Getting to Kathmandu from India

Hi Guys,

I am in India for 5 weeks throughout january and I am now contemplating making it to Kathmandu. I understand the airlines are again flying to this destination. I am looking for some infor regarding the best (quickest/cheapest) way to get there and back into India. Flights I have found seem expensive, while some of the overland routes sound like it will take 3 days one way to reach Kathmandu.

Also, Should I concentrate on India only as I only have 5 weeks, I dont want to feel like im constantly moving....

Any assistance would be appreciated.

Thanks

Luke

Hi,

You should visit Nepal as a whole not only Kathmandu. Nepal is incredible country with nice people so you have to go there. Flight from Delhi should be straightforward. Please let me know where in India you are so I might be able to help. If you need more information about Nepal please advice.

[ Edit: Edited at Nov 19, 2006 12:11 PM by HimalayanO ]

There are many options to get to Nepal. I chose buying an Enfield motorbike and driving from Rishikesh throught the west of Nepal to Pokhara then on to Kathmandu. There are train options (AC for about a 1000 rps from Delhi) that take you to Gorakhpur and then you have to fend for a local bus for three or four hours to the border. Then another ten hours to Pokhara.

The flights I heard were in the $125-150 range from major centers in India to Kathmandu.

If you want some eye candy of what you can expect in Nepal, I keep a blog and photo journal of sorts on www.flick.com - the address is www.flickr.com/photos/iamkhayyam. Peruse the sets for Nepal and take a look at what amazing sites you can see.

Good luck.
~k

Concentrate on India, leave Nepal 4 a whole trip of it's own.

if Kathmandu is the only place you wanna visit in Nepal.. ..it can fitted into a 5-week itinerary very comfortably.

You can catch an overnight train from Delhi to Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh (Indian side of the Nepalese border). From Gorakhpur, Kathmandu is 250kms to the north. You'll be spending a good part of the day covering that distance by road. (area devoid of rail links due to the hilly terrain).

So say, 24 hrs, and you can surface-travel from Delhi to Kathmandu, and it's much cheaper that the flight option.

From Lucknow or Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (in case you're visiting those cities in India as well) it's a whole lot closer.

So can be done.

Vikram Das