[KALSANKRPAI]

Originally Posted by buddha141

Hi brothers and ladies

Thanks Buddha for the beautiful travelogue. Have you posted photos of
your Nepal Tour?

[John Jacob13128]

Hi Guys,

I need some details for drive routes/stay options in Nepal, driving via Delhi. Can anyone help me with this.
thanks !

regards,
John

[harishnayak]

Hi Friends

Me and my Wife are planning to do Delhi - Nepal - Delhi in our Safari on Sunday Morning ( 20th July - About 30 hours from now ).

I went through all possible threads here on TBHP however all of them had dated information and latest one being in 2010 and hence this TL

Total days - Up to 7
Dates - 20th July to 26th July
Car - Tata Safari
Passengers - 2 ( Me and Wifey )

Day 1

Delhi - Moradabad -Banbasa (Tanakpur, Uttarakhand) - Mahendranagar (Nepal) - Suklaphanta national park

Want to check if this is possible + Precautions to be taken ( Safety as it's only me and wifey )

Day 2

Suklaphanta national park - Kathmandu

Is this Doable ? If not , then what is the alternative ?

Day 3

Pokhra is what I know and need suggestions to visit any other excusite places around

Day 4 to Day 7

Need suggestions on the route to be taken back to India from the other side of Nepal

Main Concerns

1. Safety
   

Do the Nepal ATM's cough out Indian Currency ? Foolish question but even google did not have an answer

1. How much Indian Currency can i carry ?
   

Do I need to be prepared to not find good diesel for my car ? I'm planning to carry a 25 liter Ex Army Jerry can which has been lying around for a while

Anything Else that i need to be really be aware of

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by harishnayak

Hi Friends

Me and my Wife are planning to do Delhi - Nepal - Delhi in our Safari on Sunday Morning ( 20th July - About 30 hours from now ).

I went through all possible threads here on TBHP however all of them had dated information and latest one being in 2010 and hence this TL

Total days - Up to 7
Dates - 20th July to 26th July
Car - Tata Safari
Passengers - 2 ( Me and Wifey )

Day 1

Delhi - Moradabad -Banbasa (Tanakpur, Uttarakhand) - Mahendranagar (Nepal) - Suklaphanta national park

Want to check if this is possible + Precautions to be taken ( Safety as it's only me and wifey )

Day 2

Suklaphanta national park - Kathmandu

Is this Doable ? If not , then what is the alternative ?

Day 3

Pokhra is what I know and need suggestions to visit any other excusite places around

Day 4 to Day 7

Need suggestions on the route to be taken back to India from the other side of Nepal

Main Concerns

1. Safety

Do the Nepal ATM's cough out Indian Currency ? Foolish question but even google did not have an answer

1. How much Indian Currency can i carry ?

Do I need to be prepared to not find good diesel for my car ? I'm planning to carry a 25 liter Ex Army Jerry can which has been lying around for a while

Anything Else that i need to be really be aware of

Your PM quota is over.

Anyways, here it is.

Message COUGAR - he was there in 2012 afaik on bullet, same areas.
best of luck, rabb rakha mere bhai!

[bravo6]

Originally Posted by harishnayak

Day 1

Delhi - Moradabad -Banbasa (Tanakpur, Uttarakhand) - Mahendranagar (Nepal) - Suklaphanta national park

Want to check if this is possible + Precautions to be taken ( Safety as it's only me and wifey )

This largely depends on road conditions; an early start will ensure you can check in at a hotel before dark.

• You might need an hour or so at the border. Indians just need to show photo ID at Immigration, so both of you should carry it.
• You also need to pay road tax (per day basis).
• Your current car insurance will most probably not be valid outside India. See if you can buy (here) the added coverage for Nepal as well. Else you will be driving an uninsured vehicle.

Safety wise, I'd say, as usual avoid driving at night, and carry pepper spray. I felt the Nepali people were very friendly, much like Kashmiris. You'll see more cycles than cars/bikes there.
Also, you will need to activate international roaming to get cell reception there. Call charges can be quite high!

Day 2

Suklaphanta national park - Kathmandu

Is this Doable ? If not , then what is the alternative ?

I don't see this happening. Though the distance is ~700km, be advised that there are hardly any 4 lane highways in Nepal. The entire country is over hilly terrain and you will encounter all kinds of road conditions.

The traffic sense is even worse. One wrong move and you plummet into the
valley below. I suggest not driving more than 250km per day. Stop and enjoy the views.

If you don't have enough time, instead of Suklaphanta, I suggest you visit Bardia National Park and stay there a night. Everyone who has visited both say Bardia was nicer. I particularly enjoyed riding on an elephant while it swam across a river there.

From Bardia, you can do Butwal/Pokhra in a day.

Personally, I didn't like Kathmandu. It was a dusty, polluted city. I'd much rather have spent that time in/around Pokhra. Google for pics and you'll see what I mean.

Day 4 to Day 7

Need suggestions on the route to be taken back to India from the other side of Nepal

You'll have to go to Butwal and from there proceed South to Siddarthanagar. You can also visit Lumbini, which is close by.
You can cross the border and head towards Gorakhpur.

Main Concerns

1. Safety

Do the Nepal ATM's cough out Indian Currency ? Foolish question but even google did not have an answer

Nepali ATMs will cough out Nepali Rupees (NPR)
My State Bank debit card was not working there. If your card says "Not valid in Nepal/Bhutan" it won't work there. There are many ATMs in Mahendranagar, test if your card works fine. Else you'll have to go back to Khatima and stock up on cash.
My Visa credit card did work, but the only place I found a credit card machine in Nepal was in Kathmandu!
Better to have enough cash for the whole journey though.

1. How much Indian Currency can i carry ?

I don't remember seeing a limit, but then I didn't have too much cash anyway! You can convert INR to NPR at the border itself. Though almost all people accept INR there.
What you need to keep in mind is officially 500 and 1000 INR notes are banned in Nepal. If found, they can be confiscated. Unofficially, a hotel we stayed at did accept them.
So instead of carrying lots of 100 INR notes, you can carry USD 20 bills. Most places we stayed at accepted USD as well.
Also, you will lose about 4% when converting NPR to INR.

Do I need to be prepared to not find good diesel for my car ? I'm planning to carry a 25 liter Ex Army Jerry can which has been lying around for a while

I didn't find any issue with the quality of petrol there. The pumps themselves don't look good and are analog (like what we had here a couple of decades ago), but I didn't feel anything abnormal with the fuel or get a lower mileage than usual. Most big towns had a pump.

Anything Else that i need to be really be aware of

• Be wary of the cabs there. They drive like absolute maniacs.
• If your cards are not working, and you need cash, you will have to get a friend outside of India to send you the amount by Western Union. (Last I checked, you couldn't send money out of India by wire)
• Before crossing the border to Nepal, at the Indian Customs office, get a carnet for any valuable electronics you have like camera, iPod, etc. This will save some headache when returning to India, should our greedy officials decide you need to pay customs for those items.
• When returning via UP, the RTO there stopped me and asked for a "permit." I was about to shout at him since my bike was a white board, and clearly didn't need a permit, when his senior sushed him and waved me through. So, know the rules.

[Anupam]

Originally Posted by harishnayak

Me and my Wife are planning to do Delhi - Nepal - Delhi in our Safari on Sunday Morning ( 20th July - About 30 hours from now ).

1. For local cash, why don't you check with our banks such as Axis if they can issue you with a Nepal Money Card, they do it regularly for us in the corporate sector, it works like a debit card, needs to be pre loaded and is specific to the country we travel for

2. Please check with Matrix if they can issue you with a Nepal Sim Card, it will help you for your data needs also

3. I did a bike trip in the late eighties, I had entered from Raxaul, and had taken the old route instead of the new, it was a road less travelled even then because new road was faster, but the road offers unparalleled nature, we had also stayed at the top of an small lighthouse kind of an observatory on this road, however be ware that the roads are single and since abandoned they may not be in good shape, but you will find villages in between with local transport moving around and occasional state transport busses too

4. We had also visited the Tibet China border, called as Tatopani, it was the most adventurous ride ever

5. Plan some stay in Pokhara to drive around locally and soak yourself in the environment

6. safety was not an issue earlier but can't say of current situation but In General the people are nice

7. Please do carry the basic disaster management tools such as towrope, jumper cable, food, water, fuel, flash light, battery operated tyre inflator (tyre inflator has been a life saver for me in Zojila pass during my Leh trip)

And above all, carry your Wit and Confidence in all circumstances

all the best!!





Sent from my iPad using Team-BHP

[saket77]

Dear BHPians,

I am planning a motorcycle ride to Nepal, preferably through the entry point as Birgunj border. My motorcycle is India(JH) registered. Kindly let me know the formalities, fees and other charges involved for the adventure and any other tips that you feel to share for Nepal travel. More importantly, I would like to know the formalities involved in taking my bike to the Nepalese soil. Also, I have heard that carrying 500 & 1K notes are not legal in Nepal; so can I use my ATM cards in Nepal? Do the banks charge for conversion for such transactions through ATMs?

I am planning to ride to Kathmandu and Pokhra from Ranchi in the later half of December.

Thanks!

[maverick1741]

Top of the day to you guys.

I am planning a self drive trip to Sikkim, Bhutan and Nepal this May. I will be taking my brother in law's Eco Sport which is registered in his name. Unfortunately he'll not be joining us on this trip.

Can someone confirm if I can cross over a private car not registered in my name, into Bhutan and into Nepal? And what additional documents (apart from RC, Insurance & PUC) do I need for the car?

I read somewhere that one can cross over such a car into Bhutan if an authority letter is available - Is there a specific format for the authority letter; and can it be on a plain paper or is it required on a stamp paper (what value)?

Also, any details on crossing the car into Nepal will be very helpful.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers.
Amit

[varma]

Guys

Has anyone taken their vehicle to Everest Base Camp via Nepal? We are planning a trip to Nepal in October in XUV 5OO AWD and would like to visit EBC if possible.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by varma

Guys

Has anyone taken their vehicle to Everest Base Camp via Nepal? We are planning a trip to Nepal in October in XUV 5OO AWD and would like to visit EBC if possible.

There is only a walking trail with steps, narrow suspension bridges, etc. to EBC, so it's not possible to take a vehicle. Of course, you can drive upto Kathmandu and 1 or 2 days beyond to another town (like Salleri) and then start trekking. Indian side of Himalayas is better for road trips.

[varma]

My apologies for not being clear in my previous post. I was enquiring about the north base camp that is in Tibet. It seems, we can enter Tibet from Nepal at Gyirong Port and then take Friendship Highway. Has anyone tried this route?

[forcooler]

Hi all,

Need some help planning a trip to Nepal.

Specifically, I wanted to know average travel times for the sections below. I know google maps can show estimated time, but not sure if they are accurate given the changing route conditions/hilly terrain:

1. Pokhara - Kathmandu
2. Kathmandu - Chitwan
3. Chitwan-Lumbini
4. Lumbini - Pokhara(via Tansen)
5. Kathmandu - Nagarkot
6. Kathmandu - Janakpur
7. Janakpur - Sonauli(via Hetauda)
8. Raxaul - Kathmandu

[SJM1214]

BHPians planning a trip to Nepal should keep this news in mind.

Nepal bans Indian currency notes above Rs 100.

The Nepal government has banned all Indian notes above the denomination of Rs 100 in a move that would impact tourists visiting the Himalayan nation where Indian currency is widely used.

News Source.

[SJM1214]

MHA tweaks travel norms: Indians over 65, under 15 can use Aadhaar to visit Nepal, Bhutan

Aadhaar cards are now valid travel documents for Indians under 15 and over 65 travelling to Nepal and Bhutan.

Indian citizens going to Nepal and Bhutan don't need a visa if they have a valid passport, a photo identity card issued by the government of India or an election ID card issued by the Election Commission.

News Source.

[Red Liner]

Is April a good time to visit Nepal, especially the mustang area? Or are we looking at rain? Conflicting views every where online.