“The India Myanmar border crossing”.
Where is Moreh?
The town of Moreh is a town located on the India-Myanmar border in the State of Manipur. The town is a huge commercial hub and is India’s Gateway to South-East Asia.
Getting there
Our journey from Imphal to Moreh was in a shared minivan.
Our accommodation
Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay at our preferred accommodation, the Elora Hotel, as it was full. Our minivan driver very kindly took us to an alternative place to stay. (Sorry can’t remember the hotel name). But it was off the main road, turning pretty much opposite the Elora Hotel turning. About 100 metres on the right. Although undergoing some construction work, it was spacious, modern, and clean.
Choosing to have our evening meal and the following mornings breakfast at the Elora Hotel. Purely because our nameless hotel didn’t offer food. Both meals were adequate and reasonably priced.
Places of interest
Myanmar border crossing
From Moreh in India, there are two border crossings into Myanmar. Referred to as Gates 1 & 2.
Gate 2
Currently, closed to foreign nationals as of February 2020. A nuisance, as it is the closest crossing point to Moreh town, actually being at the bottom of the town itself.
Gate 1
A further mile down the road. The Indian immigration office is past the bridge and up the hill on the right-hand side. On entering the compound, go up the drive and turn left at the signpost marked “passengers”.
The immigration officer adjacent to the door takes passport information. Done prior to allowing you to proceed to the departure desk for the exit stamp in your passport.
Once you have the exit stamp, your luggage has to go through the scanner, then you proceed to the next desk to complete the departure form.
Once the form has been completed the exit from India process is complete. You are free to go back down the hill and cross the bridge into Myanmar.
On crossing the bridge the time zone changes, going forward by one hour.
Immediately across the bridge, the Myanmar immigration building is on the right. An arrival form is required to be completed. You will also need to present a copy of your tourist visa approval letter.
This is emailed to you when your application for a Myanmar e-visa has been approved. Simply fill in the online application form, pay the required visa fee, 50 USD for a 28-day single-entry tourist visa. You should receive your approval letter within 3 days.
The Myanmar visa will then be stamped into your passport together with a stamp being placed on the approval letter. This completed, you are now free to go. The whole process for both immigration checks taking us about an hour.