Araniko Highway
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The Araniko Highway () connects
Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
with Kodari, northeast of the
Kathmandu Valley The Kathmandu Valley ( ne, काठमाडौं उपत्यका; also known as the Nepal Valley or Nepa Valley ( ne, नेपाः उपत्यका, Nepal Bhasa: 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑑅 𑐐𑐵𑑅, नेपाः गाः)), ...
, on the
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 ...
-
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
border. It is among the most dangerous of highways in Nepal due to extremely steep slopes on each side of the road from Barabise onwards; massive
landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...
s and bus plunges are not uncommon, especially after rains. At the
Sino-Nepal Friendship Bridge The Sino-Nepal Friendship Bridge (; ne, मितेरी पुल, ast=''Miterī Pula'') is a bridge spanning the Sun Kosi river, linking Kodari in Sindhulpalchok District, Nepal and Zhangmu, China. Description Opened in 1964, the bridg ...
, it connects with
China National Highway 318 China National Highway 318 (G318) runs from Shanghai to Zhangmu on the China-Nepal border. It is the longest China National Highway at in length and runs west from Shanghai towards Zhejiang, Anhui, Hubei, Chongqing, Sichuan, and ends in Tibet Au ...
to
Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
, and eventually to
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
.


History

The road was built in the 1960s with help from the Chinese on an older yak track. They also planned to expand the road in 2012, but keeping the route open was made more difficult by landslides from monsoons. The road became a conduit for a large amount of trade between China and Nepal, and also for some trade between India and China when it is open.


Etymology

The highway is named after Arniko, a 13th-century Nepalese architect who introduced Nepalese architectural styles to
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. It is said that he walked all the way from Tibet to China by the route which is now named after him.


Route

Dhulikhel Dhulikhel is a municipality in Kavrepalanchok District of Nepal. Two major highway B.P. Highway and Arniko Highway passes through Dhulikhel. Araniko Highway connects Kathmandu, Nepal's capital city with Tibet's border town of Kodari. Dhulikhel ...
, about from Kathmandu and at an altitude of , is the last major town in the Kathmandu Valley through which the Araniko Highway passes. After
Dhulikhel Dhulikhel is a municipality in Kavrepalanchok District of Nepal. Two major highway B.P. Highway and Arniko Highway passes through Dhulikhel. Araniko Highway connects Kathmandu, Nepal's capital city with Tibet's border town of Kodari. Dhulikhel ...
the road descends into the beautiful
Panchkhal Panchkhal ( ne, पाँचखाल) is a Municipality in Kavrepalanchok District in the Bagmati Zone of central Nepal. Panchkhal has an area of 103 km² and Density: 386.6/km² according to 2011 census. Glacial strand retreat and flu ...
Valley. A road junction at Lamidanda, around 12 km from Dhulikhel, leads to Palanchowk where
Palanchok Bhagawati Temple Palanchowk Bhagwati Temple is 7 km north of the mountain of Panchkhal, 15 km of Dhulikhel on the Arniko Highway and, 42 km from Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , sub ...
is situated. About five minutes' drive beyond the town of Panchkhal a dirt road takes off to the left, giving access to the
Helambu Helambu is a region of highland villages in Nepal, about 80 km from Kathmandu. It is the home of the Hyolmo people. The word Hyolmo derives from the word Helambu. The Helambu region begins at the Lauribina La pass and descends to the Me ...
region. About 8 km later the highway touches
Dolaghat Dolalghat is a village development committee in Kabhrepalanchok District in Bagmati Province of central Nepal. Demographics At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 1,714 and had 323 houses in it. Transport It is linked by Ar ...
, a thriving town at the confluence of the
Indravati Indravati River is a tributary of the Godavari River, in central India. The Indravati River is a stream of the river Godavari. Its starting point, found to be the Ghats of Dandakaranya, range from a hilltop village Mardiguda of Thuamula Ra ...
and the
Sun Kosi The Sunkoshi, also spelt Sunkosi, is a river of Nepal that is part of the Koshi or Saptkoshi River system in Nepal. Sunkoshi has two source streams, one that arises within Nepal in Choukati, and the other more significant stream that flows in fr ...
rivers and the departure point for many rafting trips. The turn-off to
Jiri Jiri ( ne, जिरी) is a municipality in Dolakha District in the Bagmati Province of central Nepal. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had a population of 13,638 people.. Jiri, which lies about 190 kilometers from Kathmandu, is the m ...
is another 14 km away, on the right. Lamosangu is a few kilometres after the Jiri turn-off, on the Arniko Highway. Next comes Barabise, the final destination for many buses from Kathmandu. Just before Barabise is the confluence of the Bhote Kosi and Sun Kosi rivers. The remaining part to the Nepal border village of
Kodari Kodari is a small village located at the border with Tibet-China. The village is located at the end–point of the Arniko Highway, which connects Kodari with the capital city of Kathmandu. Kathmandu is away from Kodari. Kodari is a major border c ...
the road runs alongside the Sun Kosi with extremely steep Himalayan mountainsides that are very prone to landslides during and immediately after rains (including the
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...
). Beyond Kodari is the border town of
Zhangmu Zhangmu (also from Tibetan as Dram or Zham, from Nepali as Khasa) is a customs town and port of entry located in Nyalam County on the Nepal-China border, just uphill and across the Bhote Koshi River from the Nepalese town of Kodari. At above se ...
in Tibet. File:Zangmu frontiere.JPG, Friendship bridge between Zhangmu and Kodari File:NEPAL Route 2.JPG, Arniko Highway in Kodari after border with China File:NEPAL Phulping Bridge 02.JPG, Araniko Highway: pulping bridge, just after border with China File:Kodari highway.JPG, Araniko Highway in Kodari (Népal) just after border with Chin File:NEPAL Last-Resort 001.JPG, Koadri (Népal), last resort bridge on la Bothe-Kosi river Araniko Highway-42-Mittagsrast in Tatopani-2014-gje.jpg, Tatopani spa Araniko Highway-38-Kontrollpunkt-LKW-2014-gje.jpg, Checkpoint File:Dolaighat bridge.JPG, Dolaghbat on Bothé-Kosi river File:6 Lane Araniko Highway as seen from Madhyapur, Thimi.jpg, Araniko Highway as seen from Madhyapur, Thimi


Significance

The Aarniko Rajmarg provides Nepal's overland link with China. However, it is of limited use as an alternative route for transport of goods, as it is cheaper to ship Chinese goods via
Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
than to truck them through China's Tibet region. This situation is subject to change with major investment in road and rail on the Tibetan side.


Closures

The route was closed by the April 2015 earthquakes, but was re-opened in early August 2015. The route sustained heavy damage because of landslides triggered by the earthquake. In 2014 the highway was closed after landslides, but re-opened in September 2014. The landslide shut the route to Kathmandu for 46 days until a new alternate route could be built for Rs. 15.5 million. The landslides that closed it the summer of 2014 were called the Sunkoshi landslides, and the section of the highway near the Tibet border is especially prone to landslides.


See also

*
Friendship Highway (Tibet) There are several highways sometimes known as Friendship highways. Note that the "friendship" name may not in all cases necessarily be the current official name or common name. * China-Laos Friendship Highway, 1963 (Chinese 中老友谊公路) * Chi ...


References


External links


Nepal HighwaysDepartment of Roads
{{Kosi basin Roads in Nepal Sites along the Silk Road 1960s establishments in Nepal