Nepal: the Kathmandu Valley and Chitwan

1. Jour 1 : Arrive in Kathmandu

   Tribhuvan International Airport to your hotel in central Kathmandu

   • Welcome dinner
   • Nuit : Kathmandu
   Détail du jour 1

   Fly into Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM), whether from home or from Paro, Delhi or Varanasi at the end of another trip. Most visitors pick up a tourist visa on arrival in the hall before immigration, so allow time for that queue. A driver meets you outside arrivals and takes you about 30 minutes across the city to a central hotel within walking distance of Thamel and the old market lanes of Asan. Kathmandu sits at about 1,400 m, so evenings from November to February are cool. Rest after the flight, or walk to the Garden of Dreams, a restored early 20th-century garden a few minutes from Thamel. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group to go through the days ahead: the early start for Nagarkot, the short flight to the Terai and how to dress at temples. Then we sit down together to a welcome dinner of dal bhat and Newari dishes at a local restaurant.

   Compris

   • Pick-up at Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM)
   • Welcome briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner

   Temps libre : Free until the evening briefing

   Activité : Plan to land by about 3 pm to reach the briefing; later arrivals are met and join the group at dinner or the next morning.

   

2. Jour 2 : Swayambhunath, Patan and Boudhanath at dusk

   Swayambhunath to Patan, then Pashupatinath and Boudhanath

   • Environ 1.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Kathmandu
   Détail du jour 2

   We reach Swayambhunath, the stupa on a wooded hill west of the city, at about 8 am, while the light is soft on the valley and before most groups arrive. Climb the eastern stairway, about 365 steps past monkeys and stone Buddhas, to the white dome and the painted eyes on its gilded tower. Then we cross the Bagmati River to Patan, the old city of craftsmen, for a morning with a local guide in Patan Durbar Square: the stone Krishna Mandir, the courtyard of the Golden Temple and the Patan Museum in the old palace, which explains the valley's bronze and woodcarving. Lunch is sit-down in Patan, then a rest at the hotel through the hottest hours. In the late afternoon we drive to Pashupatinath, the most important Hindu temple in Nepal, and watch the riverside rites from the terraces across the Bagmati. We end at Boudhanath, walking the kora clockwise with Tibetan pilgrims as the butter lamps are lit. The evening is free.

   Compris

   • Swayambhunath at about 8 am
   • Patan Durbar Square with a local guide: the Krishna Mandir, the Golden Temple and the Patan Museum
   • Sit-down lunch in Patan
   • Pashupatinath from the terraces across the Bagmati River
   • Boudhanath stupa and the evening kora

   Option plus facile : Drive up to the western entrance of Swayambhunath and skip most of the stairway.

   Temps libre : Early afternoon at the hotel; dinner free around Boudhanath or back in central Kathmandu

   Activité : About 3 to 4 hours on foot over the day. Non-Hindus may not enter the main temple at Pashupatinath; please do not photograph the cremations.

   

3. Jour 3 : Sunrise at Nagarkot, Changu Narayan and Bhaktapur

   Kathmandu to Nagarkot, then Changu Narayan and Bhaktapur, back to Kathmandu

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Kathmandu
   Détail du jour 3

   This is the one early start of the trip: we leave before dawn, the exact time set by the season's sunrise, for the drive of about 32 km and an hour and a quarter up to Nagarkot, a ridge at about 2,100 m on the eastern rim of the valley. On a clear morning the Himalaya turns pink and then white along the northern skyline, from the Langtang and Ganesh ranges eastward; Everest itself is at most a faint point far to the east. Breakfast is on a terrace with the view. Then we drive down to Changu Narayan, a Vishnu temple on a hilltop whose carved struts and stone sculptures are among the oldest in the valley and part of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site. Lunch is sit-down in Bhaktapur, with a bowl of juju dhau, the town's sweet set curd. The afternoon is for Bhaktapur with a local guide, as the day visitors thin out: Durbar Square and the 55-Window Palace, the five-tiered Nyatapola temple in Taumadhi Square, and Pottery Square. We are back in Kathmandu by early evening; the evening is free.

   Compris

   • Sunrise from Nagarkot with breakfast
   • Changu Narayan temple
   • Sit-down lunch in Bhaktapur
   • Bhaktapur with a local guide: Durbar Square, Taumadhi Square and the Nyatapola temple, Pottery Square

   Option plus facile : Skip the sunrise and sleep in; we arrange a car to bring you to Bhaktapur to join the group for lunch.

   Option plus active : Walk down from Nagarkot to Changu Narayan with your guide instead of driving, about 10 km and 3 to 4 hours on village paths, mostly downhill; the vehicle meets you at the temple.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Kathmandu

   Activité : Dawn at Nagarkot is near freezing from December to February; bring a warm layer and a hat. Mountain views are clearest from October to February.

   

4. Jour 4 : Fly to Chitwan and a Tharu evening

   Kathmandu to Bharatpur by air, then by road to Sauraha

   • Environ 1 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Sauraha (Chitwan)
   Détail du jour 4

   After breakfast we transfer to the domestic terminal for the flight to Bharatpur, about 25 minutes over the hills to the Terai, Nepal's flat, hot lowland. By road the same trip takes five to six hours, so the flight gives you back most of a day. From Bharatpur it is about 30 minutes by road to Sauraha, the village on the north bank of the Rapti River at the edge of Chitwan National Park, Nepal's first national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984. Our lodge for two nights is a short walk from the river, and lunch is waiting. In the late afternoon the naturalist who leads our safaris walks us through a Tharu village. The Tharu are the indigenous people of the Terai, and their mud-plastered houses, grain stores and painted walls are unlike anything in the hills. We watch the sun go down on the Rapti riverbank, where rhinos and deer sometimes graze on the far side, then go to a Tharu cultural evening of drumming and the stick dance before dinner at the lodge.

   Compris

   • Flight from Kathmandu to Bharatpur
   • Transfer to Sauraha
   • Tharu village walk with a naturalist
   • Sunset on the Rapti riverbank
   • Tharu cultural evening with the stick dance
   • Lunch and dinner at the lodge

   Temps libre : Early afternoon free at the lodge

   Activité : Sauraha is at about 150 m, so days are warm even in winter; mornings from December to February are often foggy and cool, which can delay the flight.

5. Jour 5 : Canoe at first light and a jeep safari

   The Rapti River and Chitwan National Park

   • En bateau
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Sauraha (Chitwan)
   Détail du jour 5

   An early start: at first light we board long dugout canoes, each cut from a single tree trunk, and drift down the Rapti with a naturalist. Watch the sandbanks for mugger crocodiles and, with luck, the rarer fish-eating gharial, and the banks for kingfishers, herons and storks. From December to February mist often lies on the river at dawn and lifts by mid-morning. We are back at the lodge for a late breakfast, and the middle of the day is free to rest in the shade or by the river. After lunch we drive into the national park by open jeep for about four hours, along forest tracks and the edges of the tall grasslands where the greater one-horned rhinoceros grazes. Spotted deer, sambar, wild boar, gaur and sloth bear also live here, and so do Bengal tigers, though they are seldom seen. We are back at the lodge around sunset for a last dinner together. We do not offer elephant rides on this trip.

   Compris

   • Dugout canoe on the Rapti River with a naturalist
   • Jeep safari in Chitwan National Park, about 4 hours
   • Chitwan National Park entry
   • All meals at the lodge

   Option plus facile : Skip the canoe and sleep in; join the group for the afternoon jeep safari.

   Option plus active : Walk back from the canoe landing through the community forest with the naturalist, about an hour on flat paths.

   Temps libre : Middle of the day free at the lodge

   Activité : The four hours of the jeep safari are inside the park, not road travel. The canoes sit low on the water: you step in from the bank and stay seated. The jeep tracks are bumpy; tell us if you have back problems.

   

6. Jour 6 : Fly back to Kathmandu and depart

   Sauraha to Bharatpur, then by air to Kathmandu and Tribhuvan International Airport

   • Environ 1 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   Détail du jour 6

   If you are up early, join the optional bird walk along the river with a naturalist before breakfast; Chitwan has well over 500 recorded bird species, and the riverbank is busiest at dawn. After breakfast we drive about 30 minutes to Bharatpur for the flight back to Kathmandu, about 25 minutes, landing by late morning on a normal day. The trip ends at Tribhuvan International Airport, where the domestic and international terminals sit side by side, or at a central hotel if you are staying on; your guide says goodbye at the airport. Book an onward flight leaving after about 3 pm. From December to February, fog can hold the Bharatpur flight for hours, and if it is grounded we drive instead, about 5 to 6 hours, so in those months we suggest an evening or next-day departure. If you are continuing to Bhutan, most Kathmandu to Paro flights leave in the morning, so add a night in Kathmandu and we will book it. If you want more of Nepal, our classic trip adds Pokhara, and our Everest Base Camp trek also starts in Kathmandu.

   Compris

   • Transfer to Bharatpur airport
   • Flight from Bharatpur to Kathmandu
   • Drop-off at Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) or a central Kathmandu hotel

   Activités en option

   • Early bird walk with a naturalist in Sauraha before breakfast

   Temps libre : Early morning free

   Activité : Book an international departure after about 3 pm, or later from December to February when fog is common; allow three hours at the airport.

Faune et météo : October and November bring the clearest mountain views from Nagarkot. December to February are clear and cold at dawn, with Terai fog that can delay the Bharatpur flights and mist on the Rapti. March and April are warm, with haze that can hide the peaks and good rhino sightings once the tall grass is cut in winter. Tigers live in Chitwan but are rarely seen.

• Kathmandu3 nuits
• Sauraha (Chitwan)2 nuits