Kakarbhitta Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus

Travel agents in Kathmandu and Pokhara offer 'through-tickets' to Darjeeling, but you must change buses at Kakarbhitta, then again at Siliguri - it's just as easy to do the trip in stages. The bus stand in Kakarbhitta is the usual, chaotic affair. Be extra wary of your luggage if travelling after dark.

There are several daily services to Kathmandu (day/night Rs 530/607, 17 hours) and Pokhara (day/night Rs 520/622, 17 hours), all travelling via Narayangarh (day/night Rs 405/475, 12 hours). Consider the poor safety record of night buses in Nepal before committing to 17 hours on unlit roads.

Within the eastern part of the Terai, there are four or more daily buses to Janakpur (day/night Rs 270/300, five hours), Biratnagar (Rs 120, 3½ hours) and Birganj (Rs 275, eight hours). If for some reason you wanted to cross Nepal in one go, a single bus leaves daily at 12.40pm for Mahendranagar (Rs 1128, 20 hours) and other towns in the western Terai.

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Air

The nearest airport is at Bhadrapur, 10km south of Birtamod, which in turn is 13km west of Kakarbhitta. Yeti Airlines(522232) and other private carriers have daily flights to Kathmandu (US$113, 50 minutes) - any of the travel agents around the bus park can issue tickets. A taxi from Kakarbhitta bus stand to the airport costs Rs 600 or you can take a local bus to Birtamod, then a second bus to Bhadrapur, then a rickshaw to the airport.

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