Nepal, April 18 -- Only 70 years ago, Kathmandu was the isolated capital of a country that had no modern surface transport link with the rest of the world.
The idea of building a road to connect Nepal with India actually first came up during the last years of the Rana regime, after the British had left India. Construction actually began in 1952, and the serpentine route took five years to complete.
Named Tribhuvan Rajpath, after the reigning king who initiated it, the alignment was from Thankot (1,301 m) at the western edge of the Kathmandu Valley to Nagdunga, Naubise, Tistung, Palung, Daman, Sim Bhanjyang (2,504m), Lamidanda, and Bhainse.
At Bhainse, the highway joined the existing road to Bhimphedi and it was another 31km to Hetauda...