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Cycling in Central Asia, Cycling the Himalayas, Cycling in North India, Cycling in Nepal
Cycling Nepal
The Western Terai of Nepal is perfect touring country: Quiet, flat asphalt roads, partly through stunning national park territory. It's a poor life of agriculture in the Terai with mud and thatch huts the norm - but this makes for a fantastic golden sight at harvest with the collective threshing.
See previous page: 'North Indian Plains' for information on the Banbassa/Mahendra Nagar border crossing.
Day 1 - Mahendra Nagar - Ayataria (43km)
The road that we entered MN is the road out of town, so we cycled back to the main drag and took the right turn onward. A couple of km out of MN and it's quiet, flat but coarse asphalt. It was ideallic cycling with only motorbikes, cyclists and walkers, no cars, buses or trucks - we guessed it probably wasn't like this all the time, we got lucky - it was the Bandh: A strike called by Maoist sympathiser/splinter groups. Anyone in public service wasn't working and if they did they would get a visit from the Maoist sympathisers. It was a key time in modern Nepalese politics, there had been no government for 2 years but an election was finally happening in nine days which the Maoist sympathisers were boycotting, but seemingly most locals were hopeful the election would result in a constitution rewrite and get things going in Nepal...people were loosely hopeful. So, this was great for cyclists as there was no public transport, tourist jeeps or trucks on the roads!! Bliss. For the locals it was a disaster, greatly affecting the local economies; they didn't have good things to say about the Maoists. So it was a wonderfully peaceful cycle albeit with heavy Military presence lining the sides of the road almost the whole way to Ayataria!
I guess what struck us about the Western Terai compared to India, is that it's visibily poorer. Outside the the towns it's all mud/wooden dwellings and subsistence living. The towns have more permanent structures but the streets are tatty, derelict. In Ayataria the hotels seemed to be on the same street: There's one long main drag; which we entered town on; and at the big roundabout we
took a left and there's several hotels here allc lose to to each other. The first one was ironically called 'Natural Beauty', but we stayed at 'Ridge Plaza & Lodge', on the second floor of a building. We were able to carry our bikes up and lock them on the roof. For 500Nrps it was very basic but the beds were very clean. The owners were encouraging us to visit the 'must do' attraction which unfortunately was on the first floor of the same building: the 'Texas Dance Bar' - a polite term for dire looking strip club with brothel inclinations. We wandered back down the main drag to eat at an odd little restaurant that was sea blue fronted, set back from the road with a nice little flower garden in front, it was opposite a two storey house with big telecoms tower on the roof - we were meeting an Irish guy, Hugh, who we had met on the road to Ayataria. Hugh was on his own cycling tour: http://bicycletoburma.com - we would
meet him in a day or two at Bardia National Park.
Wandering around Ayataria, we were amazed by the alcohol on sale, not since Kyrgyzstan had there been such an abundance. The widespread use of booze and the power shortage leaving the town in darkness didn't leave for a very safe feeling.
Day 2 - Ayataria - Thakurdwara, Bardia National Park (107km)
It's a very flat and very quiet ride with many people on foot, a few scooters or motorbikes and bicycles. We had heard that the Nepali cyclicts had a habit of getting a bit over excited trying to speed past foreign cyclists - this was both funny and a nuisance. Funny, because mostly they would pretend to be casually cycling past, as if they always cycled flat out, but you could see it was taking all the energy they could summon, and when they had passed us they were so exhausted they suddenly slowed down. It wasn't that we were super fit; although we were of course; it was the fact that their bikes weren't up to much and were poorly maintained. The nuisance was that they were a bit wobbly and got a bit too close on occasion, and any knock to a fully loaded bike is hard to control. At one point Ian had enough and with an extra kick he was off into the horizon and no one was catching him. Between Ayataria and Chispani there are some sizeable scruffy settlements that have rudimentary hotels and where you can eat/drink: Sukhad is about 40km along this stretch and Junga Chok, the biggest and busiest place along this route is just before you enter the national park and where there's a turning for Tikapur. After Junga Chok you enter the periphery of the park and all around is scrubland with thickening trees, but it's not until you go through Chispani and cross the Karnali river bridge that you enter the park proper - on the virtually traffic free road going through dense forest. It's about 78/79km from Ayataria to Chispani, its then a further 16/17km to Ambassa, on which bit of road we saw some wonderfully large exotic birds, an incredibly regal stag just a few meters inside the forest with antlers that stretched to the heavens, and shortly after we disturbed two foxes (we think they were foxes or creatures impersonating foxes) who were casually hanging out on the road. Startled as the foxes were, instead of darting into the forest on either side of the road, they opted to run straight down the road ahead of us...so they must have been stupid foxes, and we followed them for a minute or so until they finally decided to jump into the forest. These sights were a welcome distraction for Toby who had some serious right knee pains. The pains had been niggling all across the Indian plains but now the pain was severe and every rotation of the pedals was accompanied by clenched teeth and a muted yelp! At Ambassa you can't possibly miss the right turn for Thakurdwara. It's then 13km of mostly rough road and a shallow, but wide river crossing to reach the resorts. 1km outside Thakurwara the mud road forks, and you either go straight ahead to the bus stop, shops, the park HQ, army camp and eventually the lodges, OR, take the right road (which has a welcoming arch of tree branches) to go directly to some of the lodges. As it happened there was a lodge owner tauting at the fork, so we followed him under the arch via the right road to 'Jungle Camp' resort. It's probably the smallest of all the resorts, very shanti, opposite the NTNC. Here are basic but clean and well kept mud huts with bathroom for 300Rps or a bigger mud hut with immaculate tiled bathroom and balcony area for 1000Rps (bottom left pic), we went for the latter at a negotiated price of 800Rps. We also checked out 'Bardia Adventure' resort as a comparison but it was well over priced.
This was a wonderful place to stay, probably one of the highlights of our trip and instead of staying a couple of days we stayed for 4 days and could've stayed longer. The charge for trekking with a guide is anything between 1500-2500 per person for a day, depending on what is included (meal) and how long the trek is for. It's possible to hire a jeep too, but why wouldn't you want to walk? It was hot work though, even in Mid November. Ian trekked twice, the first day seeing elephants, rhinos and crocs, and when i joined Ian on his second trek we weren't quite so fortunate, spending most of the day following tiger and rhino prints, although it's a beautiful walk nonetheless, with all the undergrowth, sun sparkling rivers and bird life...we thought we saw the elusive Bardia tiger through binoculars from a major distance but it was hard to tell, the binoculars from the guide weren't the best quality - to have a good pair of binoculars would have been great. The guide was a lovely guy but he was obviously very poor considering his appearance and terrible binoculars, but he was passionate about trekking and desperate for us to see the bigger animals - and for all these reasons we tipped him heavily. The food at our Resort was so basic (fried rice with bits of cauliflower!) we joined Hugh at his resort for something better, he was staying at the oldest of the resorts opposite the army camp, much better food but we preferred our shanti/cosy place.
Day 3 - Thakudwara - Kohalpur (73km)
My (Toby) knee had been rested, apart from a day trek, but not risking too much vibration on the knee, we shared a Jeep with Hugh for the 13km back to the main road. From the main road in Ambassa, it's 60km to Kohlapur. It's super flat and reasonable tarmac road, very peaceful cycling, virtually no traffic, just four buses, cycles and mopeds the whole day's cycling. Some wonderful scenery; much of it continues through the park; and often the dusty scent of hay hangs in the air from the synchronised threshing going on along the sides of the road (bottom left pic). At 20km we crossed a large and newish looking bridge that had been built and funded by the neighbouring Indians: Fantastic view (below right pic)
down the river on both sides of the bridge and a few crocs were sun bathing on a small sand island in the river. After 24km we reached an army check point but they happily waved the three of us through and then we stopped immediately after the check point on the right side for some refreshment from a couple of chai stalls. After 30km there's a town that sprawls along the main road where there are lots of basic food and drink possibilities. As we entered Kohlapur the first big right turn has a sign for Hotel Plaza, it's about 400m down this right turn but it's a rip off at 1200Rps for a room. However, to the right of this hotel is a decent and slightly bizarre restaurant 'Tree Top Heaven' with fair priced beer and a 'proper' menu with a good veg thali or sizzler or aloo sedeko. Kohlapur was the first place in Nepal that had evidence of wealth and with that comes choice in okay hotels, shops and restaurants. We stayed at Hotel Panas. Back out on the main road that we entered Kohalpur, if you go straight on you pass the busy bus stop on the right and reach a large roundabout - straight over is the road to Bhutwal which slopes downwards, at the bottom of which there's a basic hotel on the left called Hotel Mehti Kali and a further 50m onwards, on the right side is Hotel Panas, where the owners and staff were very friendly to us, our bikes were locked up in a spare room which made over priced double room of 800Rps more worthwhile. We were going to stay one night here, but during the night, the pain in my (Toby) knee was so bad I couldn't sleep. The plan was for Ian to go on ahead and I would rest a few days and hopefully follow on. The second night was the first time we had been apart our whole journey, My knee wasn't improving much and after a third day of rest still not good enough to cycle. Considering the damage that would be done, I had to reach the painful decision that I would have to get a bus to Pokhara. Due to the Bandh (strike) there were no buses that day, but the Bandh would end the next day and a bus would be available. The owners of Panas Hotel were apologetic that i couldn't leave due to the Bandh (hardly their fault) and they wouldn't charge me for my final night stay! It was easy getting the bus: I bought my ticket in the morning at the bus stop and the bus was leaving in the late afternoon. The bike was lifted onto the roof and here i was, for the first time in months on a bus...depressing.
Day 4 - Kohlapur - Bhutwal - Ian going solo! (124km)
The first 40km is flat and some of the road skirts the edge of the National Park, before passing through the small settlement of Mathebans where there's one hotel. The once flat road then undulates with slight up/downs, it's then much slower cycling all the way to Lamahi. Between the small settlement of Kusam and Lamahi there are a few hotels in the middle of nowhere which would make a more peaceful place to stay although short on other resources. Lamahi to Bhalubang is flat again, enjoyable riding for 24km. At Bhalubang keep going straight on and over the bridge. There's plenty of hotels, street food/ restaurants, chemists and other general stores here and it's a better place to stop than Lamahi for resources and has more attractive surroundings. Leaving Bhalubang the road that has been so flat since the Indian border, finally heads into the hills. The road is okay but in some places poor - pot holes caused by falling rocks, accompanied by steep climbs and descents, including a 10/11km climb not far from Bhalubang. The rest of the road is fairly flat, mostly good tarmac, but is difficult to hold speeds over 20kph due to vibration from uneven surfaces. Supplies are easy to obtain, hotels are available en route. In Lamahi, I stayed in Condera hotel which had a good gated area for the bike and, shock/horror: Hot water showers!! However, the rooms are pretty dire; grotty, small, overpriced at Rs 600, although that does include the company of mosquitos. Bhutwal has decent resources compared to what we had previously experienced in the Western Terai, and it's even possible to stock up on a few western treats for the ride to Pokhara from a store to the right of Condera Hotel.
Day 5 - Bhutwal - Waling - Ian solo! (93km)
Leaving Bhutwal, the first 30km has a few steep climbs, but is mainly a long gradual ascent with some downhill sections. The tarmac has been damaged in a few sections from rockfall. There's a 5km very steep climb at the Tansen turn off, but this is easily compensated for by a 26km freewheeling downhill dropping over 1000m in altitude. There's a village on the right side, just after a large bridge, it has a hotel and basic eats and would make an interesting stop. The road then climbs nearly continuously for 25km, and the final 7km to Waling is up/down/up/down hill. Waling has plenty to offer in terms of accomodation.
Day 6 - Waling - Pokhara - Ian solo! (63km)
It's steep climbs and descents as the road snakes around verdant mountains
accompanying the river that runs through the valley. It's mostly ascent before a long and thoroughly rewarding picturesque descent into Pokhara. There are plenty of pit stops along this route, more so the closer you get to Pokhara. Entering Pokhara, take the left turning for 'dam side' and then best to ask for directions to 'lakeside'. The lakeside was a massive shock to the system for a Western Terai cyclist, suddenly it's as if you've been sucked through a worm hole and spat out in Geneva or some other western lake side resort during peak
season. All kinds of tourists, young, old, conservative well equipped trekkers to hippy types, shops, bars, restaurants catering to all sizes of wallet There's no
incredible setting with a backdrop of white glistening peaks of the mighty Annapurna on one side and the beautiful lake embraced by a verdant mountain on the other. Considering our journey it was all too touristy for us, but it has something for everyone and if there's some kind of outdoor pursuit you are interested in, for sure you can do it in Pokhara. There's sooo many places to stay lakeside, there's no point recommending, but the further you go around the lake and then northwards, the quieter it gets and is more the abode of the hippy. The Honeymoon Korean restaurant is worth a mention though, it's set back from the road near Hotel Asia. Truly delicious and pretty cheap food run by a friendly family. We recommend joining the tourist hordes by hiring a small boat, rowing across the lake and walking up to the Peace Stupa (bottom right pic). If you leave in the morning when the boat guys start, it'll be all the more quieter. The view of Pokhara, it's environs and the Annapurna while rowing across the lake and while walking up the mountain is completely stunning (bottom left pic).
Day 7 - Pokhara to Kathmandu
Forget cycling on the Privthi Highway. Some of it is very pretty: The road is perched above the river valley which winds it's way around verdant mountains, but it's also very congested and in parts it's not very wide, thus making the wildly driven trucks and buses all the more perilous to the cyclist. Add to this the choking fumes and the increasingly dusty conditions which reach crisis point when you're about 15km from Kathmandu. Indeed, the last 15km is one constant thick dust cloud thrown up by the traffic - truly horrendous cycling conditions. Take a bus...just no point cycling this road. Cycling in Kathmandu isn't particularly a joy either; we were lucky enough to be guided through the mayhem by two young Nepalese rock chicks on a scooter; regardless, if the labyrinthine roads aren't enough to put you off, the insane congestion and coma inducing pollution probably will. Kathmandu makes Delhi, Mumbai and Mexico City seem like fresh alpine retreats...but this shouldn't put anyone off spending a week here, it's an incredible city, especially the old capital of Patan which is like being taken back in time to some medieval enclave: It's one big open air museum (see pics, below left, right, and lower right) bustling with local life. Definitely the place to stay, unlike Thamel, the tourist/hippy enclave, which is undoubtedly the place to avoid...it could be any back packer tourist ghetto in the world, so devoid of soul or character. If Patan is too far south, Freak Street has a well balanced mix of history and tourist facilities.
SIDE TRIP from Kathmandu and the end of our journey
We were raising money for charity Actionaid, and our final destination was a school in the village of Chandenee, about 45km east of Kathmandu that had been assisted and supported by Actionaid. From our hotel we took the bazaar road south out of Patan and eventually we met with a larger and very busy ring road at which we went left...for sure it was the outskirts of town and totally hectic with people and market sellers everywhere and all sorts of transport from oxen drawn cart to buses and trucks. Skirting along the southernmost part of Kathmandu, the road climbs north before it intercepts the Araniko highway, at which we went right, east out of Kathmandu. The first 10km or so of the Araniko highway is so wide that; despite there being lots of traffic; we had lots of space. It wasn't long before we were heading into the countryside and as we pedalled a hill we could see a huge golden statue of Siva (above pic) ahead and across to our left, omnipresent, looking over Kathmandu... i'm guessing Siva's view was similar to ours, when we looked back: Kathmandu blurred into a polluted haze of dust and fumes. Impressive in size we had to check it out, and when we got to the top of the hill, a left turn up a very steep road/path took us to Kailashnath Mahadev Siva, at 43.5 meters tall, its reputedly the tallest free standing statue of Siva on planet earth. It's a beautiful spot on the edge of the hill and well worth a visit, and the view would be amazing if it wasn't just a polluted ocean of haze. There are hotels here, but the prices are probably ridiculous. Continuing along the Araniko, we passed through a few similar looking towns before stopping in Dhulikhel for the night, i guess we had covered 37/38km. We stayed at Mountain View Hotel which is one of the first hotels on the left hand side as you start to descend the hill out of Dhulikhel. It had truly incredible views across the mountain tops and valleys, (bottom left pic) indeed our balcony dropped off down into the valley. There are many hotels along this descent which we imagine all have great views and are well worth a stop.
The next day we free wheeled down the hill away from Dhulikhel amongst verdant mountain scenery and could see how thick with mist and incredibly cold the valley was,
in fact, we decided to stop at a cafe for a chai/coffee to wait for the freezing mist to clear...and it didn't take long before we were on our way...we reached a village at which point we were directed to take a right to Chandenee onto a much rougher quiet rural
road, pretty cycling, and in a matter of 5 or 6km we arrived at Chandenee school which was perched on a small hill. Kids crowded around us, interested more in our bikes than us, and a couple of kids ran down from the school to tell us the teacher will be 15 minutes. We waited...and waited...and decided we should probably go up to the school. We were greeted by the head teacher and senior teacher who gave us a warm welcome and a grand tour of the school. We were there for over two hours and it was a wonderful experience. The kids were so well behaved, but apparently it hadn't always been like that, the head teacher said Actionaid had provided teacher training in Kathmandu, and this had revolutionised the way lessons are conducted, it had been the single greatest progress for the school. The school was very basic though, concrete rooms with basic furniture and the study books and materials were faded black and white photocopies mostly, and when the teacher said they could do with more modern or even coloured study books or reading books, we wondered how easy it would be to ask english schools for old reading books that we could send out to the school...we haven't done that yet...but we will. We raised over £1500 having put on a gig in Brighton that raised about £400 and the rest was all down to the immense generosity and support of friends and family.
