Dear Baral
This was the first time I booked directly through the WEB , and I thought it's a little risky, especially when I had to send my money to Katmandu and I wend to Delhi .
An interaction programme was organized on June 28, 2005 with twenty Thai Tour Operators who came here for FAM tour to share their experiences during their stay in Nepal .
His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev inaugurated the Promote Nepal-2005 exhibition amid a special ceremony at the City Centre in Doha, Qatar, on June 14, 2005.
This trip is ideal one for those
who have never been to Nepal and want to try little
bit of everything.cultural heritage sites, natural
sceneries, easy hiking and trekking, rafting, jungle
safari etc. Yes, you have got it all, covered in
one single trip !
We begin with the city tour of
Kathmandu where we explore the ancient World Heritage
sites of Hindu Temples, Buddhist Stupas, monasteries
and Malla palaces which have marvelous stone sculptures,
intricate woodcarvings in the struts and plinths.
You will also have opportunity to witness the lifestyles,
cultures and traditions of Newari ethnic community
of Kathmandu Valley .
Get panoramic views of the Himalayas from Nagarkot
and take a thrilling Raft down the rapids of Trishuli
River , spending a night on the river banks. Then
at Chitwan National Park, ride on on the Elephant
- back and look around for a the Bengal Tiger,
the one- horned Rhinoceros and many other animals
in wild, before heading to the Himalayas.
A trip to Nepal, without trekking may seem so incomplete, so here it is: We
offer a choice between the two most popular treks 1) Annapurna Base Camp OR
2)Everest View Trek
So come to Nepal, we promise you a good time; just bring along a pair of reasonably
strong legs and Your Spirit of Adventures.
Itinerary
Day 01 Kathmandu D
Arrive in Kathmandu and transfer
to your hotel. Afternoon, take a free stay or
if you feel like, take a short tour to Kathmandu Durbar Square to see the medieval
Hanumandhoka Palace, Kumari Temple etc. In the evening, welcome dinner with
Nepalese folk dance performance. Overnight hotel.
Day 02 Kathmandu-Nagarkot
B
Sightseeing of Pashupatinath temple-
the holiest Hindu Temple of Nepal, Bodhanath
Stupa-the biggest stupa in the world and 2000
years old Swayambhunath Stupa. In the afternoon
drive 14 km to Bhaktapur, one of the medieval
principalities of Nepal . Bhaktapur has maintained
its originality and itself is a museum of temples,
palace complex, monasteries, traditional houses,
metal and wood works, Thangka paintings, ceramic
potteries and many more. From here, you will
drive 45 minutes along the narrow roads through
terraced paddy fields and pines to Nagarkot at
the height of 2000m.
Day 03 Nagarkot-Kathmandu.
B
On a clear weather day, you have
spectacular views of Himalayan panorama. After
breakfast you will drive to Patan, another medieval town that is called the city
of arts and crafts. You will visit the central courtyard of the palace, the famous
Krishna temple of 17th century, the golden temple and many others. You can also
visit the Tibetan Refugee camp where you will see the Tibetan women weaving carpet.
Overnight hotel in Kathmandu .
Day 04 Kathmandu- Rafting
B/L/D
We get up early in the morning
and drive about three hours along winding road,
carved out into steep hills, to Charaundi from where the adventure of the day
begins. Before you start sailing, our rafting guide gives you a small briefing
about river, rapids and paddling techniques. No experience is needed to raft
but the feeling for pleasure and the spirit of adventure. After an adventurous
day, you will overnight in tent on the little silver sand beaches. In the evening
you can just stretch your legs beside the campfire or you can join the rafting
crew to cook your dinner.
Accommodation: Tent
Day 05 Raft-Chitwan B/L/D
After breakfast, you will raft
for a couple of hours and then you will be transferred
to our jungle lodge in Chitwan National Park . After refreshment you will go
for a short excursion to village. In the evening, there will be slide show
or briefing about flora and fauna of the park. You will sleep in Bungalow or
tents of the jungle lodges.
Day 06 The Jungle safari
activities in Chitwan National Park B/L/D
After an early breakfast, you will
go for river tour on a traditional dug out canoe
to hunt the aquatic life with your binoculars,
including Gharial crocodiles. After the canoe
trip, you can explore the park and its wildlife
on foot or you will be picked up by the riverside
and brought back to the camp. After lunch, you
will again be in the park on the elephant back
to search the great one horned Asian Rhino, Sloth
Beer, Wild boar, Leopard, deer and even the ruler
of the jungle-The Royal Bengal Tiger, if your
luck favors. In the evening, you may be shocked
to watch the sticks clashing in aggression amongst
the Tharu Tribal men but this is Tharu's famous
stick dance, which is arranged by the lodge to
entertain you. Overnight in camp or bungalow.
Day 07 Chitwan -Pokhara
B
Before breakfast, you will
go for a short bird watching tour and then
drive to Pokhara, first along Narayani River,
and then Marsyangdi and Setigandaki onwards.
Pokhara is a beautiful valley in the western
Nepal and is a testimony of wonderful natural
existence of geography. In Pokhara, this afternoon
you will walk along the banks of Phewa lakes
and do some sightseeing. Overnight hotel in
Pokhara.
Choose one of
the two treks
1) Annapurna Base
Camp trek with all meals and lodge ( B/L/D)
Day 08 Pokhara (B)
Those doing Everest trek should drive back to Kathmandu . Others in the morning
can go to Sarangkot for a sunrise tour. In the afternoon, you are at leisure
or you can rent the bike and explore the beautiful valley. Overnight hotel
in Pokhara.
Deluxe Class : Fishtail Lodge or Shangri La Village Hotel
Superior Class : Fewa Prince or Hotel Barahi
Day 09- 17 Trek B/L/D
First of all you will be brought
to Phedi, where we will start our walk. You
walk through the rhododendrons forest and villages trails and arrive in
Pothana at 1500m. For the first time, we can see the ranges of 8000m high
mountains of the Himalayas , coming closer and closer. The trail goes slowly
the down hill, into the valley via little tea houses, villages and a small
bridge, we reach the oldest village Landruk at 1646 m. We continue our
way to Hot spring, where you will body and soul a rest in the hot spring.
We reach a beautiful village, Chomrong at 1900m slowly we walk over the
wooden bridges, along water falls, through bamboo grooves with Panda bears
over the moraines to Machapuchhre Base Camp, where we overnight at 3500
m. From here only two hours of walk, you will reach Annapurna Base Camp
at 4100 m. Here high peaks of Fishtail, Hiunchuli, and Annapurna South,
Annapurna I, II, III, and IV, Gangapurna and Tent Peak surround you. A
breath taking sites! After we have taken our pictures, we descend to Dovan.
The next easy walk down leads us to Chomrong. From Chomrong, you will leave
the original trail and head towards Ghandruk-a huge Gurung Village at 1970m.(Pokhara-Pothana-Landruk-Chomrong-Dovan-Macchapuchhre
Base Camp-Annapurna Base Camp-Macchapurchre Base Camp-Dovan-Chomrong-Ghandruk-Pokhara)
Accommodation: :Local Lodges or Tea Houses.
Day 18: Trek
back to Pokhara B/L
The last day we easily walk down
the hill by Modi khola through the rice field
terraces, from where we arrive in Birethanti. From here, we will drive back to
Pokhara.
Day 19 Return to Kathmandu .
Flight to Kathmandu ( 35 minutes).Upon
arrival in Kathmandu airport, you will be transferred
to hotel. You will have free days for easy shopping.
2) Everest View Trek with all meals and
lodge (B/L/D)
Day 08 Pokhara-Kathmandu
(B)
Drive back to Kathmandu . (200km,
6 hours).
Day 09-18 Trek B/L/D
The adventure begins with t he
sensational flight in a small craft that takes
you to the Himalayan massive. You will notice
the Solukhumbu region that has completely different
culture and nature. On our way to Phakding, we
meet Sherpas, known for their experience in mountaineering,
but for also for their kindness. We walk through
the picturesque Sherpa villages, with Thamserku
, 6608m in our view, then we arrive in Monju.
We enter the Sagarmatha National Park and with
a little fear, we walk on the long suspension
bridge. We follow the rough Dudhkoshi River until
Hillari Bridge , cross the river from and walk
over the moraines. With a little experience,
we take the second long suspension bridge, from
which we slowly ascend, from 2800m to Namchebazaar,
but on our way, you will have first view of highest
mountain of the world- Mount Everest . The view
in Namche Bazaar is extremely beautiful. We walk
through a small airstrip Syangboche to Everest
View Hotel. Here, you can enjoy the breathtaking
scenery; Nuptse 7879 m, Lhotse 8516m, Amadablam
6812m and of course Everest, the top of the world.
We slowly go up to Thame and sleep at a lower
altitude in Namche to acclimatize. We walk slowly
up to Thengboche, which is known as the most
beautiful spot on the earth. The monastery of
the Thengboche is the most important Buddhist
monastery in this area. Here, when you enter
the monastery, you will witness how Lamas meditate.
You can here unrealistic music tones rising up
against the Himalayan mountain giants and at
that moment, you really feel yourself on top
of the world. We walk back to Namche via. Khunde
and Khumjung. We can see the Everest for the
last time as we exit the National Park. ( Lukla/Phakding-Namche
Bazaar-Tengboche-Namche Bazaar-Lukla)
Accommodation: Local lodges or Tea-Houses.
Day 19 Flight to Kathmandu from
Lukla
Flight back to Kathmandu . Transfer
to Hotel.
Day 20 Departure B
Transfer to airport for your international flight back home.
Trip Information
Type : Cultural tour, River rafting,
Jungle Safari and a choice of one trek
1) Annapurna Sanctuary
trek (Grade: Moderate )
Duration: 10 days trek and 10 days in the cities.
Highest Altitude: 13637ft (4095m).
Booking Class
Booking class is just a choice of hotels (where choices are available) and not
of the other services and elements of the holiday. Irrespective of what class
of trip you book with us, all services such as Guides, lodges on the trek,
meals, sightseeing, and transports are the same for any booking class.
Accommodations
In towns/cities,where there is choice provided of several hotel names, we will
automatically use the first one. For example, In Kathmandu, our choice
of deluxe hotel is Yak & Yeti and in Superior class, we pick Hotel
Shangri La, but if they are not available at the time of booking, we will
book your rooms in a similar range of hotel such as Hotel Radisson and
hotel Sherpa for the deluxe and first class respectively. Also where there
is no choice, we put everyone in the same hotel, the best available one.
On
the trek, everyone will stay in the same type of accommodations irrespective
of class of trip booked. The local lodges in the mountains
are called "teahouses" which provide basic
facilities. We try our best to provide you
twin-sharing rooms but in the peak season,
you may have to adjust in dormitories. You
will have to use common toilets and showers.
In some places, you may even miss showers.
Use of hot water can be charged extra.
Price Includes
Accommodation as listed or similar with
breakfast in the cities (Kathmandu & Pokhara)
and full board in Chitwan National Park .
Meals
as indicated in the itinerary as (B=Breakfast,
L=Lunch, D=Dinner)
All transfers and sightseeing
by air conditioned car/coach
Entrance fees in
sightseeing places
English speaking Guide /Leader
All domestic
flights involved
On Trekking
Lodge accommodation
3 meals a day in local restaurants/Lodge/Tea
Houses
English speaking Guide/Sirdar
All necessary
Trekking permits
1 porter for each 2 trekkers
Trekking Crew Insurance
Basic First Aid Kit
Price Does Not Include
International Airfare
Airport
Taxes
Lunch and dinner in the cities
Drinks, tip and
other expenses of personal nature
Nepal visa
(obtained in advance or upon arrival)
Travel & Health
Insurance. We strongly
recommend you purchase travel insurance which
covers, trip cancellation, trip delay, baggage,
medical, emergency evacuation etc. Museum visits /Entrance fees other then
the ones mentioned
Medical Immunizations.
All extra expenses caused
due to nature or unforeseen events.
Excess baggage charges
Optional tipping to local staffs, hotels etc.
Items of a personal nature (sodas,
alcoholic beverages, laundry, telephone etc.).
Pricing/Guaranteed trips
Our trip prices are based on minimum two people and maximum of 8. We guarantee
to departures with sign-up of two or more person. If you are a group of family/friends
booking and traveling together, we have some savings on the price quoted here.
Please feel free to let us know.
International Airfare
Airfare is not included in the land cost of our trips. We are happy to assist
you with finding international flight.
What to Expect
Life on the Trail The trekking day typically starts at
6:30 a.m. with the appearance of smiling Sherpas
or a local at the door bearing a mug of steaming
tea. This is soon followed by a large bowl of
hot water for washing. Then it's time to pack
your bags and sit down to a hearty breakfast
of porridge, eggs, and toast. By 7:30 or 8:00
you're off on the trail.
For about three hours you'll walk through villages, forests, and up and down
green hills and valleys. There's plenty of time to visit local teashops, stop
for a view or a photo, and exchange a smile or greeting (Namaste!) with the friendly
Nepali people who share the trail. A trailside lunch breaks up the day, giving
you time to rest and refuel with a substantial hot meal prepared by the staff.
After about an hour of eating, napping, and relaxing, it's time for the afternoon
hike.
You arrive in camp/lodge around 4:00 - p.m. and have time to wash up and get
settled in the lodge before enjoying tea and snacks. The next few hours are free
to write in your journal, read a few pages in a novel, play cards, engage in
conversation, walk around the neighborhood or simply relax. The day closes with
a hot, multi-course dinner that often includes ethnic cuisine as well as western
favorites. Yak cheese pizzas and momos-Tibetan pot-stickers are the local speciality
to try. After dinner you can gaze at the stars and the moonlit peaks, recount
the events of the day, or retire to your bed to read for a while or doze off
to sleep. Expert Local Leader
Expert leadership is the key to an exciting, unforgettable experience. Our trips
feature gifted leaders for whom leading trips is a true vocation. Besides showing
you wonder you'd never find on your own, they make sure everything runs smoothly
and safely without a hitch. They are knowledgeable about all aspects of your
trip, and take great pleasure in sharing their insights with you. More than just
guides, they positively elevate your experience by being teachers, companions,
and the best of friends. You'll be in good hands with them every step of the
way.
Trek Activity Level
All treks in Himalayas require good amount of fitness, be flexible,
energetic, active, positive attitude and have a spirit of adventure. On a scale
from 1 to 5, we rate both of these treks between 3 to 3.5(moderate to strenuous
in nature). One must be in good health, lead an active life and enjoy walking,
even up steep hills (there is very little level walking in Nepal ). If you
are not optimally conditioned, we recommend that you start a training program
at least three months before departure, gradually increasing the intensity
and duration. Check with your doctor before undertaking any new fitness program.
All
gear and camp supplies will be carried by porters or pack animals, leaving
members free to carry only a light daypack. No technical
climbing or other special abilities are required.
No previous rafting experience is necessary.
We use oar boats only on this trip. Oar boats
are guided entirely by the river guide and
his helper, using 10-foot oars to steer and
power the boat through rapids. Typically three
participants sit in front and two in the back,
throwing their weight from side to side to
help keep the boat from tipping over. You will
not need to paddle.
Before you go, we provide
you with extensive pre-departure information,
including clothing recommendations, suggested
reading lists, up-to-date health advice, and
other details from procuring visas to advice
on local customs.
Plan Holidays is
the pioneer in active adventure travel. We set
the standard for adventure travel and have a
strong reputation for excellence that we do everything
we can to maintain. Since we are the leading
adventure company, we have a lot to live up to,
so we make sure we provide safe, quality trips
and the best customer service to our passengers.
On trek you'll be accompanied by
an expert, knowledgeable guide who will share
and explain all the details of what you see every
day on the trail and make the whole experience
come alive for you. An expert crew takes care
of all the trek details, preparing excellent
food and seeing to it that you stay healthy.
As Plan Holidays has its share in our ground
operator companies, you can also be assured of
a good support system-a crew who makes sure your
trip goes smoothly by handling all logistics
in country.
Note on Itinerary
Although we will do our very best to adhere to the itinerary schedule as listed,
it is subject to change for numerous reasons beyond our control.
