The first Indo-Nepal friendship motor rally kicked off today from Puri in Odisha. The motor rally aims to strengthen friendship between India and Nepal and jointly organized by city-based Kalinga Motors Sports Club and Nepal Automobile Sports Association (NASA), Kathmandu. The rally will cover 3,060 km across the two neighbouring countries in 10 days by about 30 vehicles and 120 participants from both India and Nepal to achieve a new milestone in their bilateral relationship. The motor rally carries much importance as Jagannath Dham of Puri and Pashupatinath of Kathmandu are great pilgrimage centres for the people of both India and Nepal.The friendship car rally will start from sea level and culminate on the high mountains of the Himalayas. Later, it will leave Kathmandu and end in New Delhi. The rally will cover the Buddhist Trail in India and Nepal starting from Dhauli Shanti Stupa near Bhubaneswar, where Emporer Ashok shunned his sword for peace after the Battle of Kalinga. The historic rally will wade through other places of historical importance linking Lord Buddha and Buddhism. It will pass through Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Nalanda, Pataliputra (now Patna) and reach Lumbini (Nepal), the birth place of Sakyamuni – Siddharth, the Goutam Buddha.The motor rally will conclude at India Gate in the National Capital on 8th of March in presence of Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Dharmendra Pradhan and Sushma Swaraj.