Uttarakand is habitually used by visitors for onward travel to Nepal. Till recently it was necessary to change means of transportation at Banbasa border. The new direct bus service mkes the travel hassle-free – well, at least partially.
On the Indian side, the bus departs from Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakand state. On the Nepali side, it brings passengers to Mahendranagar (Bhimdatta), a city in the far western Nepal. The distance between the two cities in about 350 km via national route 9, mostly over the territory of India. En route, the bus pass through Haridwar, the ancient city and a popular destination, also in Uttarakand, India, so it is possible to catch the bus there. As there are a lot of winding stretches along the route, the travel will take between 10 and 12 hours including the time spent at the border crossing.
There is an onward bus service from Mahendranagar to Kahtmandu, the capital of Nepal, which is situated 700 km east of Bhimdatta what equals at least to 16-18 hours of driving.
The promotional bus fare is INR450, and it is not yet known whether it will remain the same after the trial period. The plan is to run the service on a daily bases. Most probably, later the bus will start its journey from Anand Vihar in New Delhi, some 250 km south and 6-8 hours away from Dehradun.
India and Nepal Get Direct Bus Service
News in Asia
Dehradun, the capital of the Indian state of Uttarakhand located near the Himalayan foothills, is now connected by a direct bus route to Nepal with the new Dehradun-Nepal bus service inaugurated recently.