Restaurant
and Food : Almost every kind of food representing the culinary
arts of
many parts of the world, can be found in Kathmandu
. Hotels may have
several restaurants under one roof serving
wide variety of dishes while individual
restaurants cater several types of cuisine's
like Chinese, Indian, Continental,
Japanese, Tibetan, Nepalese etc.
By Air : Tribhuvan International
Airport is the only international airport in Nepal.
Royal Nepal airlines- the national flag carrier
of Nepal and other International
Airlines operate flights to Kathmandu from
Bangkok, Colombo, Calcutta, Delhi,
Dhaka, Dubai, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Karachi,
Lhasa, London, Osaka, Paris,
Moscow, Paro, Singapore and Varanasi. The
International Airlines operating their
flights into Kathmandu include: Aeroflot,
Biman Bangladesh Airlines, China
South-West Airlines, Druk Air, Indian Airlines,
Lufthansa, Pakistan International
Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Thai International.
By land :
The entry points at Nepal-lndia border are, Kakarbhitta, Birgunj,
Belahiya (Bhairahawa), Nepalgunj, Dhangadi,
and Mahendra Nagar. The only entry
point at Nepal-China border is Kodari.
Road
Transport : Kathmandu is connected with India through the
fertile plains of
the Terai by the most picturesque highways.
Visitors are permitted to drive their own
cars but their vehicles must possess an international
carnet. There are regular bus
services to Kathmandu from all the border
points. The interior parts of the country
are also linked with a number of motorable
roads. Buses for the different parts of the
country are available at the Gongabu bus terminal
which is located near Balaju.
Domestic
Air Service : The Royal Nepal Airlines operates an extensive
network of air service in the interior parts
of Nepal. It has scheduled flights
from Kathmandu to Taplejung, Bhadrapur, Rajbiraj,
Bhojpur, Phaplu, Lukla,
Lamidanda, Tumlingtar, Rumjatar and Biratnagar
in the Eastern Development
Region: to Simra, Janakpur, Ramechhap, Jiri,
Bharatpur and Meghauli in the Central
Development Region; to Pokhara, Jomsom, Manang,
Baglung and Bhairahawa in
the Western Development Region; and to Nepalgunj,
Chaurjhahari, Surkhet, Dang,
Dolpa and Jumla in the Mid Western Development
region and to Bajura, Baitadi,
Dipayal, Darchula, Mahendranagar, Dhangadi,
Tikapur and Sanfehbagar in the
Far-Western Development Region. Besides Royal
Nepal Airlines theother domestic
airlines such as Nepal Airways, Everest Air,
Asian Helicopters and Necon air also
provide regular and charter services to different
popular destinations.
Mountain flight
: One of the highlights of a
visit to Nepal is the Mountain Flight,
conducted by the Royal Nepal Airlines and
other domestic airlines. There is a
"complete Himalayan panoranma" flight which
takes one on an enchanted review of
the entire Nepal Himalayan range.
Other Transport
arrangements : There are taxis and auto rickshaws (three
wheelers) with fare meters in Kathmandu. Besides
motorcycles, bicycles and
rickshaws are also available.
Currency
and Foreign Exchange : The unit
of the Nepalese Currency is Rupee.
One Nepali Rupee is made up of 100 paisa.
Nepali Rupee notes come in Rs. 1, Rs.
2, Rs. 5, Rs. 10, Rs. 20, Rs. 50 Rs. 100,
Rs. 500, Rs. 1000. Coins come in 1, 2,
5,10, 25, 50, Rs. 1, Rs. 2, Rs. 5, denominations.
Foreign visitors other than the Indian nationals
are required to pay their hotel bills
and air tickets in foreign currency. However
the other payments must always be
made in Nepalese currency which can be bought
at foreign currency exchange
counter at the airport. The foreign currency
exchange counters of different banks are
also opened at different places in the city.
Foreign currencies must be exchanged
only through the banks or authorised foreign
exchange dealers. Tourists other than
Indian are not allowed to import or export
the Indian currency. The rate of exchange
of the foreign currencies are determined by
the Nepal Rastra Bank and are
announced in the press daily.
Banks
: Banks are open between 10.00 A.M. to 2.30 P.M. from
Sunday to
Thursday and between 10.00 A.M. to 12.30 P.M.
on Fridays. They are closed on
Saturdays and other holidays. Banks are located
at the city centres as follows:
1.RastriyaBanijya Bank
- New Road
- Super Market
Tel: 220138
2.Nepal Bank Limited - New
Road Tel: 220414
3.Nepal Rastra Bank
- Thapathali
Tel: 227283
4.Nepal Arab Bank
- Kanti Path
Tel: 227181
5.Indo Suez Bank
- Durbar Marg
Tel: 228229
6.Grindlays Bank
- Kantipath
Tel: 229333
7.Himalayan Bank
- Tridevi Marg
Tel: 225399
8.Nepal SBI Bank
- Durbar Marg
Tel: 225336
Time
: Nepal Time is 5 hours 45 minutes ahead of GMT and 15 minutes
ahead
of Indian Standard Time.
Official
Holiday : Offices work five days a week. Saturday and
Sunday is the weekend
in KMC Offices
Working
Hours : Offices open from 9.00 A.M. to 17.00 P.M. in
summer and till 16.00 P.M. in winter.
Electricity : 220 volts /50 cycles.
Hospitals
and Drug Stores : The drug houses, dispensaries and pharmaceutical
shops of Kathmandu sell all kinds of medicines,
including those imported from
overseas. The major general hospitals in Kathmandu
Valley include:
1.Bir Hospital, (Emergency)
Tel: 226963
2.Birendra Police Hospital,
Maharajgunj, Tel: 412630, 412530
3.Infection Disease Hospital,
Teku, Tel: 211 344
4.Kanti Hospital (Children),
Maharajgunj, Tel: 41 1550, 414798
5.Maternity Hospital, Thapathali,
Tel: 214205, 211243
6.Nepal Eye Hospital, Tripureshor,
Tel: 21 3317, 215446
7.Teaching Hospital, Maharajgunj,
Tel: 412303, 412808
8.Ayurbedic Hospital, Nardevi
Tel :228182
9.Mental Hospital, Lagankhel,
Tel: 521333, 521612.
10.Patan Hospital, Lagankhel,
Tel: 522266, 521048
11.Bhaktapur Hospital, Doodh Pati,
Tel: 610676
Veterinary
: For all veterinary needs there are excellent veterinary
hospitals in the
Kathmandu Valley which are as follows;
1.Veterinary Hospital, Tripureshor,
Kathmandu. Tel: 214190
Newspapers and Magazine
: The major newspapers in Kathmandu are: THE
RISING NEPAL (Daily)-English THE KATHMANDU
POST-Daily)-English
GORKHAPATRA (Daily)-Nepali. KANTIPUR - (Daily)
- Nepali. Besides a
number of other newspapers and magazines local
and international are also available
in the book stalls.
Kathmandu Metropolitan Corporation
has its monthly news bulletin in English, Newari and Nepali.
Contact
Here for Details :
Metro FM- KMC has its own Metro FM station . It broadcasts its programme at 106.7MHz.
Entertainment
: There are many types of entertainments in the city of Kathmandu.
These include theatrical shows including classical
and light performances.
The cinema halls in Kathmandu screen Nepali,
Indian and movies. There are private
and NAFA galleries in Kathmandu which exhibit
and sell all sorts of modern and
traditional paintings.
Shopping : Shopping
can be very rewarding and exciting in Kathmandu. There are
numerous tourist shops on the main streets
and in the arcades of hotels, bursting with
tempting jewelleries, image, carpets, clothes
and typical Nepalese crafts. In some of
the small village shops (like Thimi) one can
obtain attractive traditional makes and
beautiful potteries. Antiques can be taken
out of the country with special permission granted by
the department of Archeology only.