Buses, Nepal

1 more image

Now this route was a perfect example as to how much deceiving a map can be to an ignorant westerner mind. A comparative analysis of the meaning of the word “highway” in Nepal seemed to indicate us that the distance to Tansen should be covered in between 2-3 hours, and that there are many buses leaving to Tansen all along the day, until late afternoon.

WRONG! It was winter time, and there were no buses leaving to Tansen after 5 pm. Nevertheless, “I have solution for you”…we were told by an old man selling tickets….”you take night bus to Tansen…leaves in one hour, at 7 p.m.”. What on earth can we do in Tansen in the middle of the night? “no, bus arrive early morning in Butwal…from there you catch bus to Tansen, veeery frequent”. This is how we arrived to a nightmarish ride….bus route Pokhara – Mulging – Narayangarh – Butwal, with the last 2 seats at the end of the bus (6 seats in a row in total), crowded like sardines in a cane with no space to move a single finger unless the whole row moved another finger, we began a 10 hours adventure on Nepali roads by night…with a decrepit bus barley holding pieces together…..bearing in mind the LP recommendation of “significant risk of accident” and “it’s uncommon to drive for more than one hour on any stretch of road without passing the burnt-out shell of a public bus crushed like tin foil into the canyon below”. Thanks god we had a 2 hours “sleep break” after midnight. The friend I was travelling with saw the bright side – “the only foreigner in the whole bus is a Japanese. He’s quite thin, his shoulder is pressing my ribs like hell, but I guess we can get some extra centimetres if I push him a little further against the window”. And so he did…

Once in Butwal, it was easy enough to jump in the first bus for Tansen, where we arrived on hour later for the price of 50 Nepali rupees.

The mountain road between Kathmandu and Pokhara is called “highway”, although it would not qualify not even as a secondary road as per other standards – average speed 30 kms/h.

Pokhara being a major town and a favourite week-end destination, there are many buses between the two, leaving before lunch. There maybe some night buses as well, but cannot be sure, better ask for yourself. Hence, we simply got up early morning and around 7 a.m. arrived in Kantipath, the road from where buses to Pokhara usually leave. We didn’t even manage to get our luggage off the rickshaw when a typical “quarrel” started among the locals, as to which bus should we take and who should leave first, thus taking us as well. Knowing it will not make any difference to us, we simply waited for the drivers to decide our faith, and in no time our luggage was up on the roof of some bus. Now the decision was clear enough, so we knew we should jump in that bus.

These being said, we arrived in Pokhara after 3 short stops and 5 1/2 hours later, for the price of 250 Nepali rupees each. Pretty straightforward, isn’t it?!

For the first bus ride in Nepal I opted for the more “upmarket” option – Greenline bus company, operating tourist destinations such as Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan. A rip-off as per Nepalese standards (10 USD one way instead of 4 USD / 300 rupees), the ride proved excellent in terms of first contact with Nepali mountainous roads and driving customs.

Secure a ticket one day in advance from the company offices in Kathmandu just outside Thamel.

The old fashioned air con bus, clean and comfortable, with reserved seats, leaves Kathmandu early morning (7,30-08,00 a.m.), manages to negotiate its way outside the Valley within the first hour, and then slowly follows the road through a nice mountainous scenery, on the two lane “Prithvi Highway” heading west to Pokhara. At half-distance, an all-you-can eat brunch was served (around 11 a.m.) in a tourist motel just outside Mugling, then I changed the bus with a minivan, with porters carrying my backpack (remember, this was a “tourist” bus). The air con minivan and its 3 passengers arrived in Sauraha around 2 p.m., after passing through another piece of nice Nepali scenery.

If you’re staying in one of the resorts inside the park, ask them to pick you up from the bus station.

For more info, pics and tips on Royal Chitwan, visit my Chitwan page.

1 more image

The mountain road between Kathmandu and Pokhara is called “highway”, although it would not qualify not even as a secondary road as per other standards – average speed 30 kms/h.
To reach Bandipur from either Kathmandu or Pokhara, your first stop is Dumre a town halfway in between. From Kathmandu, you can take any bus to Pokhara, and jump off at Dumre (or viceversa). From Dumre, there are several buses and minivans around noon, i took a minivan for 300 rupees & 4h instead of 5h by bus.

From Dumre, jeeps to Bandipur leave from the main road. Just ask the locals, they will show you where. The 7km road up the mountain is done in 20 minutes, and a fare would be 20 rupees. From Bandipur, jeeps to Dumre leave from the main road or from the town square.
In reality, the situation on the “20 rupees fare” is a little bit different – having timing constraints to catch buses for other destinations from Dumre, you won’t like waiting too long for the jeep to get full (10-15 passengers), so you’ll prefer to hire the whole thing. The driver will say “400 rupees and we leave now”. You have 2 choices (I’ve tried both): accept you pay the 400 rupees, and offer a free ride to the other people who will start jumping around from virtually everywhere (insist that the driver does not ask the locals to pay anything), or bargain down to 300 rupees and let the locals pay 20 rupees each.

This service is an upgrade to the local buses. You pay 10 USD for a trip to Pokhara from Kathmandu or other way around. The quality is very good, considered it is not european. (buses is like a small 40pax line bus in Belgium)

Half way they stop at a beautiful place for food and tea. This is included in the price and because of the location it is worthwhile. (otherwise you would never stop here)

Good service, friendly, great food and for all : safe !

I took a bus from Kathmandu to Pokhara, and vice versa. The bus was " Royal Safari", from Kathmandu was at 300 Rs, From Pokhara 250 Rs.(after bargain)
From Kathmandu, buses start at around 7 o'clock on Kantipath street.
From Pokhara, buses start at 7:30 o'clock at a square, taking a taxi from Lakeside hotels costs about 50~60Rs.
The bus stopped 3 times for breakfast, lunch and WC-time.

the cheapest way to travel from one town to another is by bus.. but with the tiny road infratructure and rolling mountain ranges landscapes in nepal, a looooooong queue of traffic jam is almost a guarantee! this is especially true of the road going in and out of kathmandu.. we travelled the road twice and were stuck there for more than 2 hours (we were told that we were lucky, could've been worse) on each occasion because of accidents happening at the same spot on the road..

I did my travelling around by bus. All buses leave from the same place in Kathmandu, and more or less at the same time, which makes finding YOUR bus quite an achievement. The sheer activity before the buses leave is incredible... lost tourists, bagage handlers strapping rucksacks and various treasures on the roofs... street vendors with their teas and coffees for sale... an experience all of it's own.

When I was there (1997) all buses had to leave Kathmandu by a certain hour (7,30 I think it was). On the other hand they were not allowed to arrive at their destination before a certain our (for Pokhara it was something like 3pm). This was to stop buses with tourists going dangerously fast. As a consequence, all buses make a lengthy stop en route to use up unnecessary time.

The comfort factor is dictated by the state of the roads mainly. Bear in mind that these mountain roads get damaged badly in the annual rains. You can certainly rely on the fact that the journeys will be bum-numbing and your bottom teeth will frequently hit off your eyebrows!

The advantage? Aside from the price, and the chance to meet other travellers, there is the time to take in the countryside!

Bus tickets can be booked in agencies all over Kathmandu and other towns. Many hotels will also arrange for your bus seats to be reserved. You will be given a stand number along with your reservation. This should provide you with some clue to which bus is yours... but you may still have to ask your way. You are advised to reserve a seat at least a day in advance. Local buses are also an option, but can take over 10 hours to cover the 200 km between Kathmandu and Pokhara.