photojojo

I really want to cross post in the India forum but will try here first.

A friend who knows I love to travel asked me for advice on how to get from Denver to Nepal. I sat there staring blankly for a moment or two and finally went "jeepers, I have no idea to be honest".

They are top tier with DL and UA so I assume they'll fly one of those two or their code shares. But the question is, to what airport and then, what is the best way to go about getting to Nepal via China's rail system?

moondog

Regarding your bolded point, there was a trip report here around 8 months ago posted by someone who made it from Tianjian to Sri Lanka over land. Since there is no train service between Lhasa and Kathmandu, he resorted to a (really long) bus ride to make that portion of his journey happen.

Having gotten that out of the way, you should advise your friend to fly there. Whenever confronted with situations like this, I google "[airport name/code] wiki", and end up with the following:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribhuv...tional_Airport

Looking down the list, BKK, CAN, CTU, ICN, KMG, and SIN are valid *A/ST connection points. And, you can add HKG to the mix if your friend doesn't mind OneWorld.

Scifience

Why not just fly directly to Nepal? KA, SQ, TG, and EK all have flights into KTM from their corresponding hubs. The KA service stops, I believe, in DAC as well.

There is no train from China to Nepal. If you want to cross overland from China into Nepal, you'll need to do so by bus (or a private vehicle) at the Zhangmu/Kodari border crossing. To reach this from China, you'll either need to either be a Chinese citizen or arrange for the proper permits and a guided tour. You'll need to arrange transportation on the other side, and it's about five hours to Kathmandu.

Note that this is a one-way border... you can't cross back into China as a foreigner except on a group/tour visa arranged in Nepal, which will cancel any existing Chinese visa you may hold.

Quite simply, it's not worth the hassle... just fly into KTM, and avoid messy Tibet permits and strange visa rules. Even if you also want to visit Tibet, I'd recommend you do so and then simply get a flight to continue to Nepal.

jiejie

Agree with bypassing China, Tibet, and hassles/cost structure of latter.

From Denver, I think easiest way to get to KTM is going to be via DL/KE:
DEN ->SFO or LAX -> ICN -> KTM, with the first segment on DL and TPAC + intraAsia on KE. Possibly need a long layover or overnight in Seoul due to connection time, which might be kind of nice way to break up the long journey. My personal next best choice (Star*) would be DEN (UA) ->LAX -> BKK ->KTM on TG, but that ultralonghaul has been quite pricey this year. With an extra stop, UA + TG can get you to BKK via SFO-HKG, which often works out cheaper.

photojojo

Thanks everyone. I've been grounded for about two years now and am amazed that I completely forgot about code shares. (I'm getting back in the air soon though thank goodness.)

KTM is back on the board as an arrival city. KE has options from DEN but the ticket was a meager $13,000... Where as from CVG it is $2,100. Looks like I should go for that price.

mnredfox

Agree with the posts here. Nepal is much much easier to get to by itself. I've heard many travelers go straight there instead of dealing with the challenges to Tibet for a Himalaya's trip.

Tibet, trains, etc. Too much hassle.

DownTheRappitHole

I'd suggest flying to KTM. QR and GF have service as well as those listed above. If you have time and are comfortable with sub continent travel, are looking to see more, and possibly save a few $ you could fly to DEL and travel overland to Nepal. 24hr give or take from DEL. Alternately DEL-KTM flights are reasonably cheap