Getting in and visas for Nepal

By plane

Nepal's Tribhuvan International Airport is located just outside of the Ring Road in Kathmandu. The terminal is a one-room brick building with a large wooden table serving as both customs and immigration. Two month tourist visas are available on arrival. Money can be changed as well, but these services are only available directly after scheduled arrivals. Outside the airport, all 'representatives' of the tourist industry are required to remain 10 meters from the front door. This does not prevent them from waving large signs and yelling in an attempt to encourage you to choose them as your guide/taxi/hotel/luggage carrier. Make your choice before crossing the line, or better yet, arrange your first night's accommodation before you arrive and ask the hotel to send someone to meet you. Many hotel and guest houses offer complimentary pick up and delivery from the airport. Taxis are also available. As always, negotiate the price beforehand with the driver. A taxi ride to Thamel or Boudha should be around 250. Otherwise, order a taxi at the pre-paid booth inside the airport, which costs 300 NRS. This is more than the normal taxi rate, but it saves the hassle of long negotiations.

By car

Car rental in Nepal is almost unheard of, as is renting a car in India and taking it across the border. Some travellers have bought motorcycles in India and driven them into the country, but road conditions and erratic local drivers make this an adventurous choice.

By bus

There are four border crossings open to tourists. The Sunauli-Bhairawa border crossing is the closest to Varanasi, the Raxaul-Birganj crossing to Kolkata, and Siliguri-Kakarbhitta is to Darjeeling. The Banbassa-Mahendrenagar border crossing in the extreme west of Nepal, is the closest to Delhi. The crossing between Nepal and Tibet via Kodari is open to independent travelers entering Nepal, but only to organised groups entering Tibet.

By train

A cargo train began operating between Sirsiya in southern Nepal, and the Indian town of Raxaul in 2003. Internal train network is limited to few kilometers of train network in Janakpur