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Kathmandu · Nepal

Car hire and driving in Kathmandu

Driving distances to the cities around, the rules that change at the border, and where to compare rental prices.

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In Nepal traffic drives on the left. Picking up at KTM means 4 km (2 mi) into the centre before the trip starts. The emergency number is http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q25648793 / http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q25648794 / http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q25648798.

Drives from Kathmandu

Car rental from Kathmandu: distances and estimated journey times
RouteCountryDistanceEstimated time
Kathmandu to HetaudaNepal42 km (26 mi)about 38 min
Kathmandu to BharatpurNepal87 km (54 mi)about 1 h 20 min
Kathmandu to BirgañjNepal88 km (54 mi)about 1 h 20 min
Kathmandu to JanakpurNepal124 km (77 mi)about 1 h 53 min
Kathmandu to MothīhāriIndia124 km (77 mi)about 1 h 53 min
Kathmandu to BettiahIndia129 km (80 mi)about 1 h 58 min
Kathmandu to BagahaIndia139 km (86 mi)about 2 h 7 min
Kathmandu to PokharaNepal147 km (91 mi)about 2 h 14 min
Kathmandu to LahānNepal158 km (98 mi)about 2 h 25 min
Kathmandu to MuzaffarpurIndia176 km (109 mi)about 2 h 41 min
Kathmandu to KushinagarIndia177 km (110 mi)about 2 h 42 min
Kathmandu to DarbhangaIndia182 km (113 mi)about 2 h 46 min
Kathmandu to MumbaiIndia1,589 km (988 mi)about 24 h 14 min
Kathmandu to DelhiIndia800 km (497 mi)about 12 h 12 min
Kathmandu to DhakaBangladesh676 km (420 mi)about 10 h 18 min
Kathmandu to HyderabadIndia1,346 km (836 mi)about 20 h 31 min
Kathmandu to AhmedabadIndia1,380 km (857 mi)about 21 h 3 min
Kathmandu to KolkataIndia648 km (403 mi)about 9 h 53 min
Kathmandu to SuratIndia1,455 km (904 mi)about 22 h 12 min
Kathmandu to ChattogramBangladesh886 km (551 mi)about 13 h 31 min

Distances are straight-line; road and rail routes run about 15–25% longer. Times are estimates from distance and typical speeds, not timetables.

Where to compare car hire

ExpediaCar hire from the major suppliers, and the one to look at if the flight or hotel is already booked there. Part of Expedia Group.Check car hire on Expedia (opens www.expedia.com in a new tab)
DiscoverCarsCompares local and international suppliers. Read the counter reviews before you pick.Check rental cars on DiscoverCars (opens www.discovercars.com in a new tab)
Rentalcars.comBooking.com's car arm, with wide airport coverage worldwide.Compare suppliers on Rentalcars.com (opens www.rentalcars.com in a new tab)
Every link above leaves this site.

We take no bookings for these providers and hold no reservation with them. The provider you choose handles payment, confirmation, changes and refunds. How that works.

Common questions

Which side of the road do they drive on in Kathmandu?

The left, as everywhere in Nepal.

How are the journey times on this page worked out?

From straight-line distance and typical speeds for each mode, so they are estimates for planning, not timetables. Road and rail routes run 15–25% longer than the straight line.

Where these facts come from

  • GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
  • Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
  • OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
  • Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines

Data compiled 14 September 2026. Hotel and hostel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.