How to travel a long distance over land in Nepal?

The spell-binding Himalayan nation of Nepal is a land-lock country surrounded by the two economic giants of the modern world i.e. India and China. Geographically, India surrounds Nepal from three sides and the shared borders consist of mainly plain terrain (East, west, and south); while Nepal shares its Northern border with China alongside the mighty Himalayas. There are numerous ways to travel overland into Nepal. The main route into Nepal over land focuses via India as it is most commonly crossed and comes with numerous options to pick from!! As Nepal and India share an open-border, you’ll not require applying for a visa but it is necessary to carry a passport and passport-sized photographs while travelling in-between these two south Asian countries.

Various travel and tour companies offer their bus services from the capital city of India, New Delhi to the capital city of Nepal, Kathmandu or Pokhara and vice-versa; this is an easy and affordable trip via fully air-conditioned and well-facilitated bus that takes about 36 hours. People got mixed feelings and views in regard to this trip. Some consider it is a wonderful trip with all kind of promised facilities; whereas, others have rated it as a miserable trip with lost luggage and no facilities. Most of these buses seem to be a regular client of Indian nationals. Personally, I don’t favour the method of travel as getting a ticket is tricky with no guarantee of the pledged services. If you wanna try, then you are welcome!!

As you can freely cross through borders even if you are a foreigner; therefore, find your own way to Kathmandu or Pokhara. Remember to stick to the main routes unless you are sure about the point of crossing from where you are allowed to cross the border.

Southern Nepal: Sunauli border (most celebrated route) from Gorakhpur (India)

Eastern Nepal: Kakarvitta border from Panitanki (India)

West Nepal: Birganj border from Raxaul (India)

You have to be cautious of recent erupted violence in the Terai region while crossing the borders. Also, beware of thieves, con-man and other people involved in criminal activities. You can travel throughout India via railways and up to the Indian side of the border. From there, you need to take a private or shared vehicle that will take you to Nepali side. From here, you can take the long haul buses to Kathmandu that utilizes approx. 8-12 hours depending on traffic conditions and the border you choose to cross from India to Nepal.

Furthermore, from Tibet, there is only one official border-crossing to Nepal. It’s highly recommended to take this border crossing and avoid any other local route. The border-crossing from Tibet will lead you to Tatopani: the Nepalese side of the border. From this point onwards, you can take buses to the Kathmandu Valley that utilizes 7-8 hours drive (depending on traffic conditions) via Arniko Highway: the only commercial road link between China and Nepal.