Domestic flights in Nepal function as the infrastructure mountain terrain makes impossible to build on the ground. Lukla, Pokhara, Bharatpur, Nepalgunj, Jumla, and Jomsom maintain airports because roads either do not exist or require multiple days to traverse distances a twin-prop aircraft covers in thirty minutes. Buddha Air, Yeti Airlines, and Sita Air operate the majority of scheduled routes, with Tara Air handling the higher-altitude strips. Weather closes airports without warning — Lukla's notorious approach through the Dudh Koshi valley shuts down in cloud or wind, and cancellations cascade through itineraries with no compensation structure. The industry standard recommendation is three buffer days on either side of any Everest Base Camp trek departure. Morning flights depart first because Himalayan thermals build through midday, making afternoon operations unreliable. Confirm flights by phone the night before, arrive at the domestic terminal two hours early despite the informality, and pack essentials in carry-on because checked bags occasionally route to different aircraft.
Tourist buses connect Kathmandu to Pokhara in seven to eight hours along the Prithvi Highway, departing from the Sorhakhutte area near Thamel between six and seven in the morning. Greenline and Golden Travels operate air-conditioned coaches with assigned seating and a meal stop in Mugling where the Trisuli and Marsyangdi rivers converge. The route to Chitwan takes four to five hours, dropping south through Thankot and into the Terai plains at Hetauda. Local buses reach towns the tourist network ignores — Ilam in the eastern tea hills, Dhangadhi near the western border, Janakpur in the Madhesh plains — but expect wooden bench seats, roadside meal stops negotiated by the driver, and departure times that drift an hour past the posted schedule. These buses leave from the chaotic Gongabu terminal on Kathmandu's north side, where ticket windows open at five in the morning and conductors shout destinations until the vehicle fills.
Within Kathmandu, Pathao and inDrive operate ride-hailing apps that function intermittently depending on driver availability in your specific neighborhood. Street taxis require negotiation before the door closes — three hundred rupees covers Thamel to Patan Durbar Square, five hundred reaches Bhaktapur. Hiring a car with driver costs fifty to eighty dollars for a full day depending on vehicle condition and destination distance, but agree on the total route and price before departure to avoid renegotiation at remote turnarounds. Pokhara's Lakeside district maintains multiple shops renting 150cc motorcycles for fifteen to twenty dollars daily, which opens the Annapurna foothills, Begnas Lake, and the Seti River gorge to independent exploration without guide requirements or restricted-area permits.
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