The Tribhuvan Highway () connects the outskirts of

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

, the capital of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

, with

Birganj Birgunj ( ne, वीरगञ्ज) is a metropolitan city in Parsa District in Madhesh Province of southern Nepal. It lies south of the capital Kathmandu, attached in the north to Raxaul in the border of the Indian state of Bihar. As an entry ...

Raxaul Raxaul is a sub-divisional town in the East Champaran district of the Indian state of Bihar. It is situated at the India-Nepal border with Birgunj city (Nepal). Raxaul is a major railway junction. The Indian border town of Raxaul has become on ...

on the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

border. NH 28 and NH 28A links Raxaul with

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

Barauni Barauni is an Industrial City situated on the bank of the river Ganges in Begusarai district in the state of Bihar, India. Transport Railways Barauni Junction is one of the important stations in Bihar and has strategic location. It is a ju ...

and other locations in India.

History

Known informally as Byroad, the Tribhuvan Highway is the oldest and the first highway of Nepal and it links

Naubise Naubise is a village development committee in Dhading District in the Bagmati Zone of central Nepal. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had a population of 25621 and had 3239 houses in it. To Promote local culture Naubise has two FM radio s ...

, west of Kathmandu with the Indian border at Birgunj/Raxaul. It was named in memory of

King Tribhuvan Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज त्रिभुवन वीर विक्रम शाह देव ) (30 June 1906 – 13 March 1955) was King of Nepal from 11 December 1911 until his ...

(1906–1955). Its construction was completed with Indian assistance in 1956, and it provided the first serviceable road connection with India. The first regular daily bus service on the highway was operated by Nepal Transport Service in 1959. The bus route ended at the railway station at

Amlekhganj Amlekhganj (''also'' Amlekhgunj) (Nepali:अमलेखगंज) is a town and Village Development Committee (now Sub Metropolitan City) in Bara District in the Narayani Zone of south-eastern Nepal. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had ...

, from where travellers took the

Nepal Government Railway (NGR) The Nepal Government Railway (NGR) ( ne, नेपाल गभर्मेन्ट रेलवे) was Nepal's first railway in Nepal. Established in 1927 and closed in 1965, it linked Amlekhganj with Raxaul across the border in India in the s ...

the rest of the way to

Birgunj Birgunj ( ne, वीरगञ्ज) is a metropolitan city in Parsa District in Madhesh Province of southern Nepal. It lies south of the capital Kathmandu, attached in the north to Raxaul in the border of the Indian state of Bihar. As an entr ...

and

. Before Tribhuvan Highway was built, travelers used the historic trade route passing through Kulekhani,

Chitlang Chitlang (Nepali:चित्लाङ, Nepal Bhasa:चिलं/चिलिम]) is a village located in Thaha Municipality of Makwanpur District, Bagmati Province, Nepal. Religions of chitlang Geography Chitlang sits southwest of Kathmandu v ...

, Chandragiri Pass and

Thankot Thankot is a village and former Village Development Committee that is now part of Chandragiri Municipality in Kathmandu District in Province No. 3 of central Nepal. It lies in the lap of Chandragiri Hill Chandragiri ( kn, ಚಂದ್ರಗ ...

Route

The best stretch is through the

Terai The Terai or Tarai is a lowland region in northern India and southern Nepal that lies south of the outer foothills of the Himalayas, the Sivalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. This lowland belt is characterised by tall grasslands, scr ...

region. Thereafter, it is an unending series of climbs and descents through the

Sivalik Hills The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the Indi ...

north of

Hetauda Hetauda ( ne, हेटौडा, ) is a sub-metropolitan city in the Makwanpur District of Bagmati Province in central Nepal. It is the administrative headquarters of the Makwanpur District and the capital of Bagmati Province as declared by m ...

. Its total length extends to some from north to south. It is as the crow flies from Hetauda to Naubise, but Tribhuvan Highway makes it an astonishing . At

, the Tribhuwan Highway intersects the Prithvi Highway. Daman on Tribhuvan Highway has probably the finest view of the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

extending on a good day from

Dhaulagiri Dhaulagiri is the seventh highest mountain in the world at above sea level, and the highest mountain within the borders of a single country (Nepal). It was first climbed on 13 May 1960 by a Swiss-Austrian-Nepali expedition. Annapurna I () is ...

in the west to

Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow heigh ...

in the east. Pathlaiya is the junction point of the

Mahendra Highway Mahendra Highway (), also called East-West Highway () runs across the Terai geographical region of Nepal, from Mechinagar in the east to Bhim Datta in the west, cutting across the entire width of the country. It is the longest highway in Nepal a ...

and the Tribhuvan Highway.

Kathmandu-Terai Expressway alternative

There are at least half a dozen routes to the Terai region via

Makawanpur Makwanpur District( ne, मकवानपुर जिल्ला; , a part of Bagmati Province, earlier a part of Narayani Zone, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Hetauda as its district headquarter, as well as ...

from the capital city, including Tribhuvan Highway,

Kanti Highway Kanti Highway () is a feeder road under construction in Bagmati Province, Nepal, that connects Lalitpur Metropolitan City to Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City. The construction on the road started in 1954 by King Mahendra, and the road was initial ...

, Ganesh Man Road, and Madan Bhandari Road. The four-lane fast track extending from the outer ring road in Kathmandu to

Nijgadh Nijgadh (, officially Nijgadh Municipality), is a town and municipality in Nepal, located in Bara District of the Madhesh Province (previously Narayani Zone of Central Development Region). The total area of the municipality is 289.4 sq. km. The m ...

in the Terai region will be the shortest and will only be . The track will have a tunnel of 1.3 km at Thingana of Makawanpur. It has been under construction since 2008.

References

Roads in Nepal History of transport in Nepal 1956 establishments in Nepal {{Nepal-transport-stub