Kathmandu Valley
Travel
Local
Travel
The best way to get around Kathmandu is by walking or bike. It is
a very pleasant and interesting place to walk around. As the city
itself is a living-museum, many things are seen by walking and the
city can be appreciated. If you get tired you can get a rickshaw or
taxi back home. There are also many short walks that can be done around
Kathmandu Valley.
If
you are going to ride around the valley, it would be a good idea to
hire a mountain bike with multi-gears. Most places in the valley can
be visited on a day trip in the valley.
To and From Airport
A taxi from Thamel to the airport costs about Rs 200 and can be Rs
150 going from Thamel to the airport. There is a pre-paid taxi stand
at the airport, where you pay a fixed (posted on a board) price in
advance. Fixed rates to most places in Kathmandu is Rs 200, Patan
Rs 250 and to Bhaktapur Rs 400 (50% extra after 9 pm). There are a
lot of touts (hotel commission agents) at the airport who want to
bring you to a hotel of their choice, even for free, so they can get
a good commission on what you pay for a room. The hotel drivers hold
up signboard with the name of the hotel that they are working for
and if you want to go to one of these hotels the transportation is
free. If you take one of these taxis you will be less likely to get
a discount, as the hotels has to pay the taxi driver a commission
(often 50% of the price of the room) for bringing you to the hotel.
There are local buses (Rs 4) that departs from the main
intersections, 250m from the entrance, that goes to the City (Ratna
Park) bus stand, around 1½ km (15-minute walk) from the main
hotel area. Unless you do not have much luggage and know where to
get off, the bus is not usually a good option.
Taxi and Auto Rickshaws
Taxi prices are not expensive and they are a good way to get around.
Taxi driver will often use their meter during the day, but you will
often have to negotiate the fare at night. Usually if you go to the
airport or the immigration office, most of the time the taxi drivers
will not use the meter. A short ride in town is not usually more than
Rs 50. Most of the time the taxi meters are out of date and the taxi
driver will charge you a certain percentage extra. Many times the
drivers will try to charge a higher percentage then they are supposed
to. So it could be a good idea to ask at your hotel what the percentage
is. Price rise because of rising fuel prices, which is expensive in
Nepal. The metered price is Rs 7 flagfall and Rs 2 for every 200m.
If you arrive at the airport, most taxi drivers will not use the meter.
There is a 50% extra charge at night after 8 pm. Taxis hang out on
Tridevi Marg in Thamel. Many so-called taxi are just private cars
and do not have meters. A licensed taxi has black license plates and
a private car has red plates.
For journeys outside the valley the fare is Rs 2500,
plus the fuel cost of around Rs 40 per litre.
A taxi can be booked at 420-987 and at night 224-374. Some companies
that rent out cars for the day are Yeti Travels (221-234) and Gorkha
Travels (224-896, 224-895). Other travel agencies can also rent out
cars, but you can expect them to arrange a car at a higher price than
you could arrange yourself.
Taxis wait at certain areas at Tridevi Marg, an intersection
in Thamel, at the Jamal end of Durbar Marg, and at the top of Freak
Street.
A half day sightseeing tour of the valley is around Rs 900 and a full
trip is Rs 1600. Some sample prices are: Bhaktapur Rs 220, Bodhnath
Rs 90, Changu Narayan Rs 550, Dhulikhel Rs 900, Nagarkot Rs 900, Patan
Rs 125 and Pashupatinath Rs 60.
Auto-rickshaws are about half the price of the taxis.
Flagfall is Rs 6 and then Rs 6 per kilometre. They will often refuse
to use the meter. A ride within Kathmandu should not cost more than
Rs 40.
Bicycle Rickshaws
The bicycle rickshaws are not cheap and can be tough to deal with.
They often try to charge more than a taxi would, to go to the same
place, but should be about half the fare of a taxi. You must agree
on a price before you begin and definitely don’t pay until you
reach your destination. At night be careful if a rickshaw driver is
drunk, as they can be very difficult to deal with. If you want to
go from the Kathmandu Guest House (Thamel) to Durbar Square you will
first be asked for Rs 70. The real price is Rs 30 or Rs 35. The ride
from Thamel to the Yak and Yeti Hotel on Durbar Marg is around Rs
25. In general you should pay less than half of the first quoted price.
Bus
Buses in Kathmandu are very cheap (less than Rs 10) and can often
be very crowded and painful. Often it is just as quick to take a bike
ride to close places such as Bodhnath, as it is to take a bus. The
smaller minibuses are usually quicker and a little higher priced than
the large buses.
Buses to most places around the valley depart from City
bus stand across the street from Ratna Park. From here buses depart
to Bhaktapur (#7, 45-min), Boudha (#2, 30 min), Budhanilkantha (#5,
1 hr), Dhulikel (#12, 2 hr), Kirtipur (#21, 45-min), Patan (#14, 15-min),
Sankhu (#4, 1 hr) and Thimi (#10, half-hour). Most buses depart every
half-hour.
The electric trolley bus (Rs 5, every 15 minutes) to
Bhaktapur departs the south end of Kantipath near the National Stadium.
From where the bus lets you off in Bhaktapur it is a ten-minute walk
to Durbar Square. Buses to Pharping (Dakshinkali) depart from Martyr’s
Gate.
Buses to Godavari, Bungamati and Chapagaon depart from
Patan.
Tempo
Tempos go along fixed route to various places in the city and are
usually quicker than the large buses. You can often get them on Kantipath,
near the GPO, where they originate. To Patan (#14, 20-min, Rs 5) and
to Boudha (#2, 25-min, Rs 7). To Budhanilkantha from Rani Pokhari
(#5, 50-min, Rs 7).
Bicycles
Riding a bicycle is a pleasant way to get around the valley. It costs
around Rs 50 to Rs 70 per day to rent a single-speed Indian or Chinese
made bike. You should check to see that the brakes and bell work.
You should arrange a bike early in the day or the night before.
Multi-geared mountain bikes with a helmet can be rented
for Rs 150 to Rs 250 per day depending on the quality. You can rent
Indian, Chinese and imported bikes, which are more expensive for Rs
250 to Rs 500. Many place rent bikes in the Thamel and Freak Street
areas. Dawn Till Dusk in the courtyard outside the Kathmandu Guest
House rents out good bikes.
Motorbike
A motorcycle is a good way to get around Kathmandu Valley. There are
several places to rent motorbikes in the Thamel and Freak Street areas.
100cc Honda motorcycles can by rented for around Rs 400 per day. You
are supposed to have an international license, but no one asks to
see it. To rent a 250CC bike or a dirt bike cost around Rs 900 per
day. Renting a motorbike can be a great way to get around, but getting
around in traffic may not be so easy. You are expected to leave your
ticket or passport as a deposit.
