Nepal is the easiest country for Indians to visit. With no visa requirements, and almost open border, you can land up in Nepal unplanned. Most tourists, especially South Indians end up taking a flight to Kathmandu to begin their journey. We entered by road and we detail why we preferred Nepal road travel from India
Nepal has a notorious history of flight crashes. The mountain landscape, bad weather and probably low focus on safety make it one of the most danger prone flights to take in the world. While many foreign operated airline options are available, the landscape and weather remain similar for any operator
Many UNESCO world heritage sites like Lumbini and Chitwan are better covered by road. You can choose to enter from Gorakhpur/ Varanasi/ Raxaul. We spent a night in Gorakhpur, visiting Gorakhnath mandir and tasting Uttar Pradesh’s Bati chokha, which is a local dish made from flour balls, lentil dal, and eggplant smash. Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha is a couple of hours from Gorakhpur
Lumbini has monasteries from many South East Asian and European countries, bringing the world together in one place. The ancient temple of Mayadevi is a heritage site in itself
We got to see many vultures near Tansen on the way from Lumbini to Pokhara! These vultures fly high, making their presence felt. Loop up towards the sky and trace where they land
Having a vehicle for your entire journey in Nepal can help avoid internal flights from Pokhara-Jomsom or Pokhara- Katmandu. These flights, although scenic, are cancelled many times, disrupting your plans if you are on tight schedule. Travel times remain similar with 3 hours check-in time at airports, baggage waiting time.
As a bonus for opting Nepal road travel, you get to visit spots on the way during road journeys. We visited Rupse, Mahavir falls and Galeshwar temple on huge rocks, while traveling between Pokhara to Jomsom. Manakamana temple was on the way between Pokhara and Kathmandu. We visited Janaki temple at Janakpur and Sitamarhi between Kathamandu and Patna
During return journey, you can exit through Sitamarhi, making way towards Vaishali, Nalanda and Patna, covering many heritage sites on India side. Vaishali is the birthplace of Lord Mahavira, a revered place among Jains. It is also the place where Lord Buddha gave his last sermon. You can find many stupas from Mauryan period to the latest Japanese Peace Pagoda. Fort ruins of King Lichhavi are also among spots to stop nearby
Nalanda ruins showcase India’s rich heritage and focus on education. The vast ancient library burnt for months when Baktiyar Khilji burnt the surroundings. The caves of Barabar and Nagarjuni are another few hours away between Bodh Gaya and Patna. These caves are famous for Mauryan mirror polish on the inner walls of the caves
Road journeys bring you closer to the locals, to the raw mountains and landscape of Nepal. Having lunch and dinner at small restaurants helps support locals. We strongly recommend doing Nepal road travel from India to experience the authentic villages, make schedules predictable without flights and support locals