Nepal Travel Guide
Visa summary
247 passport nationalities researched for entry into Nepal.
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Guide
Nepal will sell you a visa at the airport or at the land border, and that is what most travelers do. The fees are 30 US dollars for 15 days, 50 dollars for 30 days, and 125 dollars for 90 days, all multiple entry, payable in US dollars or Nepalese rupees, with other currencies accepted less reliably. You can fill in the application digitally before you travel and print the barcode receipt to skip the first airport queue, but that pre-filled form is valid for only 15 days. Indian citizens do not need a visa under the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship.
On land, the rules are stricter than the open border between Nepal and India suggests. The Nepal Tourism Board lists seven designated land entry points, and says visitors entering by land must use them and may not enter anywhere else: Kakarbhitta, Birgunj, Belhiya (Bhairahawa), Nepalgunj, Dhangadhi, and Mahendranagar on the Indian border, and Kodari on the Chinese one. Anyone bringing a vehicle needs an international carnet or must complete customs formalities.
Border crossings
- The six crossings from India
Kakarbhitta in the east, Birgunj, Belhiya in Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj, Dhangadhi, and Mahendranagar in the far west are the official points. The shortest route into Nepal on the list is Sunauli to Bhairahawa to Lumbini, at about 26 km. Land borders rarely have working card machines, so bring cash in US dollars for the visa fee.
- Rasuwagadhi to Kerung, the Tibet crossing that keeps being broken
It fully resumed operations on 1 January 2026, after roughly six months of closure following floods in the Lhende River that washed away the Miteri Bridge, and a 91 meter Bailey bridge was built to carry vehicles again. Then, on 26 August 2026, a flood with an ice avalanche and mudslide destroyed the immigration office and trade infrastructure, on both the Nepali and Chinese sides, leaving the crossing unusable. Anyone planning a Tibet overland route should check its current status with official sources.
- Tatopani to Kodari, the older route to Zhangmu
After the August disaster, travelers shifted to the older crossing in Sindhupalchok District, which connects Nepal with Zhangmu (Khasa) in Tibet. It is about 115 km from Kathmandu, against 145 km for Rasuwagadhi, and it is the Chinese border point that appears on the Nepal Tourism Board's official list of land entries.
- Airports for foreigners
Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu is the main gateway. Gautam Buddha International Airport in Bhairahawa became Nepal's second international airport in May 2022, and Pokhara is also listed among the designated immigration points.
Transit routes
- Kathmandu by land from India
The Nepal Tourism Board's page lists distances from Indian railway stations and border towns to Nepal's major cities, so use it to choose your crossing by destination.
- To Lumbini from Sunauli
Lumbini is the Buddha's birthplace, and at only about 26 km, Sunauli to Lumbini is the shortest hop on the board's list.
Entry point notes
- Extending costs 3 dollars a day
Extensions are priced at US$3 per day with a minimum of US$45 for 15 days or less, up to a maximum of 150 days a year.
- The form is quick at the land border, cash only
At overland entry points you fill in the application forms and submit them at the immigration counter, a simpler process than at the airport, but the fee is cash.
- Indian citizens are treated differently
They do not need a visa, but everyone else does, so a mixed nationality group crossing at Birgunj or Sunauli does not all clear in the same way.