The Far Western corner of Nepal was by far my favorite region; in fact I liked it so much that after cycling through it (and across the rest of the country), I bused back with my backpack in order to explore the remote foothills. This region is very different from the rest of the very tourism-reliant country, as no westerners ever venture this way and there are no hotels, restaurants, or shops like you see throughout the rest of Nepal. I particularly enjoyed my stay in the west as the people were hospitable and friendly.
Stats
Distance: 500km
Time needed: 1 week (to cycle from the Indian boarder out of the terai).
Highlights: Friendly people, cheap fruit, easy flat cycling.
Road surface: Paved on highway, dirt if you go up into hills.
Traffic: Not much
Best season: Anytime but the summer when it is extremely hot.
Water/food availability: No problem.
Solo female: Good; I cried with relief after crossing the border from India as I immediately felt so much safer. People are still very confused that you are alone, but I had a wonderful homestay – one of my best – because of it. I felt much safer through this area than anywhere else in India or Nepal.
Overall difficulty: Very easy: easiest route in Nepal or India…it’s totally flat!
Camping
Pretty easy to find camping as there aren’t a ton of people, though even when you set up away from sight people always seem to stumble across you.
Budget
Very cheap, 5-10 dollars a day would be easy. It is a very rural area and you will be buying most of your food from small shops or from the side of the road.
Notes
If you are coming or going to India, I would highly suggest heading through this area and crossing the Far Western boarder. If you are up for an even greater adventure, I would suggest either cycling or trekking off the main paved highway, as the villages throughout the hills have never (if very rarely) seen westerners which means that you will get to see and possibly live like the locals really do.
Resources
None, that’s the great part about this region, it’s very rarely visited by tourists which is why it’s still so friendly and incredibly different from the rest of Nepal which relies so heavily upon tourism. If you are cycling just take the easy/not busy highway through, and if you want to explore more (which I would highly suggest!) then just leave your bike and take a bus up into the hills and then walk from there.
My blog entries throughout this route:
– A Great Introduction
– Run With the Children
Feel free to comment with your own thoughts, corrections, or updates in order to help others looking to complete this route too.
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