With a tour of Kathmandu's numerous temples & stupas, an exploration of the surrounding valley, a taste of exciting white-water rafting, elephant & jeep safaris in Chitwan National Park, and visits to several remote hill villages, this combination tour shows you many of the sides of Nepal that make it such an enjoyable place to visit.

Your tour starts in Nepal’s intriguing capital city, Kathmandu. Here we explore the centre of the city on foot with its many temples, stupas, and narrow winding streets. We also see more of the Kathmandu Valley with a night at the ridge-top village of Nagarkot, an easy downhill walk through forest and tiny villages, and an exploration of the ancient centre of Bhaktapur.

From Kathmandu you then enjoy two days of exciting white water rafting on the Trisuli river, before taking a short local bus journey through the lowlands of Nepal, the Terai, to Chitwan National Park, one of Asia's most famous wildlife sanctuaries, particularly noted for its population of the rare one-horned rhinoceros.

You spend the next few days in and around the park, relaxing and taking in some of the activities on offer. A canoe ride down the Rapti River is an idyllic way to view some of the rare breeds of birds that use the waterway. A Jungle walk through the park follows the canoe ride, hopefully seeing Sloth Bear, Tiger or Rhino. The afternoon then features an elephant ride or jeep safari into the part which includes a visit to the crocodile breeding project en route.

Leaving Chitwan, you travel west across the heart of Nepal to the beautiful lakeside town of Pokhara, nestling in the foothills of the majestic Annapurna mountain range. We include a tour to the Peace Pagoda, Tibetan Refugee Camp and other sites here, and you also have some time to relax, hire bikes, or take a boat trip out on the lake.
Our next stop is then Bandipur, a remote & ancient trading hill-town where you explore the village and learn about rural Nepalese life. A walk up to the Gorkha Durba follows the next morning, before you drive back to Kathmandu for perhaps some extra sightseeing or a final shopping spree before your tour ends and you must say farewell to Nepal.
You can join one of our small-group departures on this tour, or do it privately, or as a base for a tailor-made itinerary. Options are available to do a mountain flight to view Everest, or extend the tour to do some white-water rafting, or visit Bardia National Park.

Note - if you like the look of this itinerary, but would like to include a trek as well, then please check our 2-week Nepal Explorer tour which runs alongside this trip, but features a 5-day trek in the Annapurnas from Pokhara.