Riding the Prithvi Highway: Kathmandu to Pokhara by Motorcycle

The Prithvi Highway is the busiest stretch of tarmac most Kathmandu riders will cover, and it earns that reputation in the first hour. Getting out of the valley through Naubise is the slowest part of the whole ride — buses, trucks, and dust queue up on the climb, and there is rarely a clean overtake until the road opens out past Malekhu.

Malekhu itself is the obvious food stop, known valley-wide for river fish, but it is also a good place to actually check your bike rather than just eat: mirrors, chain tension, tyre pressure. From there the road runs along the Trishuli, and this is where the highway is at its best — sweeping bends, river views, and enough width to overtake safely.

The stretch through Abu Khaireni and up toward Damauli is where landslide debris shows up most often in the monsoon and shoulder seasons, even on days with no rain in Kathmandu — the weather that matters is whatever fell in the hills the night before. Slow down through anything wet or freshly graded, not just visibly blocked sections; loose gravel on top of old tarmac is what actually puts riders down here, not the landslides themselves.

Traffic thickens again on the approach to Pokhara through Prithvi Chowk, so plan your fuel and food stops before that last 20 km rather than trying to find a good spot in the crawl. Total riding time is usually five to seven hours depending on truck traffic, not the 4–5 hours Google Maps will quote you — build the buffer in rather than chasing daylight at the other end.