passenger list if the flight is full. Airlines only accept payment in hard currency from visitors.

Public buses are the main form of ground transportation and are incredibly cheap, incredibly uncomfortable and tediously slow. Expect to average about 30km (18mi) per hour anywhere in the hills. Buses ply almost every paved road (not that there are many), as well as some of the unpaved ones, and nearly every visitor comes back with horror stories about ‘almost’ plunging into a ravine. The near escapes are only the tip of the iceberg. Hundreds of locals die in bus smashes every year and travellers are strongly advised to avoid bus travel at night. Safety is generally better on the dedicated tourist buses that connect Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan. If you don’t want to share your journey with farm produce and livestock, this is definitely the way to go.

A metre-gauge train line runs from Janakpur to the Indian border. But foreigners cannot cross here.

You cannot hire self-drive cars, but you can hire a car with a local driver, which is probably safer anyway. Small motorcycles can be rented in Kathmandu and Pokhara but the roads can be deadly.

Bike-riding is quickly gaining popularity with visitors for short jaunts; mountain bikes can be rented in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Lumbini and cycling can be quicker than getting around by local buses, especially in the Kathmandu Valley.

Walking is still the most important and most reliable method of getting from A to B and for moving cargo. In most of Nepal walking is the only option. More goods are carried by human porters than by every other form of transport combined.

Local transport in the Kathmandu Valley and around Pokhara includes metered and unmetered taxis, buses, tempos (three-wheeled buses), auto-rickshaws, bicycle rickshaws and bicycles.

Nepal: History
Pre-20th-Century History
Nepal’s recorded history began with the Kiratis, who arrived in the 7th or 8th century BC from the east. Little is known about them, other than their skill as sheep farmers and their fondness for knives. It is generally assumed that they followed a mixture of Hindu and Tantric beliefs. During the same period, a new religion arrived in Nepal – Buddhism, created by Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha and the prince of the kingdom of Kapilavastu, near Lumbini. By 200 AD, Buddhism was on the decline. The Licchavis invaded from northern India and overthrew the last Kirati king, re-imposing Hinduism and the caste system (which still continues today) and ushering in a golden age of Nepali art and architecture.

By 879, the Licchavi era had petered out and was succeeded by the Thakuri dynasty. A grim period of instability and invasion often referred to as the ‘Dark Ages’ followed, but Kathmandu Valley’s strategic location ensured the kingdom’s survival and growth. Several centuries later, the Thakuri king, Arideva, founded the Malla dynasty, kick-starting another renaissance of Nepali culture. Despite earthquakes, the odd invasion and feuding between the independent city-states of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur, the dynasty flourished, reaching its zenith in the 15th century under Yaksha Malla.

The rulers of the western city-state of Gorkha had always coveted the Mallas’ wealth and under the inspired leadership of Prithvi Narayan Shah the Gurkhas launched a campaign to conquer the Kathmandu Valley. In 1768 – after 27 years of fighting – they triumphed and moved their capital to Kathmandu. From this new base the kingdom’s power