[jyoti]

Hey, guys! I'm looking to do a quick, cheap, safe visa run to Nepal. I and some friends had train tickets booked to Siliguri and were going to simply cross the border there. I got to the train station last night, and the train was cancelled!! Because of flooding apparently. Now my friends have decided to do something else, so whatever I do I'll be traveling alone.

Siliguri option:
What is the feasability of even getting to Siliguri, either by direct train or train to Kolkata and then bus to Siliguri, with the flooding? Am I going to just get stuck again if I try that route?

Is it a safe place for a female who has traveled in India a lot to be by herself?

Delhi option:
there is a place to cross just east of Delhi. Does anyone know what the actual name of the border crossing is? And how to get there and back?

Sri Lanka:
My other option is to fly from Sri Lanka. I am not sure of the safety in going there though. It seems to be getting worse.

I have a month before I have to leave but, considering these plans fell thru, it's better to get it done! My budget is tight so flying to Thailand or Kathmandu not an option, really, unless absolutely necessary.

Any advice?

[kullukid]

jyoti, on Jun 20 2008, 09:48 AM, said:

Delhi option:
there is a place to cross just east of Delhi. Does anyone know what the actual name of the border crossing is? And how to get there and back?

Any advice?

Hi Jyoti, when you say just east of Delhi I think you are referring to Gorakhpur which is verreee bahut north east of Delhi.
From Gorakhpur head for the border crossing in Sonauli.

http://gorakhpur.nic.in/geog1.htm

Good Luck!   KK

[dzibead]

Do you need to get a new visa or are you an American on a long-term tourist visa who just needs to leave India and come right back in order to comply with the 180 limit? (I can't remember where you're from!)  

If you actually need to get a new visa, going from Bangalore to Siliguri (by train?) and then to Nepal seems like a pretty roundabout way to do it, since you'll have to go to Kathmandu to get visa, so why not just fly directly there from Bangalore?

[kullukid]

jyoti, on Jun 20 2008, 09:48 AM, said:

I have a month before I have to leave but, considering these plans fell thru, it's better to get it done! My budget is tight so flying to Thailand or Kathmandu not an option, really, unless absolutely necessary.

[dzibead]

Oh, duh.  Missed jyoti's last sentence.  Still ... long land journeys involved if flying is not an option.

[jyoti]

I have a long term visa but am about to hit 180 days (well, not for another month or so). Just need to leave the country and come back. Coming from Bangalore, flying to Sri Lanka much cheaper than Kathmandu, but I'm not sure if it's safe.  We had train tickets to Siliguri, but was cancelled due to flooding...

Edited by jyoti, 20 June 2008 - 03:36 PM.

[dzibead]

There's been some bad stuff going on in the Darjeeling area lately, so it might have been less safe than Sri Lanka!

[jyoti]

So, to go to Gorakhpur, is that the best train station to get off at? Any safety concerns for crossing there? Is there any better way to get there from South India than coming all the way thru Delhi?

Kullukid: I think you mean SOUTH east.

[jyotirmoy]

2592 GORAKHPUR EXP      DEP: BANGALORE CENTRAL 16.40 GORAKHPUR 15.20 Only on MON
5016 YPR GORAKPUR EXP DEP: YASHANT PURA 07.30 ARRV: GORAKHPUR 14.30 Only on THU

[jyoti]

Thank you Jyotimroy!!!      I've been on indianrail.gov all afternoon, but it's done nothing but crash on me all day. *sigh*  What to do?  (*grin*)

[jyotirmoy]

Now Jyoti the trains do pass thru flood prone areas so watch the news reports. Gorakhpur area is also not a very cool place so take care and wish you all the best.

[kullukid]

jyoti, on Jun 20 2008, 11:37 AM, said:

So, to go to Gorakhpur, is that the best train station to get off at? Any safety concerns for crossing there? Is there any better way to get there from South India than coming all the way thru Delhi?

Kullukid: I think you mean SOUTH east.

No! i definitely meant North East, Nepal is North of India & South of Tibet, unless i misunderstood what you were saying??
       KK

[AlanD]

Hi jyoti

There are four major border crossings into Nepal but I would say all of them are prone to road washouts between the Nepal border and Kathmandu, especially if there is a full monsoon going on.

The most used crossing these days is the Sunauli-Bhairawa crossing near Gorakhpur, which sees a good deal of Nepal's imports and exports passing through so I would think that great efforts would be made to keep that road open.  Also it's the main land route for tourists entering the country so you would probably find travelling companions from there on to Kathmandu. There used to be a bus from Varanasi to Kathmandu but I don't know if it is still running - you would need to check this out with travel agents in Varanasi. I haven't used it myself but I have met people coming through the border from India on several occasions as they stayed overnight in the same hotel as us on the Nepalese side.

If that's not running then I think your best bet is to get somehow to Gorakhpur (check out the Indian Railways timetable for routes). There is no need to stay in Gorakhpur as it's only about 50k's to the border and buses and shared jeeps run from near Gorakhpur station. Unfortunately touts are on the lookout for customers here and you can pay them well over the odds so go directly to the bus or jeep. Frankly, I don't think Gorakhpur has much to offer and the atmosphere on the Nepalese side of the border is much more laid back. The border posts used to close overnight but I'm not sure what the current situation is. The bus/jeep will drop you a bit before the Indian border post so you will have to walk 100 metres or so on the RH side of the street, get stamped out of India and then go a few more metres to the Nepal post. They used to only accept US dollars in payment but according to what people have said they can be flexible on this. Local buses run from here to Butwal where you can take a direct bus to Kathmandu. Hope everything works out for you!

Edit
There is a  choice of guest houses and hotels (reasonably priced) on the Nepal side of the border

Edited by AlanD, 20 June 2008 - 06:26 PM.

[AlanD]

There is also some information on this web site about travelling from Delhi and Varanasi to Kathmandu. Not sure how up to date it is

http://www.seat61.com/Nepal.htm

[WonderWomanUSA]

Maybe the border towns have changed a bit since I crossed (travellign alone) at Birganj/Raxaul in the 70s.

At that time the India side was a dry town and the Nepali side sold liquor, and I was kept awake by noisy drunks, some of whom were pounding on my door. Next time through there, I learned that Birganj was the better place to stay; it was quiet, and the cheap guesthouse was run by some lovely young fellow who treated me very well.

I've never been through any other land border between India and Nepal, but wish you safe travels on your journey.

Edited by WonderWomanUSA, 20 June 2008 - 10:25 PM.

[AlanD]

WWUSA

That was certainly the route in the early days of travel to Nepal. In 1966 we took the steamer from Patna up the Ganges, got on a train the other side and ended up in Raxaul where we stayed the night. We stayed in a small whitewashed room - I've never seen so many mosquitos before or since. We crossed the border the following morning and took a ride on the top of a truck up the Raj Path for a few rupees, ending up near the Post Office in Kathmandu after dark that evening.

I think that route lost favour as it was very prone to landslides and in recent years most traffic has gone through the Sunauli border. That's the way we have gone in recent years although we did fly in and out from Delhi once.

[jyoti]

Thanks guys for your responses! I was wondering how to get from the train station to the border--good to hear that others will be doing the same thing. I am hoping to get across and back in the same day, then head back through to Delhi. No need to go all the way to Kathmandu. I only need to get the visa stamp and turn back around. Maybe a spot of tea or some lunch on the other side.

[AlanD]

jyoti, on Jun 23 2008, 09:51 AM, said:

Thanks guys for your responses! I was wondering how to get from the train station to the border--good to hear that others will be doing the same thing. I am hoping to get across and back in the same day, then head back through to Delhi. No need to go all the way to Kathmandu. I only need to get the visa stamp and turn back around. Maybe a spot of tea or some lunch on the other side.

Sorry about the useless information on travel to Kathmandu - somehow I got the impression you needed to go there to renew your Indian visa. I guess you have one of those ten year visa things where you only need to exit and then re-enter India.

For more detail on the transport to the border (although this from a few years ago) when you exit the station turn right and after a short distance the bus station was on the left hand side of the road. Jeeps left from the road in front. The jeeps are faster -very few stops but the drivers tend to cram them to capacity, and more! Buses take longer to the border but you would at least have more personal space.

[cyberhippie]

Slightly closer is the border crossing at Bambassa, which takes you through some wonderful scenery and is slightly easier to reach. As you only need a stamp that says you've left Indian shores it a might easier than the Sunauli-Bhairawa option.
Train to Kathkodam, bus to Tanakpur-Bambassa.

[jyoti]

How far from the Nepal border is Kathkodam? (Is that the same as Kathgodam? Past Haridwar, near Almora?)  Are there regular buses, etc, or taxi?

AlanD: No problem!    Yep, got one of those ten year visa things. By the way, How much should a jeep to Nepal border cost? (ballpark).  I assume pretty cheap since a 2-3 hour taxi in Uttar Pradesh was about 500. Shared should be considerably less...

Edited by jyoti, 23 June 2008 - 05:03 PM.