Best of Nepal (11 Nights/12 Days)

Upon arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu and transferred to your hotel.

We start our valley sight-seeing tour in the morning with a visit to Kathmandu Durbar Square, the palace of the Malla and then the Shah kings of Nepal. Places of interest here are the Kasthamandup, a medieval rest house said to give Kathmandu its name, Kumari Temple, abode of the virgin goddess. From here we visit Swoyambhunath stupa, on top of a hill overlooking Kathmandu valley.
We return to our hotel for lunch or stop by in a convenient restaurant and then we visit Patan famous for its arts and crafts. Tour highlights are the Shikara-style Krishna temple, Patan durbar with the royal baths, Hiranya Varna Mahavihar, a Buddhist monastery. From here we visit the Tibetan cultural center first founded by the Tibetan refugees of the late fifties and now an exhibition-cum-shopping complex of carpets, jewellery and many interesting souvenirs. In the evening we have a cultural evening with typical Nepalese dinner.

In 1980 H.R.H. Prince Charles (before he married!) embarked upon a 3 day Royal Trek especially designed for him, and we shall now trace his footsteps! After breakfast, a short flight takes us to Pokhara, where we are welcomed by our Sherpa guide who will lead us on our 3/4 hour first day journey through the hills and villages of Chetris and Bahuns. The mountain views of Dhaulagiri to our East and Manasalu to the west are truly spectacular. We stay overnight in camp at Kalikathan and are completely catered for by our attentive trekking staff.

Through Thulokot towards Shyaglung, the scattered villages and honest farming country of Gurung provide the bulk of recruits for the British and Indian Gurkha regiments. It’s a fascinating day of interest and endeavor which we’ll no doubt be reflecting upon around the camp-fire, as we dine and camp in Shyaglung.

It’s downhill today (thankfully!) as we descend towards the Pokhara valley and see the lakes of Rupa and Begnas beneath us. After a lakeside lunch we are coached to Pokhara, where it’s “goodbye” comfort and luxury of the hotel. A real bed!!

That’s enough relaxing! An early start for a very full day. After breakfast we leave Pokhara for the 3 hour drive to the village of Baireni where we meet our raft crew, and explore the local Hindu temple while they prepare our new mode of transportation. Our first river rafting day is a leisurely and interesting one, as we negotiate several small “drops” in the river, and lunch on one of the quiet and secluded beaches. As we near Gajuri, our crew will set-up camp for us, and prepare a delicious camp-fire meal. We’ll meet the friendly locals and generally reflect upon an eventful day.

Another fascinating day of contrasting sights, smells and sounds as we glide past the many aspects of river life, simple farming and more sophisticated terraced cultivation. Thick forests alternate with open land areas, and we “shoot” the rapids of the Three Goddesses of Buri Gandaki as we approach our night camp at Charaudi. Overall, it’s a pretty sedate prelude to the “white-knuckle” day tomorrow! Again, we’ll eat under the stars and meet the locals.

It’s “hold-on-to-your-hair-time” as soon as we leave camp, as we negotiate one of the most exciting white water stretches in the world! So don’t have a heavy breakfast – you won’t forget this in a hurry! After the morning excitement we then glide more sedately and marvel at the changes in our scenery. The high gorges and steep canyon walls, small waterfalls and lush grottoes contrast with the rapids and provi of the valley, temples, monuments, and picturesque villages.

Another exciting day at the jungle resort with jungle walks, canoe trips bird-watching and village tours on the itinerary. Our last night at the jungle resort and special and very colorful local dance troupe visit us.

We’ll awake with the sunrise today. It’s our best chance to get those special shots of the animals as they stretch and emerge into the wild. Then it’s breakfast and “home” to Kathmandu and the welcome lusury of the hotel. Kathmandu-Bhaktapur-Dhulikhel or Nagarkot Breakfast
We continue our sight-seeing tour of Kathmandu valley by visiting two very important religious centers: Pashupatinath holiest temple for the Hindus, nearby along the banks of the river Bagamati is the cremation area for the dead. Bodhnath is possibly the largest stupa in the world and a center for Tibetan school of Buddhism. We then drive on to Bhaktapur the medieval city of devotees and the best preserved of all the old cities of Kathmandu valley. Tour highlight are Palace with 55 Windows, Golden Gate, Nyatapola 5-storeyed temple. We shall then be on time for lunch in Dhulikhel or Nagarkot. Rest of the afternoon we spend in the resort viewing the Himalayan sunset and relaxing. We spend the night in the resort.

Today we shall spend our time in the resort exploring the many interesting villages nearby. For the adventurous short treks can be organized by our resort where we carry our picnic packs and set off to see the nearby farming communities and local temples all the time with the Himalayan range as the backdrop. We spend the second night in the resort as well.
Dhulikhel or Nagarkot-Kathmandu Breakfast After an early morning sunrise view and breakfast we leave our resort for Kathmandu.

We are free for the day, our last day in Nepal. This is the final opportunity to catch up on souvenir hunting or take additional tours of the valley, temples, monuments, and picturesque villages.

We are free today until our departure transfer to the airport.