Combining Nepal and India in one journey

Nepal and India share an open border of about 1,750 km, a long religious and cultural history, and frequent flights, so combining them in one journey is easy to arrange. The simplest pattern is to fly from Delhi to Kathmandu, about 1.5 hours, and spend five to eight nights in Nepal before or after an India itinerary. The more interesting patterns follow geography: the Buddha's life from Bodh Gaya to Lumbini, or the Himalaya from Sikkim to Kathmandu. Each has a different border, different paperwork and a different best season.

Two to three weeks in total works well for a first combination. With less, the transfer days take too large a share. The best months for the two countries overlap well: October to November and February to March suit Nepal's mountains and north India's plains alike. December and January are possible but bring fog to the Gangetic plain and cold mornings in Kathmandu. Below we set out the flights, the land crossings, the visa points that catch people out, and three route shapes we plan often.

Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport has direct flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Varanasi, and Delhi has the most departures through the day. The Varanasi to Kathmandu flight, about an hour, is useful for linking the Ganges with Nepal without returning to Delhi, though it has run seasonally at times. Nepal's newer international airports at Bhairahawa, near Lumbini, and at Pokhara have few regular international routes so far. Routes change each season, so check current status before you travel.

Inside Nepal, short domestic flights save long drives: Kathmandu to Pokhara in about 25 minutes, to Bharatpur for Chitwan in about 25 minutes, and to Bhairahawa for Lumbini in under an hour. On the India side, Bagdogra connects Sikkim and Darjeeling with Delhi and Kolkata. Nepal runs 15 minutes ahead of India, on UTC+5:45, and mountain flights in both countries can be delayed by weather, so we never schedule an international departure on the same day as a domestic mountain flight.

Three road crossings matter for travellers. Sunauli on the Indian side and Belahiya on the Nepali side lie about 25 km from Lumbini and about 100 km from Gorakhpur, and suit the Buddhist circuit. Raxaul and Birgunj link Bihar with the road to Chitwan and Kathmandu. Panitanki and Kakarbhitta, in the far east, link Siliguri and Bagdogra with eastern Nepal. All three are busy commercial crossings, slow with trucks, and the formalities for foreign travellers can take an hour or more.

Indian private cars can enter Nepal with a permit from the border customs office, but it is usually easier to change vehicles. Your Indian car and driver drop you at the border, a guide walks you through both immigration offices, and a Nepali car and driver meet you on the other side. We plan the hand-over for the morning and avoid crossing on public holidays, when offices may run short-staffed. Rules for foreigners at each crossing can change, so check current status before you travel.

Indian nationals need no visa for Nepal, only a valid passport or voter ID card, and we recommend the passport for flights. Most other nationalities can buy a Nepal visa on arrival at Kathmandu airport and at the main land crossings: 15 days for USD 30, 30 days for USD 50 or 90 days for USD 125, all multiple entry. Carry the fee in clean US dollar notes. A few nationalities must apply at a Nepali embassy before travel.

The point that catches people out is coming back into India. If you leave India for Nepal and return, your Indian visa must allow more than one entry. The 30-day e-Tourist Visa has been double entry, and the one-year and five-year versions multiple entry, but e-Visa holders have generally been allowed to enter India only at designated airports and seaports, not at land crossings. So if you hold an e-Visa, plan to fly back into India rather than drive across. Holders of a regular visa have more flexibility. Check current status before you travel, as these rules are revised.

The Buddha was born at Lumbini in Nepal, reached enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, gave his first sermon at Sarnath near Varanasi, and died at Kushinagar. A journey through all four is the classic reason to combine the two countries. We begin in Varanasi with Sarnath, travel to Bodh Gaya and on to Rajgir and Nalanda, then make the long road day north through Vaishali to Kushinagar. From there we cross at Sunauli to Lumbini, and a short flight from Bhairahawa reaches Kathmandu for the stupas of Boudhanath and Swayambhunath.

Allow 12 to 14 nights for the whole circuit at a calm pace, with October to March the best window. We combine our ten-night Buddhist circuit in India, from ₹2,60,000 per person, with the eight-night Lumbini journey in Nepal, from ₹3,60,000, and shorten each to avoid repetition. Hotels on this route are good rather than lavish outside Varanasi and Kathmandu, which we explain plainly when planning.

The most popular pairing for first-time visitors is north India's monuments followed by Nepal's mountains. A typical shape is two nights in Delhi, two in Agra for the Taj Mahal at sunrise and Fatehpur Sikri, two or three in Varanasi on the Ganges, then a flight to Kathmandu. In Nepal, three nights in the Kathmandu Valley, two on a ridge above Pokhara facing the Annapurnas and three at Chitwan for rhinos make about 15 nights in all. Our six-night Taj Mahal and Varanasi journey, from ₹2,90,000, and eight nights of Himalaya, lakes and rhinos, from ₹3,80,000, fit together this way.

For a shorter version, swap Varanasi for Jaipur and fly from Delhi to Kathmandu, or replace Pokhara with an Everest helicopter morning from Kathmandu. Rajasthan combines well too: a week of palaces from Jaipur to Udaipur, a flight via Delhi, and a week in Nepal. Late October and November give the clearest Himalayan views and comfortable warmth in the plains.

For travellers who have already seen the Taj, the eastern route links Sikkim with Nepal. Fly to Bagdogra, spend six to eight nights in Gangtok and Pelling with Kangchenjunga in view, then drive about an hour to the Panitanki and Kakarbhitta crossing and fly from Bhadrapur, on the Nepal side, to Kathmandu in under an hour. Nepal's hills, Pokhara or Dhulikhel, follow. Our nine-night Sikkim journey starts from ₹2,90,000 per person.

This route suits Indian nationals best, and foreign travellers with a regular Indian visa, because entering India at Panitanki is a land crossing. Foreign guests on an e-Visa can still travel in the direction India to Nepal and end the journey in Kathmandu. Spring, from March to May, is the best season for both, with rhododendrons in flower in Sikkim and on Nepal's hills; October and November bring clearer views.

The table compares the three shapes on the points that decide most choices. Whichever you choose, we plan both countries as one journey, with a single point of contact, guides who meet you at every border and airport, and permits arranged in advance.