Tribhuvan International Airport
Kathmandu, Nepal
Tribhuvan International Airport
Nepal's sole international gateway, nestled among the Himalayas.
- ›Tribhuvan International Airport is the only international airport currently operational in Nepal.
- ›The airport's high elevation and surrounding terrain require pilots to obtain special authorization to operate certain approach procedures.
- ›It was named after King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah, who opened Nepal to the outside world.
- ›The airport consistently ranks among the busiest and most challenging airports in South Asia due to terrain and weather.
- ›A new greenfield international airport has been proposed at Nijgadh to supplement or eventually replace KTM for international traffic.
Tribhuvan International Airport, named after King Tribhuvan of Nepal, has served as the country's sole international airport since 1949 and remains the primary hub for all air traffic entering and leaving Nepal. Situated just 6 kilometres east of Kathmandu's city centre, it operates a single runway and handles millions of passengers annually despite its constrained geography. The airport is the lifeline for trekkers, mountaineers, and cultural travellers bound for Everest, Annapurna, and the medieval cities of the Kathmandu Valley.
- International Terminal — Handles all international arrivals and departures with immigration, customs, and duty-free facilities.
- Domestic Terminal — Serves domestic routes including mountain airstrips like Lukla and Pokhara, located adjacent to the international terminal.
- Taxi from the official prepaid taxi counter inside the arrivals hall
- Private car hire or hotel pickup arranged in advance
- App-based ride services such as Pathao and InDrive
- Public minibus routes connecting to central Kathmandu and Thamel
- Tourist bus services to Pokhara and other destinations from nearby stations
- Hyatt Regency Kathmandu
- Marriott Hotel Kathmandu
- Hotel Yak & Yeti
- Radisson Hotel Kathmandu
- Airport Hotel Kathmandu
Inside the terminal, dining options are limited and relatively expensive, with a handful of cafés and snack counters offering Nepali and continental fare in the departure lounge. The Thamel district, roughly 20 minutes away, offers an enormous variety of restaurants serving dal bhat, momos, Tibetan cuisine, and international food at all price points. Travellers with layovers are better off eating before arrival or packing snacks, as airside choices are sparse.
- Arrange your Nepal visa on arrival at the visa counters before reaching immigration — bring a passport photo and exact USD cash to avoid queues at the payment desk.
- Confirm your domestic connecting flight separately, as delays and weather cancellations on mountain routes are common, especially during monsoon season.
- Keep small denomination Nepali rupees or USD handy; ATMs exist in the arrivals hall but can run out of cash during peak tourist seasons.
- Porters and unofficial taxi touts are persistent outside arrivals — use only the official prepaid taxi desk inside the terminal for a fixed, safer fare.
AI-assisted overview, verified against public sources.
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Tribhuvan International Airport is an international airport located in Kathmandu, Bagmati, Nepal. It has a tabletop runway, a domestic terminal and an international terminal. As the country's main international airport, it connects Nepal to over 40 destinations in 17 countries.
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