Does any one have any info on entering nepal from the western border with india. We are already on the road and have decided that this could well be nicer than riding through northern india. Really just wondering if the boarder crossing is ok, ie can we get a visa there, and what the ride through nepal to kathmandu is like coming this way.
Cheers Walks.

Two years ago we crossed at I think Banbasa (between Rampur in India and Mahindragar in Nepal I believe). (As part of a M/C Tour). I don't think it's one of the major recognised points of entry, but we eventually got through, and meet other travellers (by bike) that had come that way. There was some accommodation just down the road of the crossing if you get through late in the day like us.
The major road that they were building through should have been completed by now, making life one helluv a lot easier than our journey. (At least 7 bridges not built leading to river fording). The link from the west to 'the Japanese bridge' (big suspension jobbie) should be in now. I'd recommend Royal Bardia Wildlife Reserve for a few days stop. Less commercial than Chittwan. We will certainly go again.
Good luck, good journey ! Hope this helps.

__________________
www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/davies

Hi,

We did this in October and December 2000 in a Landrover, with no probs whatsoever. From the immigration book, they seemed to get a couple of overlanders a week through here. Border crossing very quiet, extremely nice man on the indian side - you could almost miss the immigration post.

I seem to remember having to cross a singletrack bridge/dam in no-man's land, which you may have to pay a small "fee" for.

On the Nepal side it's even more relaxed, we had to show the customs guy what to do with our carnet! Immigration just a kind of shop front, about 100m from customs post on the left. Next door is a tourism office of sorts - they gave us a map and changed some money at a reasonable rate. From there the road is now excellent all the way to Bardia N.P., which I would highly recommend. Beautiful, friendly, relaxed, oh and you may see tigers as well! What more could you ask for!

We crossed the border and made it all the way to Bardia in a day, doing about 80km/h. The scenery is out of this world, the villages are like a scene from the English Middle Ages.

On the way back, we had a few problems as there were local protests about something and roadblocks in most of the towns, but we managed to get past by driving through bits of jungle! Fill up with fuel where you can too, as there were a few shortages. Can usually get it out of a barrel somewhere if the pumps are dry. As the Nepali currency is tied to the Indian rupee there is v. little diff in prices as you cross (as I remember, someone correct me if I'm wrong!)

The Indian drive to/from Delhi is not as nice as the roads are pretty awful, and the maps aren't all consistent. (we were using Nelles plus the Footprint India handbook which had some small maps in). But hey, that's India...

oh I forgot to say - if you're heading up to Pokhara, its not worth taking the road which looks like it cuts off a load off the distance (past a town starting with S?? can't remember) - the road's crap and it really is easier to take the main road which splits R for Kathmandu and L for Pokhara. We buggered a suspension mount on this road. There again we broke a spring in Pokhara itself, there are some great potholes!