Sandwiched between the two of world’s greatest giants India and China, Nepal is a landlocked country located in the South-East region of Asia. Nepal is stretched from 53 meters above sea level to the world’s tallest mountain Mount Everest at 8848 meters.
How to get here ?
By plane
The ceasefire signed by the Maoists has seen the opening up of routes with new airlines in the country. There are direct flights from Kathmandu to Bangkok with Thai Airways and the flag carrier Nepal Airlines. Currently Nepal Airlines doesn't offer yet an online booking system. You can make reservations through agencies. One-way tickets from Kathmandu to Bangkok cost approx USD 220 (including all taxes), Singapore, Hong Kong with Dragon Air/Cathay Pacific. ArkeFly flies direct to Europe (Amsterdam, Netherlands). Many European destinations can be reached via Doha with Qatar Airways, Abu Dhabi with Etihad, Dubai with Emirates or the low cost carrier FlyDubai, Bahrain with Gulf Air, Flights are also available via Delhi on Jet Airways and UAE on Air Arabia. Turkish Airlines is beginning 4x/week service from Istanbul starting 1 September, 2013.
USA
North America is halfway around the world from Nepal, so you can go east or west around the globe. Flying west involves a change in Asia – Korean Airlines offers good connections through Seoul, but you could also change in Bangkok, Hong Kong or Singapore. Flying east normally involves a stop in Europe and, quite often, again in the Gulf or in India. Jet Airways has a convenient route from New York with stops in Brussels and Delhi.
UK & Ireland
With the reintroduction of British Airways flights in 2015 on the London to Kathmandu route you can now, finally, fly direct from western Europe to Kathmandu again. Other easy connections to Kathmandu from London and Dublin are with Etihad, Emirates and Qatar Airways, changing in the Gulf. All three airlines also fly from Manchester, Edinburgh and other regional UK airports. The fastest connection from London to Kathmandu is with Jet Airways or Indian Airlines, with one smooth change in Delhi. Cheaper Jet connections via Mumbai require an overnight stay.
Continental Europe
There are no direct flights between continental western Europe and Kathmandu. The most direct option is via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines, but tight connections in Istanbul can cause problems if your inbound flight is delayed. Other than Turkish Airlines, most people fly via India or a Middle Eastern country.
India, Pakistan & Bangladesh
Seats between Kathmandu and Delhi can be found for less than US$140, especially if you book in advance online. Jet are the best carriers flying the Delhi–Kathmandu route, though budget Indian airlines like IndiGo and SpiceJet offer the cheapest fares. All fly daily. Fares are best booked online, though you may have trouble using a non-Indian credit card on some sites.
Indian Airlines flies from Kathmanda to Delhi, Kolkata and Varanasi. Buddha Air flies to Varanasi.
You can get to Dhaka with Biman Bangladesh Airlines, and to Karachi with Pakistan International Airways (PIA).
Nepal's Tribhuvan International Airport is located just outside of the Ring Road in Kathmandu. The terminal is a one-room brick building with a large wooden table serving as both customs and immigration. Tourist visa of 15 days or more is available on arrival.
Money can be changed to the local currency as well, but these services are only available directly after scheduled arrivals.
Outside the airport, all 'representatives' of the tourist industry are required to remain 10 metres (about 30 feet) from the front door. This does not prevent them from waving large signs and yelling in an attempt to encourage you to choose them as your guide/taxi/hotel/luggage carrier. Make your choice before crossing the line, or better yet, arrange your first night's accommodation before you arrive and ask the hotel to send someone to meet you. Many hotel and guest houses offer complimentary pick up and delivery from the airport. Fixed price Taxis are also available before you exit the building but you may get a cheaper fare if you are willing to haggle. As always, negotiate the price beforehand with the driver. A taxi ride to Thamel or Boudha should be around 300 NRS. Otherwise, order a taxi at the pre-paid booth inside the airport, which costs 400+NRs (and rising). This is more than the normal taxi rate, but it saves the hassle of long negotiations. You can also walk a few hundred metres to the Ring Road and grab a city bus or taxi there.
By car or motorcycle
It is quite easy to rent a car with a driver in Nepal, however you would need to haggle to get a reasonable price. If you come in summer, better take a car with air-con. Car rental without a driver in Nepal is almost unheard of, as is renting a car in India and taking it across the border.
Many travellers drive from India on Royal Enfield motorcycles. Technically, foreigners have to pay customs at the borders but most don't bother. Selling the bike in Nepal is easy as other travelers are looking for bikes to ride back to India.
If you are coming from India you will find driving in Nepal a lot less chaotic! The roads are amazing and the new east-west highway currently under construction with support from the Japanese will open up new destinations for those interested in exploring Nepal by motor-bike.
Please check before hiring a motorbike on the current state of fuel. At time of writing (13DEC 09) there was large problems with fuel supply which can leave riders stranded. As of Dec 2014, bike rental generally start at 700NPR for a day, (counted as 8am to shop closing time, not 24hrs) for a basic 125cc Bajaj Pulsar or Hero Honda, Royal Enfield and Hartford off road bikes cost from upward of 1700NPR. Note the hire bikes have no insurance, and frequently they are poorly maintained with various reliability issues such as juddering brakes, loose gear lever, throttle linkage, cranking troubles etc.
Hirers are also notorious for trying to charge tourists large amounts of money on returning the bike for 'damage payment' that may not have been from you. Therefore make sure a thorough damage assessment with the hirer is carried out before departing and if the hirer tries to scam you on return go to local police.
The best route to explore Nepal by road on motorcycle, is to enter from the border crossing of Banbasa- Mahendra Nagar, just after the border crossing, the Mahendra Highway (made with collaboration from India) is amazing to ride on.
Crossing the border requires you to pay a daily toll of 120 rs (Nepali) and a transport permit of 50 rs Nepali(one time), the cops can ask you for these two pieces of document anytime during the ride.
By bus
There are five border crossings open to tourists. The Sunauli-Bhairawa border crossing is the closest to Varanasi, the Raxaul-Birganj crossing to Patna, Kolkata, and Siliguri-Kakarbhitta is to Darjeeling. The Banbassa-Mahendrenagar border crossing, in the extreme west of Nepal, is the closest to Delhi. The Bahraich-Nepalganj border is the one closest to Lucknow , the easiest destination by air or train from Delhi.
The crossing between Nepal and Tibet via Kodari is open to independent travelers entering Nepal, but only to organised groups entering Tibet.
By train
Cargo and passanger trains operate between Sirsiya in southern Nepal, and the Indian town of Raxaul. However, except for Indians, foreigners are not allowed to cross border with it. Internal train network is limited to few kilometres of train network in Janakpur.
Country: Nepal.
Area: 1,47,181 sq.km.
Capital: Kathmandu.
National Language: Nepali.
National Currency: Rupees/Rupaiya.
National Animal: Cow.
National Bird: Lophophorus/Danfe.
National Flower: Rhododendron/laligurans.
Population: 30 million (approx).
