Archive for March 2010
About kakarvitta
- kakarvitta is a small city situated mechinagar municipality, jhapa district, Nepal. In boarder of Nepal and India. The meaning of kakarvitta is land of crabs. kakar= crab, vitta=land.The River Mechi is the dividing line between India and Nepal and so, although I dare say it is fine to go for a swim.. On a clear day you can see the foothills of the Kachenjunga range; from the plains. the way up to 2500 metres is Nepal's tea growing area.You can Notice the well-practiced intercropping method the local farmer's use. No vast plains of wheat here, but potatoes in w
ith corn, spinach in with spices etc. Walking these roads you really see how modern Nepal liv es alongside ancient Nepal. You'll see houses with satellite dishes and the occasional latest model Chinese built motorbike but also people tilling the field by hand and buffalo-drawn carts. If you want a destination, ask the locals which is the road for Bahundangi. It can be walked in about two hours. This village has a bazaar that operates daily and peop le come here for horticultural supplies and ayurvedic me
dicines.
km (a four-hour drive) and Darjeeling is 113km (three hours). Kakar
vitta marks the eastern end of Mechinagar Municipality.Kakarbhitta is about 15-17 hours drive and 610 kilometers away from Kathmandu. This is a small town on the border between Nepal and India and foreigners can use this to cross the border. There are many hotels and lodges around the area to accommodate the tourists in moderate prices. Tourists can commute to Kathmandu or any other cities either by bus or air. The closest airport is at Bhadrapur, about 25km southwest of Kakarbhitta and it takes about 45 min to land in Kathmandu domestic airport by flight.KAKARBHITTA is one of the more laid-back crossings on the Nepal-India border, since it's mainly a gateway for people,. Most
of those using it are Indians, hopping over from Darjeeling for some quick shopping or heading to Birat
nagar for business; the
presence of nearly 90,000 Bhutanese refugees in camps west of here probably contributes to the flow as well. A recently negotiated
transit treaty between Nepal and Bangladesh may eventually increase the commercial traffic through here, but for the time being
Kakarbhitta feels very much l ike a back-door entry whose only apparent link with the rest of the world is the fleet of night buses
that roars in from Kathmandu every morning and roars out again every afternoon.
If you have some time on your hand
s you could take a stroll in any direction into the surrounding countryside. The Satighata tea
estate is just ten minutes' walk south of town, and a Buddhist monastery run by Tamangs can be visited on the way. A walk along the
banks of the Mechi River, just east of town, is nice at sunset or sunrise.
All of Kakarbhitta's accommoda tion is within spitting distance of the bus park, so it's easy to shop around - you can judge these
books by their covers. Two better places that have stood the
test of time are Hotel Rajat (tel 023/62033; Rs140-200 [US$2-3] / en
suite US$8-12) and Hotel Kanchan ( tel 023/62015; en suite US$3-8), side by side at the north end of the bus park. The Rajat, which is
run by very professional Newars from Kathmandu, has hot water and TVs in its more expensive rooms (some are supposed to get air
conditioning as well), a restaurant and a small garden/parking area. The Kanchan is further down the luxury scale, but the owners are
friendly and supply hot water by the bucket. At the bottom end, Hotel Kathmandu & Lodge (Rs140-200 [US$2-3] / en suite US$5-8) and
Hotel Mount Everest (Rs140-200 [US$2-3] / en suite Rs200-350 [US$3-5]) can't exactly be recommended, but they at least aren't too
dire.
Most guest houses have their own restaurants , but assuming you're only going to be eating one hot meal in Kakarbhitta, you might as
well eat it at Hotel Rajat. Moneychangers and lodges will swap Nepalese and Indian rupees at the market rate, but to change hard
currency you'll have to use the bank (Nepal Rastra Bank, the pink building on the north of the highway signposted only in
Nepali; daily 8am-6pm). International and long-distance phone calls are possible from the better guest houses and various ISD shops.
vitta marks the eastern end of Mechinagar Municipality.Kakarbhitta is about 15-17 hours drive and 610 kilometers away from Kathmandu. This is a small town on the border between Nepal and India and foreigners can use this to cross the border. There are many hotels and lodges around the area to accommodate the tourists in moderate prices. Tourists can commute to Kathmandu or any other cities either by bus or air. The closest airport is at Bhadrapur, about 25km southwest of Kakarbhitta and it takes about 45 min to land in Kathmandu domestic airport by flight.KAKARBHITTA is one of the more laid-back crossings on the Nepal-India border, since it's mainly a gateway for people,. Most of those using it are Indians, hopping over from Darjeeling for some quick shopping or heading to Birat
nagar for business; the
presence of nearly 90,000 Bhutanese refugees in camps west of here probably contributes to the flow as well. A recently negotiated
transit treaty between Nepal and Bangladesh may eventually increase the commercial traffic through here, but for the time being
Kakarbhitta feels very much l ike a back-door entry whose only apparent link with the rest of the world is the fleet of night buses
that roars in from Kathmandu every morning and roars out again every afternoon.
If you have some time on your hand
s you could take a stroll in any direction into the surrounding countryside. The Satighata tea
estate is just ten minutes' walk south of town, and a Buddhist monastery run by Tamangs can be visited on the way. A walk along the
banks of the Mechi River, just east of town, is nice at sunset or sunrise.
All of Kakarbhitta's accommoda tion is within spitting distance of the bus park, so it's easy to shop around - you can judge these
books by their covers. Two better places that have stood the
test of time are Hotel Rajat (tel 023/62033; Rs140-200 [US$2-3] / en suite US$8-12) and Hotel Kanchan ( tel 023/62015; en suite US$3-8), side by side at the north end of the bus park. The Rajat, which is
run by very professional Newars from Kathmandu, has hot water and TVs in its more expensive rooms (some are supposed to get air
conditioning as well), a restaurant and a small garden/parking area. The Kanchan is further down the luxury scale, but the owners are
friendly and supply hot water by the bucket. At the bottom end, Hotel Kathmandu & Lodge (Rs140-200 [US$2-3] / en suite US$5-8) and
Hotel Mount Everest (Rs140-200 [US$2-3] / en suite Rs200-350 [US$3-5]) can't exactly be recommended, but they at least aren't too
dire.
Most guest houses have their own restaurants , but assuming you're only going to be eating one hot meal in Kakarbhitta, you might as
well eat it at Hotel Rajat. Moneychangers and lodges will swap Nepalese and Indian rupees at the market rate, but to change hard
currency you'll have to use the bank (Nepal Rastra Bank, the pink building on the north of the highway signposted only in
Nepali; daily 8am-6pm). International and long-distance phone calls are possible from the better guest houses and various ISD shops.
