Getting to & Around Nepal
Most guests fly into Kathmandu. Inside Nepal we use a private vehicle with a driver and short domestic flights.
Flying into Nepal
Kathmandu (KTM)
Tribhuvan International Airport, the main gateway. Our team meets every arrival and drives you to your hotel.
Bhairahawa (BWA)
Gautam Buddha International Airport, near Lumbini, opened in 2022. It has few international routes so far.
Pokhara (PKR)
Pokhara International Airport opened in January 2023. Almost all flights are still domestic.
There are no direct flights from North America, Europe or Australia. Most guests connect through Doha, Dubai, Istanbul, Delhi, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore. Book early for October, November and April, the busiest months.
Overland borders
| Crossing | From | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Panitanki – Kakarbhitta | India (West Bengal) | Combining Nepal with Darjeeling and Sikkim. Bhadrapur airport is close by. |
| Sunauli – Bhairahawa | India (Uttar Pradesh) | Varanasi, Bodh Gaya and Lumbini pilgrimage routes |
| Raxaul – Birgunj | India (Bihar) | Patna and Bodh Gaya |
| Rupaidiha – Nepalgunj · Banbasa – Mahendranagar | India (Uttar Pradesh / Uttarakhand) | Bardiya and far-west Nepal |
| Gyirong (Kerung) – Rasuwagadhi | Tibet | Our Tibet-to-Kathmandu overland journey |
Visa on arrival is available at the main land borders. Indian citizens can cross with a passport or voter ID.
Getting around
Private vehicle with driver
How most of our tours travel. Roads are winding and often under repair, so journeys take longer than the distance suggests. There are no self-drive rentals.
Domestic flights
Short hops on small aircraft to Pokhara, Bharatpur (Chitwan), Lukla, Jomsom, Bhairahawa and Bhadrapur. Mountain flights run in the early morning and are often delayed by weather, so we build in a spare day after treks.
Lukla flights from Ramechhap
Since October 2022, most Lukla flights in the busy spring and autumn seasons leave from Ramechhap (Manthali), not Kathmandu. That means a pre-dawn drive of about 4–5 hours from Kathmandu. We arrange the transfer and tell you which airport your flight uses.
Tourist buses
Daily tourist coaches run Kathmandu–Pokhara and Kathmandu–Chitwan. They suit independent extensions; our trips use private vehicles.
Typical travel times
| Route | By road | By air |
|---|---|---|
| Kathmandu – Pokhara | 6–8 hrs | 25 min |
| Kathmandu – Chitwan (Sauraha) | 5–6 hrs | 20 min to Bharatpur |
| Pokhara – Chitwan | 4–5 hrs | – |
| Kathmandu – Lumbini | 8–9 hrs | 35 min to Bhairahawa |
| Kathmandu – Nagarkot | 1–1.5 hrs | – |
| Kathmandu – Syabrubesi (Langtang) | 7–8 hrs | – |
| Kathmandu – Ramechhap (for Lukla) | 4–5 hrs | – |
| Kathmandu / Ramechhap – Lukla | – | 35 min / 20 min |
| Pokhara – Jomsom | 7–9 hrs (jeep) | 20 min |
Approximate times in good conditions. Monsoon landslides can add hours.