaar and Kakarbhitta-Siliguri.
The Sunauli border crossing is the best one
from Varanasi, the Birganj crossing is the
easiest from Kolkata, and Kakarbhitta is the
obvious choice from Darjeeling. A trickle
of travellers enter Nepal at the Mahendrenagar-Banbassa
border crossing in the extreme west of Nepal,
which is handy for travellers coming overland
from Delhi who do not want to visit Varanasi.
The crossing between Nepal and Tibet via Kodari
is open to organised groups but not to individual
travellers heading north. Be prepared with
alternative plans if you're thinking about
using this route, because landslides regularly
make it impassable during the monsoon.
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Traveling in Nepal
Royal
Nepal Airlines and a raft of private companies
offer domestic air services, but flights are
relatively expensive and often delayed or
cancelled due to inopportune weather. Airlines
only accept payment in hard currency from
visitors. Kathmandu's domestic airport is
right next to the international airport.
Public
buses are the main form of transportation
and are incredibly cheap, incredibly uncomfortable
and tediously slow. Buses ply almost every
paved road (not that there are many), as well
as some of the unpaved ones, and some visitors
come back with horror stories about 'almost'
plunging into a ravine. There are several
services between Kathmandu and Pokhara aimed
specifically at tourists like the Greenline
bus service. If the affinity to chickens and
goats as travelling companions is not deeply
ingrained tourists will prefer them. There
are no trains and no car rental in Nepal.
Cars with drivers can be hired.
Local transport in the Kathmandu Valley and around Pokhara includes
metered and unmetered taxis, buses, tempos (three-wheeled buses), auto-rickshaws,
bicycle rickshaws and bicycles.
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