Useful country information

Travel to, from & within Nepal...

London to Kathmandu overland by train

Delhi to Kathmandu by train+bus

Varanasi to Kathmandu by bus

Calcutta to Kathmandu by train+bus

Kathmandu to Lhasa (Tibet) by bus

Travel within Nepal

Right:  Indian Railways will take you from Delhi to Gorakphur, from where it's a short hop by bus to Nepal...

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London to Kathmandu overland

How to travel overland by train from Europe to Nepal...

It is possible to travel from London to Kathmandu overland by train and bus via Turkey, Iran, Pakistan & India.  It will take a minimum of 2-3 weeks (preferably more, as you'll probably want to stop off on the way and explore), and you should consider it more as an adventure or expedition than a routine way to travel there.  The main difficulty is getting an tourist visa for Iran, although this is becoming easier - see the London to Iran page.  If you can get a visa, the only logistical problem is building an itinerary around the weekly train from Istanbul to Tehran and the twice-monthly trains towards to Pakistan border.  There are also security problems in southeast Iran to consider - see the official travel advice for Iran and Pakistan at the British Foreign Office website, www.fco.gov.uk.  If you are still interested, see the London to India & Nepal Overland page.

India to Nepal overland...

Delhi to Kathmandu by train + bus...

It's quite easy, cheap, and an adventure to do this journey overland.

• Day 1:  Take a train from Delhi to Gorakhpur.  The Vaishali Express leaves Delhi at around 19:50 and arrives at Gorakhpur Junction at 09:05 next morning, or there's another train from New Delhi at 20:25 arriving Gorakhpur at 10:00 next morning.  The fare is around Rs 2440 (£35 or $54) in AC1, RS 1240 (£18 or $27) in AC2, Rs 785 (£12 or $18) in AC3 or Rs 315 in Sleeper Class - check current times and fares at www.indianrail.gov.in or www.cleartrip.com.  You can buy the train ticket online from inside or outside India at www.cleartrip.com.  For an explanation of the different classes on Indian trains, see the India page.

• Day 2:  Take a bus or jeep from Gorakhpur to the Nepalese frontier at Sunauli (Indian side) and Bhairawa (Nepalese side, often also called Sunauli).  Journey time about 3 hours, Rs 55 (£1 or $2).

• Walk across the frontier, it's then a few minutes walk to the Bhairawa bus station.  Take a bus or jeep on to Kathmandu.  Buses take 9 to 12 hours, cost about 120 Nepalese Rupees or 230 Indian Rupees (£1 or $2).  There are many buses daily, either daytime buses leaving regularly until about 11:00 or overnight buses leaving regularly from about 16:00 until 19:00.  Indian rupees may be accepted here in Bhairawa, but not always further into Nepal.

• It's also possible to travel via Varanasi.  An overnight train links Delhi & Varanasi.  Buses link Varanasi with the Nepalese border - see the next section.

• If you travel this route and get any information or photos that would help improve this page for future travellers, please e-mail me.

Traveller's reports...

Traveller Robert Marten reports:  "We travelled AC2 overnight to Gorakhpur booked in London through S.D.Enterprises (www.indiarail.co.uk).  The train was 3 hours late due to fog(!?), arriving after midday.  Then we took a very crowded ordinary bus from Gorakhpur to the Indian border town, Sunauli.  We paid Indian Rp.55 each though I was told by another local that the normal fare was Rp. 45.  We were also nearly taken in by what we decided was a scam - two different people offered us "tickets" from Gorakphur to Kathmandu for Rp.450 - saying that we could pay Rp.225 in Gorakhpur and then another Rp.225 once we crossed the border - we concluded that in effect all they were doing was charging us Rp.225 for the bus from Gorakhpur to the border. Our bus to the border took about 3 hours.  Then we easily negotiated the Indian & Nepalese Immigration.  So we found ourselves in Nepal at about 4pm.  After a bit of shopping around we booked tickets on the 5pm overnight bus to Kathmandu for Indian Rp.230 per person and arrived in cold Kathmandu shortly after 5am."

Varanasi to Kathmandu by bus...

• Day 1:  Direct buses run from Varanasi to the Nepalese border at Sunauli (Indian side)/ Bhairawi (Nepalese side, often also called Sunauli), running several times daily (exact times not known).  They take 9 hours and cost about Rs 100 (£1 or $2).  Walk across the frontier, and spend the night in a hotel in Sunauli. 

• Day 2:  The Sunauli bus station is a few minutes walk from the frontier.  Buses to Kathmandu take 9 to 12 hours, cost about 120 Nepalese Rupees (£1 or $2).  There are many buses daily, either daytime buses leaving regularly until about 11:00 or overnight buses leaving regularly from about 16:00 until 19:00.

• Sankrit Tour Zone say they run a daily non-AC tourist bus from their office in Varanasi at 08:30 to Pokhra & Kathmandu with one stop at Sunauli.  Fare 880 rupees ($22).  Contact details: Sankrit Tour Zone Head Office: C 21/4 A, Maldahiya Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (India) Tel. +91-9648000010 or +91-542-240-1071.

• If you travel this route and get any information or photos that would help improve this page for future travellers, please e-mail me.

Calcutta or Darjeeling to Kathmandu by train + bus...

• Day 1:  Take the overnight 'Darjeeling Mail' from Calcutta Sealdah station to New Jalpaiguri (often abbreviated to NJP).  The Darjeeling Mail leaves Calcutta Sealdah station at 22:05 and arrives in NJP at 08:00 next morning.  This train has AC1, AC2, AC3 and Sleeper class, and if it's full there are several additional trains.  Coming from Darjeeling, take a bus or the famous Toy Train (if and when running) from Darjeeling to Siliguri.  There are also some direct Darjeeling-Panitanki.

• Day 2:  Take a taxi from NJP station to Siliguri bus station, then a local bus to the Indian/Nepalese border at Panitanki (Indian side).  Alternatively, you could hire a taxi all the way from NJP to Panitanki, it's 36 km (23 miles) and should take around 45 minutes.  Cross the border into Nepal - the border is a bridge over the Mechi river - to the Nepalese side, a town called Kakarvitta (also written Kakarbhitta).

• There are overnight buses from Kakarvitta to Kathmandu, journey time 13 hours, fare around 336 Nepalese rupees.

• If you travel this route and get any information or photos that would help improve this page for future travellers, please e-mail me.

Kathmandu to Lhasa by bus...

There's no railway from Nepal to Tibet through the Himalayas, at least not yet, but the Kathmandu to Lhasa journey can be done by road, either on an organised tour or (possibly) by bus.

Weekly Nepal-Tibet bus service? 

Since around 2005, the internet has been full of reports of a Kathmandu to Lhasa bus service starting, then being withdrawn, then starting again.  However, the most reliable information suggests that there is indeed a weekly Kathmandu-Lhasa bus service, running since April or May 2010.   It's possibly open to foreigners, but possibly not.  Departure day & time from Kathmandu are not known, but in the other direction it leaves Lhasa every Friday at 10:00.  The fare is 520 RMB, children under 140cm half price.  It's a 955km trip, but journey time not known.  If you find out any more, please email me!

Organised tours between Nepal & Tibet...

Apart from this possibly-non-existent weekly bus service (if indeed it is running and equally importantly, if it's open to foreigners), the only way foreigners are legally permitted to travel between Lhasa & Kathmandu in either direction is with an organised tour.  The cheapest tours cost about $400 (ask for a budget tour, there are more expensive options with better accommodation) and take 8 days, 7 nights for the 955 km journey.  For journeys from the Nepal end, try Tashi Delek Nepal Treks & Expeditions (www.tashidelektreks.com.np) who do tours leaving Kathmandu for Lhasa every Tuesday & Saturday March to November, and every Saturday  November to March.  For journeys starting at the Tibet end, try Tibet International Travels & Tours (www.tibetintl.com).  Allegedly, these companies operate the tours, although you'll find other agencies reselling those tours, for example www.heiantreks.com, www.trekkingtibet.com (recommended by one seat61 correspondent), www.richatours.com, www.visitnepal.com/getaway (departing Kathmandu every Saturday April-October, $450 + $100 Tibetan permit) or do a Google search for other agencies.

Once in Lhasa, there are trains onwards to Xian, Beijing or Shanghai.  If you have any feedback or recommendations, please email me!

Travel within Nepal...

There are no trains in Nepal, other than the end of an obscure branch line from India which is of limited interest to travellers.  However, regular buses link most centres.

Find hotels in ...

Other hotel sites worth trying...

• www.tripadvisor.com is the place to find independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels.

• www.booking.com is my own preferred hotel booking system (Hotels Combined being a search/comparison system).  It has a simple interface, a good selection in most countries worldwide, useful online customer reviews of each hotel, and decent prices, usually shown inclusive of unavoidable extras such as taxes (a pet hate of mine is systems that show one price, then charge you another!).

Backpacker hostels...

• www.hostelbookers.com:  If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels.  Hostelbookers offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in most cities at rock-bottom prices.

Travel insurance & health card...

Get travel insurance, it's essential...

Never travel overseas without travel insurance from a reliable insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover.  It should also cover cancellation and loss of cash (up to a limit) and belongings.  An annual multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip policies even for just 2 or 3 trips a year (I have an annual policy myself).  Here are some suggested insurers.  Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these links.

In the UK, try Columbus Direct or use Confused.com to compare prices & policies from many different insurers.

If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are over 65 (no age limit), see www.JustTravelCover.com.

        If you're resident in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, try Columbus Direct's other websites.

    If you're resident in the USA or Canada, try Travel Guard USA.

Get a spare credit card, designed for foreign travel with no currency exchange loading & low or no ATM fees...

It costs nothing to take out an extra credit card.  If you keep it in a different part of your luggage so you're not left stranded if your wallet gets stolen, this is a form of extra travel insurance in itself.  In addition, some credit cards are significantly better for overseas travel than others.  Martin Lewis's www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money explains which UK credit cards have the lowest currency exchange commission loadings when you buy something overseas, and the lowest cash withdrawal fees when you use an ATM abroad.  Taking this advice can save you quite a lot on each trip compared to using your normal high-street bank credit card!

You can avoid ATM charges and expensive exchange rates with a Caxton FX euro currency Visa Card, or their multi-currency 'Global Traveller' Visa Card, see www.caxtonfx.com for info.

Get an international SIM card...

Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're not careful you can return home to find some huge bills waiting for you.  I've known people run up a £1,000 bill in data charges just by leaving their iPhone connected during a simple trip to Europe.  However, if you buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company such as www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85% and limit any damage to the amount you have pre-paid.  It cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide, and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries.  It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills when you get home.  It also works for laptop or PDA data access.  A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't expire if it's not between trips, unlike some others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone number' for life.