Refugee Camps in Damak

Hey everyone,

I recently received a grant to travel to Damak, Nepal in order to write about and photograph the Bhutanese refugees remaining in the Beldangi I and II camps nearby. Although I already have fairly extensive travel experience, I was wondering if there's anyone that could offer a little advice, seeing as most of my travel has been limited to Europe and South America. I'm planning on flying into northern India and taking a bus over the border in September/October of 2018. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

@outsider45

I'm planning on flying into northern India and taking a bus over the border in September/October of 2018. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

That doesn't seem at all efficient. Why not fly into Kathmandu in Nepal, and then take a connecting flight to Biratnagar?

offer a little advice .... Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

In your line of work you probably know that better questions get you better answers. The same applies here. Advice on what, exactly?

The flight into Biratnagar Airport, is definitely more efficient, thank you! I'm basically just looking for anything and everything I should know going in. Customs, good vs. bad travel days, good places to stay, etc.

There is a very nice western standards hotel in Damak - Hotel Kamakshya. They have a facebook page so you can search there. I think I paid about $35/night for a room that accommodated 3 people. Had AC/clean sheets/wifi etc. There is also a good restaurant in the hotel. I didn't reserve anything - just rocked up and getting room was no problem.
You could also get a local hotel for around $10/night but don't expect AC or clean sheets.

If you fly to Kathmandu you can take a microbus with guaranteed seat to Damak. Cost is $15 and the trip takes about 10-12 hours. I took from Damak to Ktm and they dropped us on the ring road just west of Koteshwor Chowk. There are many shops in that area selling bus tickets so I assume that's where you would get the bus. Worth checking though since there was something in paper sometime back about moving those busses off the ringroad.

If you do take a bus to Damak (local bus or micro bus) you should ask to be dropped off at the Gorkha Dept Store - it is nicer than arriving to the chaos of the bus park. The hotel mentioned above is just a couple of minutes walk from the dept store.

Cheers,
Mick

That's great info! Thanks!

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