From Nepal to eastern India - best place to cross the border?

Dear fellow travellers,

First of all, I apologize for being quite ignorant about crossing the border between Nepal and India - I have never done this overland before, only by plane. I am planning to visit Janakpur (Nepal) in late November this year, and then travel overland to the eastern part of India (I would like to end up near Kolkata).

So far I learnt that the best place for me to cross the border would possibly be Birgunj, because I could then catch a train from Raxaul to Kolkata. Or would it be better to cross at Biratnagar? Or would this all be too much hassle, should I just travel from Janakpur to Kathmandu and catch a plane from there to India?

I am a non-Indian passport holder and I understand that some crossings can only be used by Indian citizens, but I could not get reliable information about which ones.

And - is Janakpur even worth visiting? Sorry I know this is not a Nepal travel forum, but I am so confused. Basically, I will have to hang around in Nepal before returning to India in early December, by which time it will be very cold for me near Kathmandu, so I am trying to find alternatives.

Any advice, experiences, suggestions are most welcome.

Thank you!

Anybody ?

Birganj/Raxaul used to be an easy crossing place, I used it several times in the 1970s. I advise you to stay on the Indian side, whichever way you are going. I stayed once on the Nepal side and was kept awake all night by noisy drunks.

Is the train from Janakpur to Jaynagar running? Is the crossing open for citzens of third countries? There is a direct express train running daily from Jaynagar to Sealdah and a weekly one to KOAA (which as I discovered recently is Kolkata Chitpur). There is even a daily passenger train* from Jaynagar to Howrah on which you would get to see a lot of Eastern India.

*non reservable so not recommended for wimps and princesses

I would LOVE to know the answers to those questions! Cannot find any official info, only some online rumours so far... Thanks for the info / ideas and note taken about unreserved train (I know what you mean ). I am generally ok with travelling on 'general class', however, will have a lot of luggage this time so maybe not such a good idea, but tempting nevertheless.

Another option would be to cross the border further east at Kakarbhita/Panitanki (near Siliguri). Then proceed past Bagdogra (airport) to NJP and catch any of a number of trains to Kolkata. This opens up possibilities to visit places in and around Darjeeling/Dooars/Sikkim etc. before proceeding to Kolkata.

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Thank you so much - sounds promising, will check out the Kakarbhita option and might well come back with more silly questions...

Mirjam,

Not to go like "duh read the ff'ing manual," but I know most of these routes get described in Lonely Planet. They of course well may in some of the other usual-suspect guidebooks.

Many of them get described on this forum, too, if you search around for them. Seat61 describes the common ones, but not e.g. the Darjeeling route: http://www.seat61.com/, check both its India and Nepal sections. I've never been to Nepal or no nothing, so have little more to add That Darjeeling route so by Kakarbhitta seems to be a little obscure; I'm not saying that shouldn't be workable (I think if all the roads are open and stuff it should be pretty straightforward), but just fewer seem to take it. It's quite a ride from Kathmandu, in my understanding. A while ago when it was discussed here, I think it involves you crossing the border on foot over a bridge that was then reported to have been washed away by floods some time before, these are said to occur annually, in the monsoon season no doubt. So, I guess all the usual adventures ahead of you

I guess into Bihar then over to the east would be the more straightforward route yes. Disclaimer once more: I've never done it.

I don't know about your source of information, but Kakarbhitta is a major crossing point (with immigration services and all), popular with people travelling to/from NE India. The bridge is wide enough to allow for multiple-lane traffic (certainly a far cry from a foot-bridge), and all sorts of vehicles (including trucks) cross it all the time (and no, this is not a recent development). I'm unaware of it being washed away annually.

However, Kakarbhitta is quite far away from Kathmandu by road (a "highway"). It is possible that parts of this road might have problems during monsoon. -- I don't know much about that.

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Judging by this story that appeared last week on indiarailinfo the train from Janakpur to Jaynagar is still running.

http://indiarailinfo.com/news/post/i...ays-news/88655

I wasn't saying that the bridge gets washed out annually; but that monsoon floods appear to occur annually, potentially causing that bridge to wash away. As I also tried to make quite clear, I've no idea what that would be like in practice (since indeed I've never been along anywhere near to any of these routes. I've had friends traveling in Nepal and stuff though, it's not like I would totally be talking out of my behind): But I imagine it could mean your further way is just blocked.

I also imagine you'd now be looking at a very long detour, not as if indeed you weren't already looking at a long and uncomfortable and (just simply traffic-wise) dangerous route to begin with. There would really be no other dangers to speak of, but a friend of mine and travel assistant did land up down in a ravine in Tibet. She was very very lucky to survive. Doing alright as far as I know, btw. But nearly died. Oncoming truck overhauling and not wanting to stop, you know how that goes. Blew half the convoy off that narrow mountain road. Helicopter flown in after a day or two of her lying there with a broken back, few dead people and including her good and close local travel assistant and some of those travelers she was supposed to look after and such around her, and taking her all the way to Hong Kong, she indeed was very lucky to, and for them to realize she was there at all (had she not worked for some travel company, I suppose the chances would have been very slim, indeed). Only took her like half a year of being hospitalized and then revalidating for another half or so. That surgeon in Hong Kong is said to be top-notch in his field, and she probably wouldn't have made it without him.

That earlier discussion on it is here, see what you make of it: How difficult is this route in India.

Hi
This train is running , taking about 3-4 hours to reach Jaynagar to Janakpur, distance is 33 Kms

Thanks
Alok

@ Mirjam2

1.Take direct flight from Kathmandu to Kolkata

2.If you are intersted in Hindu Dharma( Religion), a visit to Janakpur is a must. Please check this link- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janakpurdham

3. As per my knowledge you can not cross from Nepal to India through Janakpur, a foreigner can cross via Birgunj, Biratnagar and Sunauli border.
4. Kathmandu Kakarvitta bus will take atleast 16 hours.

Thanks

Alok

Mirjam, one thing I forgot to mention: if you take the bus to or from Raxaul, sit in the front of the bus, just behind the driver.

This is because there are so many S-curves on the road through the mountains. People will be being sick out the windows and you want to be in front of them to avoid being spattered!

I don't know how the Kathmandu-to-Kakarvitta distance (~ 16 hrs) came into the picture! The OP wanted to go from Janakpur to Eastern India. Janakpur to Kakarbhitta is a very manageable 5 hours or so by bus (road conditions permitting). According to Lonely Planet, Kakarbhitta "is one of the easiest border crossings".

I couldn't find any reference to the Kakarbhitta-Panitanki bridge wash-away! When did it happen (if it happened)? The reference to the 2008 Koshi flood in the link given in post #11 is kind of misleading, because the river under this bridge is Mechi, not Koshi! In any case, the bridge certainly did not look newly-built to me in 2010 (which should have been the case if it was done as late as in late 2009), -- quite the opposite!

In any case I only suggested Kakarbhitta as a possible option. Whether it is feasible or not when the time comes, the OP will, of course, decide on her own.

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