First Indo-Nepal friendship motor rally to begin on Feb. 27

The first Indo-Nepal Friendship Motor Rally 2015 from Puri, Orissa to Kathmandu will start on February 27 and will conclude in Delhi on March 8 this year.

The motto of this rally is to promote culture, nature and adventure.

This rally will link Jagannath, Puri and Pashupatinath as well as sister cities Bodhgaya and Lumbini, highlighting age old cultural and civilization links between India and Nepal.

The rally is aimed at strengthening Nepal-India people-to-people exchanges and to sustain the momentum following the historic visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Nepal last year.

This event is of great prominence as both Puri and Kathmandu are major pilgrimage centres. This venture also attaches great importance to the Buddhist trail, linking Bodhgaya, where Lord Buddha attained enlightenment with Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha.

This event also aims to give tremendous impetus to tourism, both spiritual and adventure tourism in both countries. The rally starts from sea level and reaches high mountains of the Himalayas in the first leg. In its second leg, the rally will connect the vibrant capitals of two countries - Kathmandu and Delhi.

The motor rally will enter Nepal at Jogbani customs point at Biratnagar on March 2, and will halt at the town of Dharan that night. The next day, it will reach Dhulikhel, passing through Bardibas, where it will be received by Yubraj Lama, member secretary of the Nepal Sports Council.

It will reach Kathmandu on March 4, marking the end of the first leg of the rally. On March 05, at 8 am, the second leg of the motor rally will be flagged off by the Minister of Youth and Sports of Nepal, Purusottam Poudel and the Ambassador of India to Nepal Ranjit Rae.

It will then pass through the cities of Pokhara, Lumbini and Dhangadi to reach Delhi on March 8, 2015.

This first ever Indo-Nepal Friendship Motor Rally is being jointly organized by Kalinga Motor Sports Club, Bhuwaneswar and Nepal Automobile Sports Association (NASA) with the support of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India, Ranchi Adventure Wheelers, Ranchi and Magadh Motor Sports Club, Patna, Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways of India, Ministry of External Affairs of India, Ministry of Tourism and Culture of India, Embassy of Republic of India in Kathmandu, Ministry of Youth and Sports of Nepal, Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport of Nepal and Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Civil Aviation of Nepal.