Getting a Nepalese Visa and onward travel from Nepal

The Nepalese want tourists and make it relatively easy to enter their country.

Entering Nepal:

It is possible to get a 15 day, 30 day and 90 day visa at all points of entry into Nepal including land borders as well as airports. The price changes rapidly and it is cheaper to get a longer visa rather than renew the visa in Kathmandu. The procedure is normally simple and quick.

Flying out of Nepal.

Airlines can’t issue you a ticket at all unless you have the visa for the country you are flying to, or the country has a visa on arrival scheme.

Many airlines cannot issue you a one way ticket unless you have onward visas.

Embassies in Nepal for Onward Travel:

China has an embassy in Kathmandu although the only visa you can get for China is a group visa on an organised tour.

In 2009 it doesn’t look like even these are possible because of the unrest and government clampdown in Tibet.

Group visas mean that everyone on the group visa must cross every checkpoint together. If you’re not all there you have to go back.

Every group must have a Chinese/Tibetan guide with them who they must stay with at all times. We were quoted $3500 dollars per person to get to Ali in Western Tibet.

If you enter Nepal with a valid Chinese visa you can’t use it to enter China from Nepal!!

India also has an embassy and it is possible to get 3 or 6 month visas although the procedure is complicated and takes time.

 

See the individual country pages for requirements.

Getting a Pakistan Visa and onward travel from Pakistan

It is generally easy to get a Pakistani visa which lasts for three months and your date of entry can be specified when you apply (although it is usually within 3 months)

You can also get a visa on arrival from China over the Khunjerab pass in the small border town of Sost. The Chinese sometimes don’t like this but if you keep on insisting they will let you over the border to get your visa. There is more information about this on the Thorn Tree.

Embassies in surrounding countries:

There are embassies in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, India and Iran, although with the flexible entry dates available from home embassies you would be wise to get your visa in your home country.

See the individual country pages for requirements.

Other Relevant Links on this Site

1. Pakistan Visa Application in HK

Cycling in Nepal and India - Route Information for Kathmandu to Delhi via Pokora, Bardia NP and Mahendranagar

GPS File - Pamir Highway

The file below is of our route South from Bishkek to Khorog.

We had to ride back to our starting point because the border crossing to Kyrgyzstan that we wanted to use was closed to foreigners.

We got to 'Yo-yo' the Pamir Highway and camp in all the good spots that we missed on the way South:

This was the best campsite EVER and is in the Lonely Planet coffee table book - 'The Big Trip'

Getting an Uzbekistan Visa in Delhi

Where is the Embassy?
It’s relatively easy to get an Uzbekistan Visa in Delhi. The Embassy is next door to the Bangladesh Embassy which most Rickshaw drivers will know, expect to pay about 40R to get there and  maybe 200R if the driver waits and takes you back. Address: Dr Ramakrishnan Road, embassy area. They are really helpful at the embassy.

Times for Applying
You can take completed forms there between 10 and 12am Monday to Friday

You can pick up your visa supposedly at 5pm but it’s better to ring and check. We got ours at 3pm. Phone Delhi 2467 0774 or 2647 0775 to get the secretary.

You will need a completed application form, available from the Uzbek Embassy website; a photo; a LOI if you need one and a copy of your passport.

Letter Of Invitation
People from these countries don’t need a Letter of Invitation and can just go to the embassy: France, Italy, Belgium, UK, Latvia, Moldova, Germany, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, Japan and USA.  CIS countries don’t need a visa

For the LOI you will need a letter from your employer saying that you have a job, dates of entry and exit (30 days max), copy of your passport. Try David at stantours online, who are very efficient, $35 for a LOI. You must specify where you want to apply for your visa. You will also need to list a simple itinerary and say where you are planning to stay. Stan Tours will email you the LOI which you can print out. Ours took 1 day to get.

Moneybookers
Most Central Asian LOI providers can’t use Visa or PayPal, so to get an LOI it would be a good idea to have a Moneybookers account. Give yourself about 5 days to set it up, or a month if you don’t have online banking. You need to register and then they will remove a small amount from your credit card which you will then need to enter on the Moneybookers website when it appears on your Visa statement. This is to make sure you really own the credit card.

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Maps for the whole route

Please make use of these maps for planning.
If you get to the country you should be able to buy them easily.

Cycling in Pakistan - Map of Gilgit to Chitral + Some of Karakorum Highway

Here is a simple map of the route from Gilgit to Chitral.
There is more information in the Road Guides section.
You can also click on the 'Gilgit to Chitral' label on the right

Road Guide         Route Profile



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Route Map from Lahore to Kathmandu

You will need Silverlight to view this. All maps are available in the FILES menu above. You can download them and print them out.
Left Click to Zoom IN; SHIFT + Click to Zoom Out; Click and hold to move

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Cycle Route through Xinjiang province from Kazakhstan to Pakistan

This shows our route through Xinjiang province.

The roads are all being rebuilt and will be amazing in 2009. The Bayanbulak grassland area is incredible but without HK ID cards you might get turned back.

Just keep saying that you are going to look at the view of the next village and most security police will let you through assuming someone else will stop you later

Click for Zoom; Shift + Click for oom out; Click and Hold for Move

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Cycle route from Almaty in Kazakhstan to Yining in Xinjiang province (China)

Cycle route across Southern Kazakhstan with a small detour to the excellent Charyn Canyon

Click to Zoom; Shift + Click to Zoom Out; Click and Hold to Move

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Route across Mongolia

Here are two interactive maps that show our route across Mongolia. Most of the roads on these maps do not exist and very little of the route is on roads with a surface...most is just dirt.

Click to Zoom; Shift Click to Zoom Out; Click and hold to move


Downloadable versions of these maps are available here


You will need Silverlight to view these maps
routemapmongolia

Cycling Route Information - Road Guides - Contents

Cycle Touring - Equipment - Contents

Equipment
Ortlieb Panniers
Tubus Racks
Brook's Saddles
Schwalbe Tyres
Hilleberg Tents
Rab Sleeping Bags
Primus Omnifuel Stove
Our Bikes
Isabelle's Koga Miyata
Simon's Koga Miyata
Our Bikes
Camera Equipment 
HiDef Camcorder
Digital SLR
Security
PacSafe Security Bags and Padlocks
Spares and Tools
Spares and Tools
Problems
Broken Mavic Rim
Broken Frame
equipment

India - Contents

Punjab 
Amritsar
Great Posters
School Bus - Indian Style

Himachal Pradesh
MacLeod Ganj - the home of the Dalai Lama
Inside Hindu Temples
Indian Women Begging
Bir Tibetan Colony in Himachal Pradesh

Uttar Rakhand
Rishikesh and the Ganges
Hero Bicycles

Heading back to Delhi
Punjabi Dhaba - great food and a great business plan

Cycling Guide
Kathmandu to Delhi via Mahendranagar

Visas
Getting a visa and onward travel

New Zealand - Auckland to Gisborne

Over Christmas we headed to New Zealand to do a cool cycle ride. From Auckland we headed South and then after visiting all the volcanic stuff around Rotarua, we headed up into the hills and via a dirt road across to Lake Waikaremoana - a really unspoilt area of New Zealand. From there we eventually descended to the coast and then cycled North to Gisborne on the East Coast.