Tribhuvan Highway Explained

Tribhuwan Highway
Country:NPL
Type:NH
Route:41
Alternate Name:National Highway 41
Image Notes:Tribhuvan Highway
Map Custom:yes
Map Notes:Tribhuvan Highway in red
Length Km:189
Terminus B:Birgunj, Nepal
Terminus A:Tripureshwor, Kathmandu, Nepal
Next Type:NH
Next Route:41
Previous Type:NH
Previous Route:39

The Tribhuvan Highway (National Highway 41) (previously: H02) connects the outskirts of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, with Birganj/Raxaul on the Nepal-India border.[1] [2] NH 28 and NH 28A links Raxaul with Lucknow/Barauni and other locations in India.

History

Known informally as Byroad, the Tribhuvan Highway is the oldest and the first highway of Nepal and links Naubise, west of Kathmandu with the Indian border at Birgunj/Raxaul.[2] It was named in memory of King Tribhuvan (1906–1955).

Its construction was completed with Indian assistance in 1956, and became the first serviceable road connection with India.[2] 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, from where travellers took the Nepal Government Railway (NGR) the rest of the way to Birgunj and Raxaul.

Before Tribhuvan Highway was built, travelers used the historic trade route passing through Kulekhani, Chitlang, Chandragiri Pass and Thankot.[3]

Route

The best stretch of the highway is through the Terai region. Thereafter, it is an unending series of climbs and descents through the Sivalik Hills north of Hetauda. Its total length extends to some from north to south.[4] It is as the crow flies from Hetauda to Naubise, but Tribhuvan Highway makes it an astonishing .[2] At Naubise, the Tribhuwan Highway intersects the Prithvi Highway.[5]

Daman on Tribhuvan Highway has probably the finest view of the Himalayas extending on a good day from Dhaulagiri in the west to Everest in the east.[2]

Pathlaiya is the junction point of the Mahendra Highway and the Tribhuvan Highway.[2]

Kathmandu-Terai Expressway alternative

There are at least half a dozen routes to the Terai region via Makawanpur from the capital city, including Tribhuvan Highway, Kanti Highway, Ganesh Man Road, and Madan Bhandari Road. The four-lane fast track extending from the outer ring road in Kathmandu to Nijgadh 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.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Highways in Nepal. Adarsha Nepal Adventure. 18 May 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130703044204/http://www.anatravels.com/nepal_highways.php. 3 July 2013.
  2. Book: Woodhatch, Tom. Nepal handbook. registration . 431 . Tribhuvan Highway. . Footprint Handbooks . p. 431. 18 May 2010. 9781900949446. 1999.
  3. Web site: Kathmandu – Kulekhani. Rainbow trek and expedition. 18 May 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110715151004/http://www.rainbowtrek.com/detail.php?id=35. 15 July 2011.
  4. Web site: Tribhuwan Highway Thankot To Bhainse Made In Assistant of Government of India . www.sanjaal.com . 27 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170807154102/http://www.sanjaal.com/tasteofnepal/index.php?showimage=84 . August 7, 2017 . en.
  5. Web site: The Rajpath from Kathmandu biking route . 18 May 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090426155654/http://exoticbuddha.com/tag/biking-routes/ . 26 April 2009 .
  6. Web site: Kathmandu-Nijgadh road: New lifeline to prosperity . The Rising Nepal, 9 November 2008 . 18 May 2010.