This page is designed for volunteers traveling to work at the Bayalpata Hospital, operated by Nyaya Health. If you are interested in volunteering, please visit: http://www.nyayahealth.org/volunteer_nepal/

 

Pre-Trip Preparations Nyaya Health Volunteer Waiver Prepare Mentally and Professionally What to Pack Computing Personal Medical Equipment Vaccinations Nepali Language Travel Planning Scheduling Achham via Delhi vs. via Kathmandu Achham Via Kathmandu Achham Via India Considerations re: new Indian tourist visa restrictions, as of December, 2009 General Travel Advice Purchasing Plane Tickets Travel Agents Airlines to Delhi Airlines from Delhi to KTM Visas Nepali Visa: Tourist Nepali Visa: Non-Tourist Indian Visa Customs Expenses In-Kind Donations Volunteer Travel Notes

Pre-Trip Preparations

Nyaya Health Volunteer Waiver

All volunteers traveling under the auspices of Nyaya Health must submit a signed copy of the Nyaya Health Volunteer Release Agreement. This document should be signed and scanned/faxed to the Director of Operations prior to departure. 

 

Prepare Mentally and Professionally

Unite for Sight has two fantastic courses that are mandatory reading for all volunteers; they are well worth it: 

http://www.uniteforsight.org/international-volunteering/

http://www.uniteforsight.org/cultural-competency/

Volunteers must sign the Nyaya Health volunteer contract, which touches upon similar themes to this course.  Drafts are available here: Consulting Physician Contract, Intern Contract.

 

What to Pack

It is essential that you are prepared; go through this list (and your own personal needs) VERY thoroughly and carefully. Have a friend double-check that you have all the necessary supplies.

• 2 nalgene bottles
• sunscreen
• iodine tablets or other form of personal water purification.  While we have purified drinking water at the clinic, you will need this as back-up while in the field and in transit.  Never drink water without first purifying it. 
• for myopics, two pairs of glasses/contacts
• basic personal first aid kit
• working flashlight and one set of replacement batteries and replacement bulb (can get more batteries in sanfe)
• working small headlamp and one set of replacement batteries and replacement bulb (headlamp can help keep your hands free if you are working on the bus or in staff quarters without electricity
• hand sanitizer
• watch
• small and big notepad, pens
• at least 6 pairs of underwear, 6 undershirts, 6 socks, 3-4 pairs of business casual/professional clothes.  

  ***dress must be professional, clean, business casual, at all times***

• bathing suit (you can swim in the local river)
• lightweight towel
• sturdy but light weight trail runner/hiking sneakers or hikeable sandals (e.g. TEVAs) are probably your best bet for footwear given the large distances you will be hiking/walking
• sandals for showering
• feminine hygiene products (sufficient stock for your stay)
• gatorade or other powder rehydration solution (can buy in nepal)
• photocopies of key travel documents, including plane tickets. Keep these apart from the originals.
• ~6 passport size photos in case these are ever needed for visa or official documentation
• medical evacuation plan. Can obtain from your university or http://www.himalayanrescue.org/hra/heli_rescue.php
• digital camera.  this will be helpful in providing documentation of your trip.
• USB pen drive (x2).  very helpful for transferring/printing documents

• register with travel.state.gov so that uncle sam can watch your every move and protect you from the evildoers.

 

Computing

We highly recommend all volunteers bring with them a rugged laptop computer.  This greatly facilitates writing reports, stories, and protocols while in Achham and on the road.

• additional laptop battery, preferably at least a single nine-cell battery, since not having laptop power will significantly decrease your productivity.
• laptop computer with ethernet port, and wi-fi card.
• voltage converters are typically not necessary for computers (however are for all other appliances); should check your battery for "AC100-240V" (which means your battery will accept 220V in Nepal)
• can find info about other plug converters here: http://international-electrical-supplies.com/nepal-plug-adapters.html; for other appliances volunteers should also plan to have a voltage converter (Best Buy etc)
• upload your digital copies of your passport and visa to your email or getdropubox.com account, so that you print those from wherever you are.
• have set up all your emails to be managed through a single account (e.g., all yale emails go to gmail and you can send emails as yale via gmail). you don't want to be stuck there having to wait for multiple email browsers to load.  details on email efficiency here:  http://wiki.nyayahealth.org/collaboration#Email
• download skype and the skype extra http://www.pamfax.biz/index.php so that you can always make phone and faxes using internet.  note we have free outgoing but not incoming.
• get a headset (earphones, microphone, and preferably videocam) for making voice/video calls from your computer. Particularly if you will be in Achham for a long time, being able to see your loved ones can help you feel less isolated.
• turn off windows/antivirus/adobe acrobat reader updates or any other programs that automatically downloads stuff from the web, since this will eat your bandwidth.
• if you are a Nyaya team member and use Live Sync, set to "on demand" to decrease bandwidth use in Achham
• PDF creator such as foxitsoftware.com as well as the windows PDF plug-in.  You will often need to create PDFs for official documents.  more info at US_Operations
• file compression RARzilla: http://www.brothersoft.com/rarzilla-free-unrar-64450.html.  This is important for sending large documents.
• FTP manager with FileZilla: http://filezilla-project.org/download.php and set up FTP file transfer on your computer.  This is important in transferring large files over the internet, since it is much more efficient than via email.  see login details for this OnlinePresence; 

 

Personal Medical Equipment

If you don’t know how to use it, don’t pack it. People will frequently assume that because you are working with a health NGO or are a foreigner that you are a doctor. You should NOT be providing medical care or medical advice unless you are a trained provider. If you do provide medical care (in emergencies), stick to very basic first aid. Any more complicated issues you should stay away from given language issues and the low likelihood that you will be able to do anything about it.

 

You can bring personal first aid equipment including bandages, NSAIDs, inhalers etc. Multivitamins are encouraged for long-term volunteers given limited diet.

- volunteers are encouraged not to count on utilizing medications from the Nyaya pharmacy; please bring any chronic medications as well as any medications you take occasionally (tylenol, pseuophed, etc). (volunteers however should feel free to utilize medications onsite if they become ill!)

- if you are bringing antibiotics for diarrheal/enteric illnesses, there is significant quinolone resistance and we recommend macrolides (if you don't know what this means, don't worry about it; only for volunteers with medical training!)

- while technically epidemology/Nepali MOH states there is no malaria in the area, we have encountered a few cases at our clinic. prophylaxis is up to the volunteer, however if you choose to use prophylaxis check with us for recommended regimens given local resistance patterns. malaria is however endemic in other regions of Nepal/India, so if you plan to do other traveling you should strongly consider it (including the Terai region of Nepal you will inevitably pass through to reach Achham)

 

Vaccinations

Go to your Travel Clinic or speak with your primary care clinician. Check out cdc.gov for updated information. You need to have immunizations up-to-date including Typhoid and Hepatitis A/B. Consider Japenese Encephalitis Virus vaccine.  Flu vaccine is also recommended for all volunteers.

 

Nepali Language

You should achieve a working level of Nepali prior to your trip.  Knowledge of other Sanskrit-based languages such as Hindi facilitate language learning.  While many people in Achham do understand Hindi, it is not typically spoken by most patients and staff.  See our LearningNepali page. 

 

Travel Planning

Scheduling

Regardless of the route, you will need to make arrangements to have about 2-3 days of flexibility in your departure dates from Achham. The roads and the air can be very unpredictable; to avoid missing your departure flight from KTM or Delhi, it is best to have a few days on either end. If you plan to go through Delhi or KTM, please check in with Ryan/Shefali ahead of time for productive Nyaya tasks to do in those cities. You need to pay careful attention to your arrival and departure times so that you can give yourself the most likely chance of arriving in an efficient fashion; see schedules below. 

 

Achham via Delhi vs. via Kathmandu

You can either go from Delhi overland to Achham or from KTM to Dhangadi by air and then Dhangadi to Sanfe by bus/jeep.  The key considerations here:  

• There are new Indian visa restrictions (as of December, 2009) that now restrict *all* tourist visas to a two month gap between each entry and exit from the country. Thus, if you plan to come and go from Dehli to Achham, there must be two calendar months (e.g. from the 7th of March to the 7th of May) between your entry and exit. IF YOU ARE ONLY TRAVELING DIRECTLY TO AND FROM THE AIRPORT, AND HAVE A COPY OF YOUR ITINERARY PROVING THAT YOU ARE NOT SPENDING TIME IN INDIA AS A TOURIST, THEY WILL LET YOU THROUGH (I.E. YOU ARRIVE AT THE BORDER CROSSING THE NIGHT BEFORE OR DAY OF YOUR EXIT FLIGHT FROM THE COUNTRY).
• India land route is cheaper (by up to $500) because you avoid two expensive plane tickets (from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi and back).
• Kathmandu route involves fewer stops in train stations and bus parks and is logistically simpler.
• Both are ultimately going to take on average about the same time.  For both, it all depends on whether you can arrange each leg in your travel to minimize potential delays or missed trains/buses/jeeps/flights.

 

Achham Via Kathmandu

The steps are as follows: 

1. Fly into Kathmandu (costs depend on time of the year (more expensive during december, try to use Nepali travel agents in the US rather than popular travel websites. Our volunteers have paid anywhere from $1200 to $1800 round-trip)
2. Take plane from KTM to Dhangadi (~$240-300 roundtrip, or if you are Nepali ~50% of that). Reserve plane tickets in advance, but you typically can change them if need be. A travel agent is Oli Kuber, Kamaladi, Kathmandu, 9851026555, 4415258, omni@vianet.com.net . Mention you are with Nyaya Health/Ramesh Dhungana/Duncan Maru. If you will not be staying in KTM, try to arrange it so that you arrive in KTM about 4-6 hours before the Dhangadi flight.
3. Take jeep (cost 5-10K NRs one-way, more expensive during the monsoon due to poor road conditions) or bus (cost: 500-800 NRs one-way per person) from Dhangadi to Sanfe. Jeep is much preferred for safety, convenience, and comfort. The cost does not increase with more passengers or cargo. If transporting expensive equipment, definitely take the jeep. Contact the on-site program director to discuss further and/or to arrange a jeep. If you do take the bus, the buses leave regularly (morning and evening) from Dhangadi to Sanfe. Go directly to the buspark from the airport (about 15-30 minutes away).

 

In sum, travel required (layovers not included): 

1. 20-30 hours to KTM
2. 1.5 hours to DHG
3. 12 hours to Sanfe 

 

Achham Via India

Overall plan: 

1. Get Indian and Nepali visa (see below).
2. Purchase train ticket online for Ranikhet Express #5013: http://indiarailinfo.com/train/1375/349/951 AC compartments nicer. This train leaves nightly at 22:45 and arrives next morning at 06:00. You can buy an E-ticket online at www.irctc.co.in or http://www.makemytrip.com (THIS SECOND SITE IS MUCH BETTER!). Buying online is a lot easier, guarantees you'll be on the "chart" (i.e. the reservation list) so you get your desired seat and class. The IRCTC website is maintained by the Indian Government and is harder to navigate and the server is often down. http://www.makemytrip.com is a commercial site and charges you Rs. 20 (50 cents) extra. After you go to http://www.makemytrip.com, you may see a splash screen about US/India air trips. Click on the Indian flag at the right lower corner instead to be redirected to the Indian site. From the homepage select "Rail" from the tabs on the left side. It's fairly straightforward from here and they accept Visa, Mastercard and Amex.
3. The IRCTC website is a little annoying to navigate, and we recommend you use it only if http://www.makemytrip.com doesn't work.
   

   **When using an American credit card, it is **imperative** that you select "Axis PG" from the drop-down menu (2nd to last item from the bottom of the list) as your "Payment Option", which is the last thing that you select as you purchase the tickets (after selecting cities, dates, etc. This is the only Payment mode that is explicitly designed to accept American credit cards. Some of the others may work, but it is likely best to just use this one.  If you get an error stating that there is bank troubles / your card is not accepted / etc (there are often three or four error messages that appear at once!), go back and try this Axis PG gateway before giving up. 

   ***these train tickets get booked far in advance; as soon as you've purchased your plane tickets buy the train ticket! If you're unable to get a night ticket, check for they daytime train the following day (these only run a few days/week). If you end up getting the daytime train you'll need to stay in Kathgodam for the night (see below).
4. Purchase plane tickets into Delhi, ideally by 18:00 so that you can get to the rail station on time.
5. Get taxi/bus to the train station in Old Delhi. 
6. Take Ranikhet Express #5013 train to Kathgodam (7-8 hours).

• Hirbani is the second-to-last stop before Kathgodam and is closer to the bus terminal. If you miss Hirbani you can easily catch a quick rickshaw to the terminal from the last stop (Kathgodam), however Hirbani is the closer of the two stops.

Take bus to Banbassa-Mahendra Nagar Border crossing (~3.5 hours). 

Bus will drop you in Banbassa from which you will take a rickshaw ride (~45 mins) to the border crossing.

Take bus or jeep from Mahendra Nagar to Sanfe (10-12 hours). Jeep is preferred for safety, convenience, and comfort - Rs 5-10k; bus is much cheaper at Rs 550. Email onsite program director for assistance in arranging. 

 

The best case scenario is that you arrive Delhi in evening, sleep on train, catch bus to Sanfe in AM and arrive in Sanfe that evening. In sum, travel required:

1. 16-20 hours to Delhi 
2. 1 hour transit to rail station in Delhi
3. 7-8 hours on train to KGM (overnight)
4. ~4 hours to border
5. 16-20 hours from border to sanfe.   

 

Return trip would be the reverse. The Kathgodam train leaves at 20:50PM and arrives in Delhi at 4:00AM. Must travel one day in advance., i.e., either over night or the morning before your train. If you are going by jeep, however, you could probably reach on time. 

 

If you need to stay overnight in Kathgodam:

KMVN Tourist Rest (kumaon mandal vikas nigam tourist rest centre)

Address: Kathgodam, Uttaranchal - 263126, India.

Tel: 05946 - 266090

http://www.holidayiq.com/KMVN-Tourist-Bungalow-Kathgodam-Kathgodam-hotel-2506.html

http://www.oktatabyebye.com/hotels/hotel-reviews-1589-kmvn-tourist-rest-house-kathgodam.html

 

The train from Delhi leaves at 3pm and gets in at 1040pm, but can run late and you might not reach Kathgodam until almost midnight. When you reach India call the KMVN Tourist Rest and let them know you're coming on the daytime train (they know it!), and they'll leave someone at the desk for you. When you reach the Kathgodam train station, walk out of the train station and the hostel is up the hill to the left, less than a mile. Unfortunately, this means getting a rickshaw or something (the hill is pretty steep, and at that hour not sure how safe it would be to walk with all your luggage), but either way its very close. When you reach KMVN you should pay that night and tell the hotel attendant you would like an autorickshaw at 430 the next morning to reach the bus station for the first bus to Banbassa. They'll likely argue with you and tell you that the first bus isn't until like 9am - this isn't true, it leaves every day at 530am. If you want to attempt to reach Sanfe Bagar on the following day, your best bet is to catch the 530 bus as its quite a long trip to Sanfe (with many possible delays along the way). There is another bus again at 630 and I believe another at 8 and then 830 (and a few more throughout the day). Make sure to be very clear with the attendant what time you want to leave - they will get up and help you hail an autorickshaw at the road (directly in front of the hotel). If they don't wake up, its very easy, and there will be some rickshaws going by, even at 430am; just hail one and say bus station. When you arrive at the Kathgodam bus station its rather chaotic, but walking through with luggage everyone was very helpful showing me where to go - just keep saying Banbassa and people will point you to the bus.

 

Considerations re: new Indian tourist visa restrictions, as of December, 2009

• Beginning in Dec, 2009, *all* Indian tourist visas, regardless of number of entries (single/multiple), date of issue (even old ones issued before Dec 2009), or duration (even the 10yr visas are included!) have a "two-month" gap policy
• This means that, between each exit and re-entry to India, there must be two calendar months (e.g. March 7th to May 7th)
• If this period of time has not elapsed, you will be refused entry when you attempt to re-enter India from Achham (at the Banbasa border)
• This will obviously create significant problems as far as returning to Dehli to get your flight home
• Thus, you must ensure that, if you plan to use the Achham via India travel route, you are either
• staying in Achham for at least two full calendar months, or
• not planning on returning via the overland Indian route
• If you are not going to be outside of India for two full months, the one way around this rule is to go to KTM and fly from KTM back to Dehli on the same day as your departing flight back home from Dehli so that you can sit in the airport
• In general, as of the writing of this wiki update (February,  2010), these policies are all very new, and still widely misunderstood / differently interpreted in the Embassies, at the border-posts, and on the internet blogs/chatrooms etc. If you are planning on attempting to re-enter India (even by air as described above) within the two month window, it is highly advisable that you do significant research beforehand so as to ensure that you will not encounter problems while travelling.
• To discuss this further, please email Dan (dan@), who has had the unfortunate experience of being refused re-entry to India (in January, 2010) and spending several days at various Embassies applying for exceptions to policies etc so that he could fly home. He can discuss these issues with you further and help you to decide on the best path of travel. 

 

General Travel Advice

You should be careful to have a paper ticket for any plane travel.  Some airlines, such as Jet Airways, however, do allow for e-tickets.  The e-ticket should be printed out and brought with you.  If you are stuck for some reason without a paper ticket, you should contact the local branch office in Kathmandu and try to arrange for a paper ticket.

If you have a lay-over at an international airport in a country for which you do not have a visa, make sure the layover is no more than 24 hours since that is often the maximum amount of time you can wait in transit at the airport.  Be sure to check with the airport if you have any extended layovers. 

 

Jeeps are more preferable than buses.  Although they are more expensive, jeeps are much safer, faster, and more comfortable.

  

Purchasing Plane Tickets

Travel Agents

Some options to investigate: 

• Peaceland Travels: ( http://www.peacelandtravels.com/) 1.888.461.4722
• Third Eye Travel: 1.800.456.3393
• Sunrise Travels: ( http://www.sunrisetravels.com/) 1-800-201-1554
• Himalayan Travels: 1.800.223.1813
• Speedbird: 212 947-2777
• Zen travels: http://www.zentravels.com/mambo/ (800) 643-2151
• See here for a longer list of Nepali agents
• http://thamel.com/destination_nepal/frontier_formalities.htm
• this australian site actually can get tickets that priceline, travelocity, etc. can't: http://www.bestflights.com.au
• http://www.mobissimo.com/

 

Airlines to Delhi

Both Continental and Air India have regular non-stop flights from NYC/Newark to Delhi for <1000USD. Air India flights have (some) power outlets for your laptops. 

 

Airlines from Delhi to KTM

This should be approximately 250USD round trip.

• Jet Airways uflyjet@jetairways.com 1-877-835-9538
• Indian airlines http://indian-airlines.nic.in/scripts/op_gsas.aspx 212 997 3300
• Kingfisher http://www.flykingfisher.com/ 866 435 9532
• Air Sahara http://www.jetlite.com
• Royal Nepal Airlines: http://www.royalnepal-airlines.com/html_files/contact.htm

 

Visas

Nepali Visa: Tourist

This is the visa that most volunteers will receive.   If you are planning on staying for longer than 145 days in a calendar year (jan 1-dec 31), we should make arrangements for a non-tourist visa (below).There are two mechanisms to obtain the visa:

1. On entry to Nepal.  This is a suitable option if you are going through Kathmandu.  In Kathmandu, you will need to bring a photo ID for obtaining Nepali visa plus 30$ visa fee. At the airport, run ahead of everyone else and grab the visa forms and start filling them out while in line because it can get backed up.
2. From your home country.  This is preferable if you are doing a border crossing from India, to avoid delays at the border, which could make you miss your bus.  Application form:http://www.nepalembassyusa.org/admin/resources/visa_application_form.pdf.  Make sure that you see the updated guidelines: http://www.immi.gov.np/temporaryvisa.php.  You will be able to get a 30- or 90-day tourist visa.  You can also submit by mail, at least 8 weeks in advance.   

Nepali Visa: Non-Tourist

This is for individuals who will stay longer than 90 days in Achham.   Please email the current program director for details on this.  There is also a note in evernote on the subject. 

 

Indian Visa

This is necessary if you plan on taking the overland route. You would need at a minimum a multi-entry Indian 6 month tourist visa.  The ten-year visa is also affordable.  Start planning for this 8 weeks in advance.  Go to https://indiavisa.travisaoutsourcing.com/ to apply.

 

For volunteers with parents of Indian descent, you should consider an overseas indian citizenship since it is only slightly more expensive than a multi-entry visa and is life-long. Allow 5 months for processing: http://www.indianembassy.org/consular/Overseas_Citizen/OCI.html

 

Customs

You should be able to pass through customs without problem. Any equipment should be wrapped in discrete, non-descript packaging. If appropriate, label the package with a ridiculously low price. If asked, you should explain it is for personal medical use. If it seems that they won't buy that (either because of the particular officer or because of the equipment you are bringing), you should utilize the customs letter that you can adapt and bring along with you \SharedNyaya\Clinic\Official Documents\Agreements\customs letter.doc.  This should be signed in ink (not e-sig) (ask Ryan for assistance if you can't locate this).

 

Expenses

Volunteers are expected to compensate Nyaya Health for any expenses paid by Nyaya during their time in Nepal. These include food, housing, and travel. When the volunteer returns to the US, s/he will donate via google checkout on the website the expenses paid by Nyaya.  The volunteer will record their expenses here: 

http://spreadsheets.google.com/a/nyayahealth.org/viewform?key=pUsMuEfj87yFRWALY4xiTIg&hl=en

On this spreadsheet, please include any expenses that you have paid yourself (such as in-country airfare), as well as those paid by Nyaya (such as room and board).  You will of course only donate the amount paid for by Nyaya. 

For planning purposes, typical expenses are:

-USA to delhi: $800-1200 roundtrip

-USA to KTM: $1000-1400 roundtrip

-KTM to Dhangadi: $200-300 round trip

-Dhangadi/Mahendranagar to achham: $80-150 jeep

-housing and food in Achham, on-site close to Bayapata Hospital: ~$3 per day

-housing and food in KTM: $10 per day

 

In-Kind Donations

Most volunteers will travel with some form of technology or medical supplies ("in-kind" donations).  If you yourself are donating the item, please complete the following form for each item so that we may keep track and email procurement(AT)nyayahealth(DOT)org letting them know that you have filled out the form: 

http://spreadsheets.google.com/a/nyayahealth.org/viewform?hl=en&waffle=false&forced=true&formkey=cFdNZkVNMWNqTnYxOEd1U1hDb1N5Tnc6MQ#gid=13
This is VERY IMPORTANT for tax/accounting reasons and will make sure that your generous donations are put to good use!  

 

Volunteer Travel Notes

Ana’s trip Notes:

1) Arrived in the India Gandhi International Airport in Delhi in the morning.

2) Cambio in the airport:

After you collect the lugadge in the airport, there's two cambio desks where you can change dollars, euros or anything to Indian ruppies. This indian ruppies will be also accepted in Nepal. I have done the cambio in the desk on the left because was cheaper at that time.

3) Taking the Taxi:

Outside the airport there's some taxis (the official ones i think black and green) and a counter were you can purchase the taxi ticket to the bus park (Anad Vihar ISBT Bus Stop). In the case they do not understand you, just said that you need to go to the bus stop that make the connection to Mahendranagar.

the price should be fixed but I don't know exactly if it works like that. I think I paid around 160 Indian Ruppies (not sure).

p.s. When you're leaving the airport, before coming out there's a kind of information desk where you can get a map of the city. In the map the Bus stop it's in between road no. 57 and road no. 56 (in the square G3 in the map).

4) In the Bus Stop:

There is a big big number of Buses going to several destinations. After arrival, always go to one of the counters to by your ticket. I think I paid around 400 ruppies.

Note: Don't purchase the ticket from people outside of the desk, they can charge you moe, or maybe you take you to the wrong bus.

Usually in the counter they said the number of the place where the bus stop.

What happend was that I end up asking ore than 10 times for the place where the Bus Stop and people told me a couple of different place. So, make sure that you are in the right place with 3 or 4 different persons around you.

The Bus took around 10 hours till the border.

p.s. I have no idea about the schedule, but I advice you to be there in the morning. I guess that there's only buses leaving in the morning and in the evening (if there's a night bus).

p.s. If possible get a front seat, it's more confortable during the trip. Maybe try to book it in the counter but again don't know if it's possible.

5) In Bambasa (indian Side): Sincwe I arrived at night (around 9 pm) I decide to sleep there and not cros the border at night.

As soon as you go out of the bus there will be some people on the street, probably selling some tea or fruits. ask the for hotel, there's one very near which i don't remember the name. I paid I guess 150 Ruppies for a room...not the best but enough for a few hours sleeping!

p.s. To cross the border from India to Nepal you will have to cross walking trough a bridge, It's why i haven't done at night. I was also not sure about the bus schedule. I just know that the bus leave in the morning and evening.

6) From Bombhsa to the Indian border:

Make sure you wake up early (I woke up at 5 am to don't miss the bus but I end up waiting 1 or 2 hours in the bus park in the Nepal side).

From the center of Bambhasa you will have to take a ricksa (bike ride by a man that take also you're lugadge on the back). The honor of the hotel can arrange it for you. The cost will be between 50 to 100 ruppies.

p.s. Since was very ealry this trip in the riksa was not scary but a bit weird in between the jungle. So it's fair enough to woke up 30 mi or something latter and go in sunrise (very beautifil)

About the border you will have to 'check out' and 'check in' in each side of the border.Don't forget to check out in India side (stamp your passport and fullfill the papers) and check in in the Tourism office in Nepal side (visa and stamp). In nepal side you can take your Visa (30 $ per month). The first time you take your Visa in a year in Nepal you have a 30 days free Visa, which means that ONLY IN THE FIRST TIME you take tour visa your abble to get it for 2 months at once, for anly 30 $. Note: In Nepal you can request a 5 months Visa per month per year (wich means that even if you were in Nepal from october till december in January you will be able to request for more 5 months). Ususally it's hard to get more days from the immigration officer, but sometimes a nice and friendly conversation about this and that can give you a chance. You can talk with the officer and request more 10 days, and say soething like, 'ok, I'm going north of Nepla through the very remorte district of Accham, Doti till Mugu for trekking and it will be very very hard to return to the border to renew my Visa just because of 10 additional days, bla bla bla...' ' then i will not be abble to do what i have planned, bla bla bla...' Maybe they will give you the additional 10 days, but be carefull: some people that i met told me that a additional Visa per day it's more expensive than a additional full month. SO think it will be better to atart to request for a additional month, or maybe talk first with him in order to conclude how much is per day before request it. ;)

Details From Juliana's Trip:

1)Arrived at airport in the morning. Got money from the ATM there (for me that was easier than exchanging cash or travelers checks). Note that you can use Indian rupees throughout Achham, though it's always a good idea to have smaller bills because it can be hard to change 500 and 1000s.

2) got a pre-paid taxi at the booth in the airport (320 Rs). Many people had advised me that this was the safest and best way to avoid being ripped off. Took the prepaid taxi to the train station (Note, this is "Old Delhi Train Station" or just "Delhi Train Station," not "New Delhi Train Station")

3)Took the Ranikhet Express overnight to Kathgodam. I got the nicest first class AC sleeper ticket (~$21, or 875 Rs) because I was traveling alone, but a slightly cheaper ticket would probably also be safe and fine. You can buy an E-ticket online at www.irctc.co.in which is a lot easier, guarantees you'll be on the "chart" (i.e. the reservation list) so you get your desired seat and class. The website is a little annoying to navigate, but if you put some time into it, it does work and pays off.

4) From Kathgodam station I got a taxi to the bus park (about 100 Rs)

5) From Kathgodam bus park, I was easily able to find a bus leaving for Banbassa. I'm not sure how often they leave or when, but mine left within 1 hour of me getting there, if that's any indicator. Also, make sure you ask someone to let you know when to get off because it's not the last stop or anything and might not be obvious. The trip is 3-4 hours if i remember correctly. The fare was 70 Rs.

6)Rickshaw from Bambassa--you will be swarmed by rickshaw drivers wanting to take you. I paid 100 Rs, which was probably a little steep, but not unreasonable. It's about 6-8 km to the border and they have to wait at the Indian border office (while they stamp you out) to take you further.

7) Entering Nepal: The rickshaw driver might get to a point where they stop and try to transfer you to another rickshaw to go onto the Nepal side. I took this option because I didn't know where I was, only to realize it would have been a relatively easy 5 minute walk to the Nepal border office. Take a rickshaw if you like or need, but after the Nepali border office, you can also just use public transportation. A 15 Rs tempo (3-wheeled vehicle) can take you the extra 5 kms to the town of Mahendranager, and will probably be a little more comfortable. You purchase the 60 day nepal tourist visa at the border for a fee of 30 USD. Note, at the Nepal border crossing, there is a place to exchange money. If you'd rather have Nepali currency, do it here. The exchange rate is fixed: 5 indian Rs to 8 nepali Rs.

8) Mahendranager to Sanfe. I was exhausted so I spent the night in Mahendranager. The nicest hotel there is Hotel Opera, and they have decent rooms, but there are cheaper places. I took the morning bus to Sanfe. I believe it left around 5 or 6 am, but you should ask ahead of time at the bus park. I ended up having to take two buses for a total of 750 nepali rupees, and got to Sanfe around 7 pm. If you want a private jeep that will get you there more efficiently and at your own pace, it would probably be closer to 10,000 Rs.

9) My return trip: Took similar routes, this time taking a morning bus from Sanfe to Attariya (640 Rs) and then a second bus from Attariya to Mahendranager (about 100 Rs). The other option was a night bus directly from Sanfe to Mahendranager, which is typically not thought to be as safe for many good reasons. I crossed the border the next morning, which ended up being an ordeal because I had overstayed my visa by a couple days. I was originally told i would only have to pay a fine for the extra days, but it turned out they also wanted me to purchase another visa on top of that. I don't recommend this experience, so try to arrange to have right length visa from the beginning. The rest of it was the same--rickshaw to bambassa, bus to kathgodam, train to delhi.

Final note: Timings will probably work out differently for everyone, but don't panic about it too much. Any spot you choose to or need to stop in, there will be a place to stay if you aren't too picky. My trip from Delhi to Sanfe took about 48 hours (with one night on the train, one night in Mahendranager), while my trip back took about 72 hours (with one night in Mahendranager, one in Kathgodam, and one on the train). It took more time on the way back because I had booked my train ticket a day later than I could have in order to allow time in case problems arose (strikes, landslides, etc.). Point being, be flexible.