Transportation

Road Conditions and Safety:  U.S. citizens may encounter road conditions significantly worse than those found in the United States.  The information below is provided for general reference and may not apply in every situation.

Nighttime Travel:  You should avoid nighttime road travel should outside the Kathmandu Valley and minimize nighttime travel within Kathmandu because of insufficient street lighting and hazardous road conditions. 

In Nepal, vehicles are driven on the left-hand side of the road.  Travel via road in areas outside the Kathmandu Valley can be dangerous.  In general, roads in Nepal are in poor condition and lack basic safety features, resulting in significant numbers of accidents and fatalities. 

Motorcycle Travel:  Deaths from motorcycle accidents have risen dramatically in recent years, and U.S. citizens should consider avoiding riding motorcycles in Nepal, particularly on highways. 

Buses:  It is dangerous to travel on the roofs of buses as live electrical and other communications wires hang low in many places.  Traffic police also impose fines and detain individuals for riding on the roofs of buses.  Long-distance buses often drive recklessly, and bus accidents involving multiple fatalities are not uncommon.

Taxis:  Visitors throughout Nepal, including in Kathmandu, are encouraged to use metered taxis and avoid public buses and microbuses.  Many taxi drivers will refuse to use the meter, insisting on negotiating the price instead.  In addition, there have been instances of taxi drivers tampering with the meters in an attempt to charge higher than normal fares.  If you believe that you are being overcharged, you may wish to file a complaint with the traffic police on the street or at the nearest local police station.

Traffic:  In the Kathmandu Valley, traffic jams are common on major streets.  Traffic is poorly regulated, and the volume of vehicles on the roads is increasing faster than improvements in infrastructure.  Many drivers are neither properly licensed nor trained, vehicles are poorly maintained, and public vehicles are often overloaded. 

Pedestrian Travel:  Sidewalks are nonexistent in many areas, and drivers generally do not yield the right-of-way to pedestrians.  Pedestrians account for a considerable portion of traffic fatalities in Nepal. 

Please refer to our Road Safety  page for more information.  Also, we suggest that you visit the website of Nepal’s national tourist office and national authority responsible for road safety.

Aviation Safety and Oversight:  As there is no direct commercial air service to the United States by carriers registered in Nepal, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not assessed the government of Nepal’s Civil Aviation Authority for compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) aviation safety standards.  Further information may be found on the FAA’s safety assessment page.

Domestic air safety continues to be of concern.  In recent years, there have been a number of fatal plane crashes on domestic routes in Nepal, including some in which U.S. citizens have been killed.  The incidence of such crashes is not concentrated with one carrier, but rather has occurred among various domestic carriers.  As a result of Nepal’s poor aviation safety record, in December 2013 the European Union (EU) banned all Nepali airlines from flying into or within EU countries.  Although Nepali domestic flights are insured, payments to the families of victims of a plane crash are minimal compared to what would normally be paid in the United States.  Domestic air travelers may want to consider flight insurance that will cover domestic flights in Nepal before leaving home.