Nepal

Getting there & away

When you arrive, just before immigration, there is a bank that's open for flight arrivals and has decent exchange rates. Next door is the visa counter where you pay for your visa if you haven't got one already. There is a hotel reservation counter as soon as you get out of customs at the airport.

When departing for an international flight check in at least two hours early, preferably three in the high season, as the check-in desks can be a bit of a scrum. You need to show your ticket as you enter the departure hall, where all baggage is X-rayed and tagged. The X-ray machines that screen cargo baggage are not film safe, so insist that the security officers physically inspect your film.

You pay your departure tax at the airport branch of Nabil Bank. It is possible to re- exchange Nepali rupees into US dollars at the Nabil Bank, if you have your unused foreign-exchange encashment receipts; commission is Rs 50, or 2%. Also here is a sporadically open post office and telephone office.

After immigration there's a VAT refund booth and a café, where you can blow your last rupees. Next comes another X-ray and a manual inspection of luggage, before everyone crams into a hall far too small for the purpose.

Travel documents

Tickets

There are limited flights into Kathmandu these days, and bargain fares are few and far between. You may find that the cheapest flights from Europe or the US east coast fly into New Delhi, to connect with final short flight to Kathmandu.

Likewise, though you may find Kathmandu as part of a round-the-world ticket, you'll most likely find it cheaper to go overland from Delhi or Kolkata (Calcutta).

From the west coast of North America or from Australasia, Bangkok is the usual transfer point, although there are also flights to Kathmandu from Hong Kong. Thai Airways and RNAC share the popular Bangkok-Kathmandu route.

Many fares from Australia or the western USA allow stopovers in Bangkok or the hub airport of the main airline (eg Hong Kong for Cathay Pacific). This effectively allows you a multicountry trip to southeast Asia at no additional cost.

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Land

Political and weather conditions permitting, there are six main entry points into Nepal by land: five from India, one from Tibet. There are no international bus or train services; everyone changes buses at the borders.

Bring your own vehicle

A steady trickle of people drive their own vehicles overland from Europe, for which an international carnet is required. If you want to abandon your transport in Nepal, you must either pay a prohibitive import duty or surrender it to customs. It is not possible to import cars more than five years old. Make sure you bring an international driving permit.

India

All of the land borders between India and Nepal are in the Terai. The most popular crossing point is Sunauli, near Bhairawa, which provides easy access to Delhi and Varanasi in India.

Border crossing (Nepal to India)

Belahiya to Sunauli, for Varanasi, Agra and Delhip

Mahendranagar to Banbassa, for Delhi and hill towns in Uttaranchal

Kakarbhitta to Panitanki, for Darjeeling, Sikkim and Kolkata

Birganj to Raxaul Bazar, for Patna and Kolkata

Nepalganj to Jamunaha, for Lucknow

Sunauli/Bhairawa

The crossing at Sunauli is by far the most popular route between India and Nepal and it's also the easiest route from Delhi or Varanasi. There are direct buses from Delhi to Sunauli (Rs 405, 24 hours) but many people prefer to do as much of the journey as possible by train - several trains run daily from Delhi to Gorakhpur (22 hours), where you can pick up a bus to Sunauli (Rs 50, three hours). Varanasi also has direct buses to Sunauli (Rs 150, 10 hours).

Once you cross the border, day and night buses run regularly to Kathmandu (day/night Rs 230/280, eight hours) and Pokhara (Rs 230/270, eight hours). A more comfortable option to Kathmandu is the air-con service operated by Golden Travels, changing buses in Kalanki.

Mahendranagar

The crossing at Mahendranagar is also used by travellers coming from Delhi. There are daily buses from Delhi's Anand Vihar bus stand to Banbassa, the nearest Indian village to the border (INRs 156, 10 hours). Banbassa is also connected by bus with most towns in Uttaranchal, as well as Agra and Dharamsala. Slow and inconvenient trains run as far as Barielly, about three hours from the border by bus.

From Mahendranagar, there are slow direct bus services to Kathmandu (Rs 735, 16 hours) but it's better to do the trip in daylight and break the journey at Royal Bardia National Park, Nepalganj, Butwal or Narayangarh. Note that this route is often blocked during the monsoon. Maoists are active throughout western Nepal - check the security situation before you travel.

Kakarbhitta

At the eastern end of Nepal, Kakarbhitta is the closest border crossing to Darjeeling and Sikkim, and trains from Kolkata to northeast India stop close to the border at Siliguri. Travel agencies in Kathmandu and Darjeeling offer 'through buses' across the border, but these involve a change in Siliguri and Kakarbhitta, It's just as easy to do the journey in stages, which will also allow you to refresh your batteries with an overnight stop along the way.

From Darjeeling, take a morning bus/jeep to Siliguri (INRs 60/70, two hours) then a bus (INRs 15, one hour) to Panitanki on the Indian side of the border. If cross-border traffic is busy, jeeps sometimes go straight to the border from Darjeeling. Jeeps also run to the border from Kalimpong (Rs 90, three hours) and from Gangtok (Rs 140, 4½ hours), in Sikkim. Coming from Kolkata, you can take an overnight train to Siliguri, then a bus to the border.

From Kakarbhitta, there are day/night buses to Kathmandu (Rs 530/607, 17 hours) but it's more interesting to break the journey at Janakpur, the centre of Mithila culture in Nepal. However, there is Maoist activity in eastern Nepal so you should check things are calm before you travel.

Birganj/Raxaul Bazaar

The border crossing from Birganj to Raxaul Bazaar is handy for Patna (in India's Bihar province) and you can also get here easily by train from Kolkata. Buses run from the bus station in Patna straight to Raxaul Bazaar (INRs 90, five hours). From Kolkata, you can take the daily Mithila Express - it leaves Kolkata's Howrah station at 4pm, arriving into Raxaul at 9.10am the next morning (INRs 276/748/1165 in sleeper class/air-con 3-tier/air-con 2-tier).

From Birganj, there are regular day/night buses to Kathmandu (Rs 225/280, eight hours) and Pokhara (Rs 225/270, seven hours). All buses pass through Narayangarh, where you can change for Royal Chitwan National Park.

Nepalganj

Few people use the crossing at Nepalganj in western Nepal. The nearest town in India is Lucknow, where you can pick up slow buses to the border at Jamunaha (INRs 160, seven hours). You might also consider taking a train to Nanpara, 17km from the border.

Over the border in Nepalganj, there are regular day/night buses to Kathmandu (Rs 450/540, 12 hours) and Pokhara (Rs 400/520, 12 hours), passing close to Royal Chitwan National Park. As always, you should check the security situation before crossing at Nepalganj.

Bus

In 2005 Nepal's state bus company Sahja Yatayat started a weekly direct bus service between Kathmandu and Lhasa. The service costs US$70 per person, plus US$60 for three nights accommodation and a service fee. Foreigners currently aren't allowed to take the bus due to Chinese visa and permit hassles, but this could change.

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Entering the destination

Entering the country

Nepal is a traveller-friendly country and arrival is straightforward. All entry points to Nepal offer visas on arrival and money exchange.

Flights, tours and railway tickets can be booked online at www.lonelyplanet.com/travel_services.

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Air

In the last couple of years international air connections to Nepal have withered, so don't expect a great deal of choice of routes or heavily discounted fares.

Airports

Kathmandu is the site of Nepal's only international airport, Tribhuvan Airport (4472 256). The international terminal is a modern building but security measures are a little bit lax.

Bhairahawa airport is being upgraded to become Lumbini International Airport in 2008.

Airlines

The airline offices listed in this section are all in Kathmandu (01).

The notoriously unreliable Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC; code RA; 4220 757, 4248614; www.royalnepal-airlines.com; Kantipath) has a limited number of international services, currently to Hong Kong, Delhi, Bangkok, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Dubai, Bangalore and Mumbai (Bombay), but nothing to Europe. A chronic lack of aircraft means that even these skeleton services are frequently subject to delays and cancellations. It is worth flying with any airline other than RNAC if at all possible, and in fact only a limited number of travel agencies abroad will book RNAC flights. When King Gyanendra embarked on a tour of Africa in 2005, half of Royal Nepal's international flights were cancelled at short notice!

Air Nepal International (code SZ; 2050 678; www.airnepalinternational.com; Kamaladi) is a new (2005) private airline with one lonely jet that flies to Bangkok, Dubai, Doha and Kuala Lumpur, with plans to extend operations to Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata (Calcutta) and New Delhi.

Cosmic Air (code F5; 4215771, 4468321; www.cosmicair.com) is a domestic airline that has international services to Delhi, Dhaka, Kolkata and Varanasi, with plans to extend services to Rangoon, Colombo, Bangalore and Mumbai. Flights were suspended briefly in 2005.

The following airlines currently fly into Kathmandu.

Air China(code CA; 4440650; www.airchina.com) Hub Beijing.

Air Sahara (code S2; 4262121; www.airsahara.net) Hub New Delhi.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines (code BG; 4434740; www.bimanair.com; Lazimpat) Hub Dhaka.

Druk Air(code KB; 4239988, fax 4239658; www.drukair.com.bt) Hub Paro airport.

Gulf Air (code GF; 4435322; www.gulfairco.com) Hubs Dubai and Bahrain and Dammam; be warned - this office gets incredibly busy.

Indian Airlines (code IC; 4410906; www.indian-airlines.in) Hub New Delhi.

Jet Airways (code 9W; 4222121; www.jetairways.com) Hub New Delhi.

Pakistan International Airways (PIA; code PK; 4439234; www.piac.com.pk) Hub Karachi.

Qatar Airways (code QR; 2556579, 4256579; www.qatarairways.com) Hub Doha.

Thai Airways International (code TG; 4223565, 4224917; www.thaiair.com) Hub Bangkok.

Other airlines that don't fly directly to Nepal but which offer popular routes to the region, and have offices in Kathmandu, include British Airways (4226611), Cathay Pacific (4246155) and Austrian Airlines (4223331). Most airline offices are closed Saturdays, though a few (including THAI) open between 10am and 2pm.

Asia

Flights from Kathmandu to Asian destinations include Bangkok (US$240), Dhaka (US$90), Karachi (US$195), Hong Kong (US$353), Lhasa (US$295), Kuala Lumpur (US$260), Dubai (US$253), Osaka (US$618) and Shanghai (US$368).

There are also some interesting through fares; one to consider is with Biman Bangladesh Airlines, whose Kathmandu-Dhaka-Yangon-Bangkok ticket sells for US$380 one way and allows a stop in Yangon and (mandatory) Dhaka. Biman should put you up in a hotel for one night in Dhaka - all other costs are left to you. The Dhaka- Yangon-Bangkok leg runs just once a week.

Thai Airways' Kathmandu to Bangkok flight (US$240) is the most popular connection into and out of Nepal and can get booked up for weeks at a time, particularly mid-December to January. Make your booking as far in advance as possible. Bangkok-Kathmandu tickets are generally cheaper bought in Bangkok.

Air Nepal International is currently offering flights to Bangkok for US$200 each way, twice a week. Royal Nepal costs US$238 and gets you into Bangkok early enough to make a same day connection (whereas the afternoon Thai Airways flight necessitates an overnight stay).

Biman Bangladesh and Cosmic Air operate flights to Dhaka. PIA flies to Karachi three times a week.

Air China has three weekly flights to Lhasa and on to Chengdu (US$320). Foreigners are not allowed to buy a Lhasa ticket without a tour package but can buy tickets to Chengdu and on to other Chinese cities like Beijing (US$382) and Shanghai (US$360).

Australia & New Zealand

Fares from Australia depend on the season and typically cost around A$1500 return. Bangkok is the most popular transit point because it links with the reliable Thai Airways flight, although you can also fly via Hong Kong or Kuala Lumpur.

From Kathmandu to east coast Australia, the cheapest one-way ticket at time of research cost US$480 with Cathay Pacific. Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines are more expensive.

Return flight to Kathmandu from Auckland New Zealand start from around NZ$1980.

Agencies in Australia include Flight Centre(133 133; www.flightcentre.com.au), STA Travel (1300 733 035; www.statravel.com.au) and Trailfinders (1300 780 212; www.trailfinders.com.au).

Agencies in New Zealand include Flight Centre (0800 243 544; www.flightcentre.co.nz) and STA Travel (0508 782 872; www.statravel.co.nz).

Online agencies include www.travel.com.au and www.zuji.com.au.

Continental Europe

Austrian Airlines offers the only direct flight between Europe (Vienna) and Nepal, but you may find a cheaper fare with Gulf Air or Qatar Airways. Return airfares in high season start around €1000. One-way air fares from Kathmandu to most European destinations cost around US$560.

STA Travel (www.statravel.com) has branches in major cities across Germany and the rest of Europe.

OTU Voyages (0820 817 817; www.otu.fr), Voyageurs du Monde (01 42 86 16 00; www.vdm.com) and Nouvelles Frontières (0825 000 747; www.nouvelles-frontieres.fr) all have branches across France.

In Italy try CTS Viaggi (06-462 0431; www.cts.it). In Spain try Barcelo Viajes (902-116226; www.barceloviajes.com). Just Travel (089-7473330; www.justtravel.de) is an English-speaking agency in Munich.

Online European agencies include www.anyway.fr, www.odysia.fr, www.airfair.nl, www.travelchannel.de and the various country sites of www.lastminute.com and www.expedia.com.

India

The main routes between India and Nepal are operated by RNAC, Indian Airlines, Jet Airways, Cosmic Air and Air Sahara. The first three give a 25% discount to anyone under 30 on flights between Kathmandu and India; no student card is needed.

Fierce competition on the Kathmandu-Delhi route means that at time of research normal fares of US$160 had dropped as low as US$80 with Druk Air (three weekly), or US$100 with Air Sahara.

Other cities in India with direct connections to Kathmandu are Kolkata (US$120), Bangalore (US$233) and Mumbai (US$228 with RNAC). Cosmic Air flies thrice-weekly to Varanasi (US$135).

RNAC has offices in Bangalore (80-5597878), Delhi (11-23321572) and Mumbai (22-22836197), among others.

UK & Ireland

London to Kathmandu costs from £550 to around £650 return in the high season, generally with Gulf Air (via Abu Dhabi) or Qatar Airways (via Doha). Austrian Airways often has cheapish fares via Vienna and New Delhi. The cheapest option is generally to fly to New Delhi and travel overland (train and bus) from there.

From Kathmandu a one-way fare to London costs around US$600 with Gulf Air or Qatar Airways. Try STA Travel (0870-1600 599; www.statravel.co.uk), Trailfinders (0845-058 5858; www.trailfinders.com) or North-South Travel (01245-608291; www.northsouthtravel.co.uk).

Online travel agencies include www.lastminute.com, www.cheaptickets.co.uk and www.expedia.co.uk.

USA & Canada

Intense competition between Asian airlines on the US west coast and Vancouver has resulted in ticket discounting to Bangkok, on top of which you can add on a few hundred dollars to Kathmandu.

Fares to Kathmandu will often be about the same from the east coast (via Europe) or west coast (via Asia) - it's about as far away as you can get in either direction! Multiple connections can make for some mammoth trips, especially as most connections to Kathmandu involve a layover.

From New York the cheapest connection is with Aeroflot to New Delhi via Moscow and then RNAC to Kathmandu.

From the west coast the cheapest flights go to Bangkok via Tokyo (Northwest), Seoul (Asiana), Taipei (China Airlines or Eva Air) or Singapore, overnighting in Bangkok, at your expense, to catch a flight the next day with Thai Airways.

The cheapest return fares start around US$1400. At time of research Cathay Pacific was offering good deals, with the advantage of quality connecting airlines (Thai Airways) and no stopover on the way out.

From Kathmandu, a one-way ticket with Cathay Pacific cost US$511/560 to Los Angeles/New York, or US$584 to Vancouver. Thai Airways and Northwest offer pricier alternatives.

Note that if you have more than three connecting flights you may have problems fitting all these flight details onto your baggage labels and may have to re-check your luggage en route - a real pain.

The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, the LA Times and the San Francisco Examiner all produce weekly travel sections in which you'll find any number of travel-agency ads.

Agencies includeSTA Travel (800-781 4040; www.statravel.com; 24 hrs), a student specialist with offices throughout the US, and Travel CUTS (1-866-416-2887; www.travelcuts.com), Canada's national student travel agency, with offices in major cities

Specialist Nepal operators like Third Eye Travel (1-800-456-393; www.thirdeyetravel.com) know the best offers and connections and often offer the best deals. Specialist Asia agencies such as Angel Travel (1-800-922 1092; www.angeltravel.com) and USA Asia (1-800-8722742; usaasiatravel.com) also book flights to Nepal.

Online booking agencies include Cheap Tickets (www.cheaptickets.com),Orbitz (www.orbitz.com), Expedia (www.expedia.com, www.expedia.ca) andTravelocity (www.travelocity.com, www.travelocity.ca).

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