On August 24, 2026, private cars were allowed through the Nagdhunga tunnel for the first time. It's a small change on paper — a 2.68-kilometre bore under the ridge that's bottlenecked every vehicle leaving Kathmandu toward Pokhara, Chitwan, or anywhere west for decades. In practice, it cuts a chronic 30-to-40-minute crawl at the Nagdhunga pass down to about seven minutes through the tunnel. If you last drove this route more than a year ago, the first ten minutes out of the city are going to feel different.
That's genuinely useful context if you're planning a Kathmandu-to-Chitwan trip this year, so it's worth starting there instead of the usual distance breakdown. Here's the rest of what the drive looks like in 2026 — route, timing, and the flight alternative — and if you'd rather skip the planning entirely, Yatri Car Rentals runs this route directly as a Kathmandu to Chitwan car rental with a driver who already knows which side of the tunnel is faster at what time of day.
Chitwan (Sauraha) is roughly 150–160 kilometers from Kathmandu by road. Driving takes 4.5 to 6 hours depending on traffic and season — a bit faster now that the Nagdhunga tunnel has removed the worst chokepoint at the start of the journey. Flying to Bharatpur Airport takes about 20–25 minutes, with a further 30–45 minute drive to Sauraha.
Every vehicle heading from Kathmandu toward Chitwan, Pokhara, or the rest of western Nepal used to funnel through the narrow, landslide-prone Nagdhunga pass on the old Tribhuvan Highway — a stretch that alone could eat 30 minutes or more in heavy traffic. The tunnel, built with Japanese financing and construction support and formally inaugurated on July 27, 2026, bypasses that pass entirely. It opened first to emergency vehicles only; regular private cars, jeeps, and vans (up to nine seats) were allowed in from August 24, 2026, running on a trial schedule between 9am and 6pm. Tolls are modest — around Rs 65 entering Kathmandu and Rs 60 exiting for cars, according to fees set by the Roads Board Nepal.
Two things worth knowing before you rely on it: it's still in a trial-operation phase as of this writing, and hours outside the 9am–6pm window may still route through the old pass. Ask your driver or rental company for the current operating hours on the day you travel — this is exactly the kind of detail that changes month to month during a rollout like this.
Once you're through to Sisnekhola on the Dhading side, the road settles into familiar territory:
Naubise to Mugling (around 110 km). This is the Prithvi Highway, following the Trishuli River through hill terrain — cliffs, switchbacks, and river views the whole way. It's fully paved but it's mountain driving, not a straight shot, which is the main reason a 150 km trip takes hours rather than minutes.
Mugling to Narayanghat/Bharatpur (around 33 km). This section, the Madan Ashrit Highway, was widened to 9–11 meters in 2018 and carries a large share of Nepal's east-west traffic. It's a natural stop for lunch — Mugling's river-side restaurants are a fixture of this drive for almost everyone doing it.
Narayanghat to Sauraha (around 17–20 km). The last stretch off the highway toward the tourist hub, flat and straightforward compared to everything before it.
Monsoon season (roughly June through September) is the one variable worth planning around — the Mugling–Narayanghat section in particular is known for landslide risk during heavy rain. Outside monsoon, the road is fully paved and generally reliable start to finish.
Most sources converge on 4.5 to 6 hours for a private car in normal conditions, and tourist buses running roughly 5 to 7 hours with stops. That's largely unchanged by the tunnel — the time savings at Nagdhunga are real but modest against a multi-hour trip — though drivers who used to budget extra buffer for the Nagdhunga crawl can now shave that off with reasonable confidence. Leaving Kathmandu before 7am is still the best way to clear both the city traffic and the hill section before midday heat and holiday traffic build up on the highway.
Bharatpur Airport, about 10 km from Sauraha, gets several daily flights from Kathmandu on Buddha Air, with a flight time of roughly 20–25 minutes. Add a 30-to-45-minute drive from the airport into Sauraha and you're looking at under two hours door to door — useful if you're short on time or coming straight off an international flight and don't want a same-day mountain drive. Yatri can arrange the domestic flight ticket and have a driver waiting at Bharatpur for the transfer, so you're not negotiating a taxi fare at the airport gate.
The trade-off is the same one that applies on every Terai route: flying is faster, but you skip Mugling, the river views, and the flexibility to stop wherever the drive takes you.
Chitwan sits almost exactly between Kathmandu and both Pokhara and Lumbini, which is why a lot of travelers don't treat it as an isolated trip. If Lumbini is also on your list, the road continues from Narayanghat through Butwal — we've covered that stretch in detail in Kathmandu to Lumbini by Road. Heading the other direction, Pokhara is a further 2-3 hours past Mugling on the Prithvi Highway — see Kathmandu to Pokhara by Car for that leg. A private vehicle makes stringing two or three of these destinations together in one loop far easier than switching between separate buses.
Sauraha is the main tourist base for Chitwan National Park, and most activities — jungle safari, canoe rides on the Rapti River, the elephant breeding center, Tharu cultural programs — are booked from there. Yatri runs a dedicated Chitwan National Park tour that bundles the transport with a set safari itinerary if you'd rather not piece it together on arrival.
Bring a passport and visa if you're a foreign visitor, and keep a printed copy of your rental agreement or booking accessible — checkpoints along this route are routine and quick as long as documents are on hand. Temperatures in Chitwan run considerably warmer than Kathmandu outside winter, so an air-conditioned vehicle is worth the small premium over the hottest months (April through early June, and again post-monsoon).
Planning the drive to Chitwan? Book a car with a driver in Kathmandu who's already using the new tunnel route, or go straight to the Chitwan National Park tour package for a full itinerary. Browse the vehicle fleet or get in touch to check current tunnel operating hours before you book.
Author: Yatri Car Rentals
Wikipedia (Nagdhunga tunnel); Kathmandu Post reporting on the Nagdhunga tunnel opening and toll fees (July–August 2026); Department of Roads and Roads Board Nepal; Buddha Air / FlightStats Bharatpur–Kathmandu schedules; Wikipedia (Madan Ashrit Highway, Prithvi Highway).
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