Getting Around Nepal

Tourist buses are the default for the Kathmandu-Pokhara-Chitwan circuit. They leave Kathmandu between 7am and 7.30am from the roadside along Kantipath and Sorhakhutte, a 10 to 15 minute walk from Thamel; in Pokhara they leave from the Tourist Bus Park on the edge of Lakeside. Standard tourist coaches cost around NPR 1,000 to 1,500 (USD 8 to 12) between Kathmandu and Pokhara, and deluxe operators with wider seats, a toilet and lunch included charge about USD 25 to 30. Buy through your guesthouse or a booking app the day before; the price is the same and agents will tell you the departure point. Buses stop for a breakfast and a lunch break at highway restaurants, where a plate of dal bhat costs NPR 400 to 600.

Local buses leave from the chaotic Gongabu (New Bus Park) in Kathmandu, Pokhara’s Prithvi Chowk bus park and every town’s roadside stand. They cost a third less than tourist coaches, pick up and drop off anywhere, carry goats and sacks on the roof and stop for every passenger, so the same route takes two or three hours longer. Microbuses (Toyota Hiace vans) are faster but more cramped and more likely to be driven hard; they are the standard way to reach smaller towns such as Bandipur from the highway junction at Dumre, or Nagarkot from Bhaktapur.

Avoid night buses. They are the main way Nepalis cross the long Terai routes to Kathmandu, but crashes on mountain roads in the dark are frequent and the UK Foreign Office specifically advises against night travel. On any bus, keep your passport, cash and phone on your body: theft from bags stowed overhead and on the roof is the most common loss.

The Prithvi Highway between Kathmandu and Pokhara is about 200 km, and it takes 6 to 9 hours by bus depending on roadworks, landslides and the queue of trucks leaving the Kathmandu Valley at Nagdhunga. Sections between Naubise and Mugling have been under widening for years, and in the monsoon a single landslide can add half a day. The road follows the Trisuli River, crosses at Mugling and climbs to Pokhara through Dumre (for Bandipur) and Damauli.

Fares are typical ranges for 2026; they rise with fuel prices and before festivals. For Chitwan National Park, tourist buses go to Sauraha’s bus park, a short jeep ride from the lodges; on the way to Lumbini you change at Bhairahawa (Siddharthanagar) or take one of the few direct coaches. Leave Kathmandu early: the morning is the only time the valley exit moves.

Nepal’s domestic network runs from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, where the domestic terminal sits a short walk from the international one. Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines and Shree Airlines fly ATR and Dash 8 turboprops to Pokhara International Airport (25 minutes), Bharatpur for Chitwan (20 minutes), Gautam Buddha International Airport at Bhairahawa for Lumbini (35 minutes), Biratnagar, Janakpur, Nepalgunj for Bardiya, and Bhadrapur in the far east. Nepal Airlines, the state carrier, flies some of the same routes less reliably.

Foreigners pay a separate USD fare, usually two to three times the Nepali rate: expect roughly USD 100 to 130 one way to Pokhara and USD 110 to 170 to Bhairahawa or Biratnagar, paid by card online or through an agent. Book directly on the airline’s website or app. Checked baggage is typically 20 kg on the bigger turboprops. Pokhara’s new international airport replaced the old domestic airfield in 2023 and handles all Pokhara flights; Bhairahawa’s airport opened in 2022 and gives the fastest route to Lumbini.

Flights leave on time in the dry season but stack up when morning fog sits on the Kathmandu Valley in December and January, or when monsoon cloud closes the hills. Book the earliest flight of the day, which has the best chance of going and the best mountain views: sit on the right going to Pokhara for the Annapurnas, on the left coming back. The safety record and how to choose an airline are covered in our Nepal safety guide.

The flight to Lukla (2,860 m), gateway to the Khumbu and the Everest Base Camp trek, is a 30 to 40 minute hop onto a short sloping runway that ends in a mountainside. Tara Air, Summit Air and Sita Air fly 15 to 19-seat Twin Otters and Dorniers, only in the morning and only in visual conditions. In the spring and autumn seasons almost all Lukla flights depart from Ramechhap (Manthali) airport, a 4 to 5 hour drive from Kathmandu, to relieve congestion at Tribhuvan; agencies run shared vehicles that leave Kathmandu at 1am or 2am to reach the 6am departures. Check which airport your ticket uses. Foreigner fares are roughly USD 200 to 250 each way.

Weather delays are normal, not exceptional. Cloud at Lukla, at Ramechhap or anywhere along the route grounds the whole morning’s flights, and a run of bad days can strand hundreds of trekkers at both ends. Leave two or three spare days at the end of an Everest trek before your international flight. If you are stuck, shared helicopter seats between Lukla and Ramechhap or Kathmandu cost several hundred US dollars per person and fly in conditions that ground planes. Baggage is limited to around 15 kg total, including your daypack, with excess charged per kilo. The alternative is to walk in: jeeps run from Kathmandu to Salleri or Phaplu, from where it is 3 to 5 days on foot to Lukla.

Other mountain strips include Jomsom (from Pokhara, 20 minutes, for Mustang and Muktinath), Taplejung for Kanchenjunga, and Simikot, Juphal and Talcha in the far west, which are served by a handful of flights a week and are the most weather-dependent of all. Full trek logistics are in our Nepal trekking guide.

Where the road is too rough for a bus, shared 4WD jeeps take over. They carry 7 to 10 passengers, leave when full from known stands, and charge per seat; a private jeep costs the price of all seats. The main runs for trekkers:

• Annapurna Circuit: Besisahar to Chame or Manang, 6 to 9 hours on an unpaved road that many trekkers now ride to skip the low, dusty days. Shared seats run roughly NPR 2,000 to 3,500 depending on how far you go.
• Jomsom and Muktinath: from Beni or Pokhara up the Kali Gandaki valley, a long day on the Beni-Jomsom road; buses also run in the dry season.
• Ramechhap for Lukla: shared tourist vehicles from Thamel in the early hours, booked through your agency or guesthouse.
• Langtang: Kathmandu to Syabrubesi, 7 to 8 hours, for the Langtang treks. Floods in 2026 damaged this road and parts of Rasuwa district; the US State Department advises against travel to the Syabrubesi area, so check the current status before you plan this route.
• Salleri and Phaplu: the road alternative into the Everest region, 9 to 12 hours from Kathmandu.

Jeep roads are the most dangerous stretch of most trips: steep unbarriered drops, monsoon landslides and drivers on long shifts. Travel in daylight, ask for a seat in the cab rather than in the back, and do not let a driver who has been drinking keep going.

Kathmandu’s taxis (the small Suzuki Marutis and Hyundai i10s are being replaced by electric cars) have meters, but drivers almost never use them with foreigners. Agree the fare before you get in: Thamel to Boudhanath or Pashupatinath is about NPR 400 to 600, to Patan NPR 400 to 700, and to Bhaktapur NPR 1,200 to 1,800. From Tribhuvan Airport the prepaid taxi counter in arrivals charges around NPR 700 to 1,000 to Thamel.

Pathao and inDrive are the ride apps that work in Kathmandu, Pokhara and the larger Terai towns. Both offer cars and motorbike taxis (helmet supplied); Pathao quotes a fixed fare, while inDrive lets you propose a price that drivers accept or counter. Fares are typically 30 to 50 percent below a negotiated taxi, and you pay cash or by local wallet. Install them before arrival and use a local SIM, as drivers call to find you.

City buses and microbuses in the Kathmandu Valley run from Ratna Park and the Old Bus Park to Bhaktapur, Patan and Nagarkot for NPR 25 to 60, but routes are unsigned in English: ask the conductor, who shouts the destination at each stop. Pokhara’s Lakeside is walkable, and local buses run to the bus parks and Begnas. Cycle rickshaws work in Thamel and the Terai towns.

Nepal’s only passenger railway runs from Janakpur in the eastern Terai south to Jaynagar in India and north to Kurtha, about 35 km in total. The old narrow-gauge line closed in 2014 and reopened as broad gauge in 2022 with Indian-built trains, running a couple of times a day. Cross-border use is aimed at Nepali and Indian citizens, so for other visitors it is a short novelty ride from Janakpur station, the town that also holds the Janaki Mandir; check timetables and who can cross at the station. Further lines, including a Kathmandu link from the Indian border at Raxaul and Birgunj, are planned but not under construction for passengers.

Self-drive car hire barely exists, and you would not want it: hiring a car with a driver costs around USD 50 to 100 a day plus the driver’s food and lodging on overnight trips, and is the comfortable way to cover the Kathmandu-Pokhara-Chitwan loop at your own pace. Drivers need a 1968 International Driving Permit alongside a home licence, and Nepali roads are shared with cows, overloaded trucks and buses overtaking on blind corners.

Scooters and motorbikes rent for about NPR 1,000 to 2,500 a day in Pokhara’s Lakeside and Thamel, and riding around Phewa Lake or up to Sarangkot is popular. Wear a helmet, carry the IDP with a motorbike endorsement, and check your insurance: many policies exclude motorbike accidents if you are not licensed at home. Mountain bikes rent in Kathmandu and Pokhara for valley day rides; long-distance cycling is for experienced riders only.