Pokhara Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Pokhara has good bus and air links to other parts of the country, but overland routes are often affected by the security situation in the country. Check locally before making any long journeys by bus.

Land

Bus

There are three bus stations in Pokhara. The dusty and chaotic main public bus stand at the northeast end of the Pokhara airstrip has buses to Kathmandu and towns in the Terai. The main ticket office is at the back and the office for night buses is at the top of the steps near the main highway.

Tourist buses to Kathmandu and Royal Chitwan National Park leave from the Mustang bus stand at Mustang Chowk, while buses to the trailheads for the Annapurna Conservation Area leave from the Baglung bus park, about 2km north of the centre on the main highway.

Day buses run from around 5am to noon, while night buses leave between 4pm and 6pm. However, night services only run during lulls in violence between Maoist rebels and the government.

To/from kathmandu

The bus trip between Kathmandu and Pokhara takes six to eight hours, depending on the condition of the road and the number of army checkpoints along the way. All buses make a stop at a roadside restaurant along the way.

Tourist buses are the most hassle-free option - in Pokhara buses leave from the Mustang bus stand near Lakeside. It costs Rs 250 to Rs 300, depending on which travel agent you book with, buses leave at 7am from either end. Taxis meet the tourist buses on arrival but watch out for touts.

Greenline (531472; www.catmando.com/greenline) has a daily air-con bus to Thamel (US$12, with breakfast) at 7.30am from its depot in Lakeside South. Golden Travels (523096) has a similar service to Durbar Marg in central Kathmandu, leaving from the Mustang bus stand at 7.30am (US$10/12 with/without lunch).

Public buses to Kathmandu (day/night Rs 190/210) leave from the main public bus station. Faster minibuses run to Kathmandu (Kalanki) for Rs 325. In Pokhara, you can pick up minibuses on the highway in front of the public bus stand.

Stops along the road to Kathmandu include Dumre (Rs 75, two hours), Abu Khaireni (Rs 90, three hours) and Mugling/Manakamana (Rs 95, four hours). There are also four daily direct buses to Gorkha (Rs 110, five hours).

To/from the indian border

The closest border crossing to Pokhara is Sunauli, just south of the town of Bhairawa, but you can also cross at Mahendranagar, Nepalganj, Birganj and Kakarbhitta. See the individual towns in the Terai chapter for more details on transport to India.

Travel agents may try to tempt you with the offer of tourist buses to the border and direct buses to towns in India. Don't be fooled - there are no tourist buses to Sunauli and no through-buses to India; without exception, you must change at the border.

From the main public bus stand, there are nearly 20 day and night buses daily for Bhairawa (Rs 230/270/305 day/night/minibus; eight hours), where you can pick up a local bus to the border post at Sunauli.

There are also day/night buses to Birganj (Rs 225/270, nine hours) and Nepalganj (Rs 400/520, 12 hours), Mahendranagar (Rs 728, 16 hours) and Kakarbhitta (Rs 530, 13 hours).

To/from the terai

As well as the buses to the Indian border, there are regular day/night services to Narayangarh (Rs 120/140, four hours), where you can changes to buses east and west along the Mahendra Hwy. A few buses leave early in the morning for Biratnagar (Rs 480, 12 hours) and Janakpur (Rs 325, 10 hours). All buses leave from the main bus stand.

Most buses go via Mugling, but there are also buses along the dramatic Siddhartha Hwy to Butwal (Rs 160, six hours) and Tansen (Rs 130, four hours).

To/from trekking routes

Buses to the trailheads for most treks in the Annapurna Conservation Area (such as the Jomsom Trek) leave from the Baglung bus park at Bhairab Tole. One important exception is the Annapurna Circuit trek, which normally starts at Besisahar.

Buses leave about every half hour from 5.30am to 3.30pm. Cranky old Toyota taxis leave from the same bus stand - the fare is Rs 600 to Phedi and Naya Pul, Rs 1250 to Baglung and Rs 2000 to Beni.

For Besisahar (Rs 120, five hours), there are two early morning and two lunchtime buses from the main public bus stand, or you can take a bus bound for Kathmandu and change at Dumre.

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Air

Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC; 521021) and several private airlines offer regular daily shuttle flights between Kathmandu and Pokhara (US$65 to US$76, 20 minutes). There are great Himalayan views if you sit on the right-hand side of the plane heading into Pokhara (or the left, on the way to Kathmandu).

RNAC and Gorkha Airlines (525971) also offer flights to Jomsom (from US$54, 20 minutes), on the Annapurna Circuit trail. RNAC also has a flight to Manang (US$54, 25 minutes). The only flights to the Terai are the four weekly RNAC shuttle flights to Bharatpur (US$44, 20 minutes).

All the airlines have offices opposite the airport near Mustang Chowk but it's usually easier to get one of the travel agents in Lakeside to do the running around for a ticket. The domestic departure tax from Pokhara is Rs 170.

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