Digital “cloth” map Day 5: Ayodhya to Siddharthanagar, Nepal

The day's digital “cloth” map

Start

0.0 km / 0.0 mi

Park Inn, Ayodhya

Leave from 06.30 onwards. Please be ready for a prompt start: this is a long day with a border crossing. Ride along the Sarayu past the ghats.
Open in Maps

51.5 km · 32.0 mi to water stop
Water stop

51.5 km / 32.0 mi

Morning water and toilet stop

Refill bottles and stretch the legs.
Open in Maps

54.3 km · 33.7 mi to lunch
Lunch

105.8 km / 65.7 mi

Lunch

Confirmed lunch stop at the marked location. The crew have lunch ready. Extra vehicles are available if you need a lift after lunch. An optional bus is available from this lunch stop (approximately 106 km).
Open in Maps

65.5 km · 40.7 mi to water stop
Water stop

171.3 km / 106.4 mi

Afternoon water stop

Last stop before the Nepal border at 192.8 km.
Open in Maps

28.2 km · 17.5 mi to finish
Finish

199.5 km / 124.0 mi

Siddhartha Vilasa, Siddharthanagar

5* hotel just over the border, which we cross at 192.8 km, and 15 km from Lumbini. Dinner 19.00 (Nepal time).
Open in Maps

Ride25 crew

Mel
Crew leader

+44 7947 765600
Dan
Mechanic

+44 7786 553582
Margot
Crew

+44 7771 538906
Layla Patton
Paramedic
+44 7872 831554

Call the crew for a lift, a mechanical or if you are lost. Everyone is also in the ride WhatsApp group.

112

EmergencyPolice, ambulance, fire. Free from any phone in India. In Nepal dial 100 for police and 102 for an ambulance.

Tourist Police: 1144

Tonight’s arrangements

Siddhartha Vilasa, Siddharthanagar. Dinner 19.00 (Nepal time) at the hotel.

Route map

Open in Strava Download GPX

Route
Stops
Wind, km/h

Elevation

Tap or slide to see where you are

Slide along the route

Tap the profile or drag the slider to follow the route on the map. You can also tap the route on the map.

Wind and weather

Too far ahead for a forecast yet, so these are the conditions on the same day last year. Winds were light, around 2 to 6 km/h, mostly southerly. Dry, about 18°C early and up to 26°C. The live forecast appears here automatically in the two weeks before the ride.

Typical conditions from Open-Meteo records for the same day in 2025. Check the live forecast on the morning.

Riding notes

Please be ready for a prompt start from 06.30 onwards: this is the longest day of the leg and includes a border crossing. Extra vehicles are available if you need a lift after lunch. An optional bus is available from the lunch stop at approximately 106 km.
Have your passport and Nepal visa paperwork in your bag, not in the luggage van.
The border crossing is less organised than most of ours. Stay with the crew and be patient. If we are delayed at the border and it is past sunset, we will leave the border in small groups.
It is important to carry 30 USD in cash to pay for your Nepali visa at the border. Complete the Nepal visa arrival form in advance and take a screenshot of it.
Activate your Nepal eSIM while you have Wi-Fi, ideally at home.
The last 30 km is on a new road with a hard shoulder. Use it, as traffic gets busier towards the border.
Target finish 17.00. If you’re behind at the afternoon stop, the crew will ask you to take a lift.

The country you ride through

History on the road

0 to 20 km

The Sarayu

You leave along the Sarayu, a river sacred to Hindus, past bathing buffalo, temples and ghats.

20 to 165 km

Basti and Siddharthnagar district

The quiet roads cross Basti and Siddharthnagar districts. Near Piprahwa, not far off the route, archaeologists found a casket in 1898 believed to hold relics of the Buddha.

165 to 200 km

Sunauli and Lumbini

The crossing at Sunauli and Belahiya is one of the busiest between India and Nepal, and Nepal is 15 minutes ahead of India, so put your watch forward. Lumbini, 15 km from the hotel, is where Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, was born around the sixth century BC. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Look out for

Ghats on the Sarayu
Bathing buffalo
The border gate at Sunauli
Your first Nepali flags

Local heroes

Famous faces from along the route

Siddhartha Gautama, who became the Buddha, was born at Lumbini. The Emperor Ashoka visited in 249 BC and left an inscribed pillar that still stands there and confirmed the site's identity when it was rediscovered in 1896.