Spiritual culture meets wild nature, alpine adventure mixes with village hospitality, and the great outdoors is at its ineffable best in Nepal. This is a country of warm welcomes and otherworldly experiences, even if you only have a week. During this custom tour, you’ll indulge in paragliding, Everest, medieval kingdoms, immersive cultures and so much more. Despite your active schedule, Nepal is an incredibly peaceful country at heart and a perfect escape from the world. Begin planning your
Customizable Itinerary
Day 1
Kathmandu – Temples, Kingdoms, Stupas, and Monkeys
As you land in Kathmandu, there’ll be an immediate feeling of remoteness. The mountains look down, the valley stretches out, and the big city feels more like a village. Although the 2015 earthquake impacted the capital, its spirit hasn’t been diminished. So along with the cracked roads, you will spot lines of excitable pilgrims, people communicating through deities, and friendly smiles that help set the scene. Check into the hotel early and join the guide for Himalayan coffee, an excellent opportunity to gain context in your private tour of two medieval kingdoms. It wasn’t that long ago that Kathmandu was the beating heart of three different kingdoms and your cultural and adventure trip will offer a unique impression into this past world.
Start your exploration in Patan, where a gold-inscribed temple is found amid a cloud of incense, and the intricacy of woodcarving surrounds a royal bathhouse. Then, you’ll continue to an enormous stupa, where a rooftop cafe terrace overlooks the throngs of visiting pilgrims. Explore the heart of Kathmandu’s kingdom, and follow an architectural and historical journey through 13th to 15th and 18th-century styles. As you continue through the city there’ll be a chance to stop at a holy cremation site, which adds yet more spirituality to the day. Finish your first tour at another of Nepal’s World Heritage sites, where you will follow the monkeys and madness at Swayambhunath Stupa.
What's Included:
Day 2
Kathmandu – Village Trekking and Himalayan Views
Day 3
Kathmandu – Everest Morning Flight and Bhaktapur’s Old World
Day 4
Pokhara – White-Water Rafting to the Lakeside Town
Day 5
Pokhara – A Relaxed Day of Exploring and Meeting the Locals
Day 6
Pokhara – Paragliding Above the Water and Lessons From the Nepalese Kitchen
Day 7
Pokhara – Mountain Biking in the Himalayas, Down From Sarangkot Ridge
Day 8
Pokhara – Departure
Trip Highlights
- Paraglide above the lakeside town of Pokhara, surrounded by both the beauty and scale of nature
- Connect with old cultures as you explore Kathmandu’s medieval kingdoms to see first-hand how religions come together
- Go white-water rafting down the Trisuli River on a leisurely journey that is occasionally enlivened by a grade III rapid
- Fly above Mt. Everest and more of the world’s highest mountains on a scenic flight that takes you alongside the roof of the world
- Mountain bike down from Sarangkot to Pokhara and peddle through small villages deep in the Himalayas
- Discover how Kathmandu is recovering from the 2015 earthquake as you are guided through a partially reconstructed temple with the site director
- Get a taste for Nepalese cuisine and its varied influences on a cooking afternoon in Pokhara
Detailed Description
While Nepal appears to be small on the map, when you arrive you’ll realize that this is a country home to giants. The Himalayas rise, the valleys consume, and the landscape dominates more than almost anywhere else. Mt. Everest is the famous high point yet it merely peeks above its neighbors. One way to experience the Himalayas is by trekking along the foot of the mountains, Nepal’s iconic recreational activity. When you explore the temple, one moment you’ll be looking at Buddha’s eyes and the next you’re admiring Vishnu’s image. This peaceful country in the Himalayas is a grand home to adventure and expeditions while it is incredibly serene at heart. So when you journey inside Himalayan folds, you’ll find Nepal to be as complete an escape as any.
This handcrafted week in Nepal will be split between Kathmandu and Pokhara, two accessible destinations that stand in alpine valleys. The Trisuli River partially connects them, and you’ll travel between them by road and water as you raft along the twists and turns of the river. Each day will include a vast number of attractions along with at least one unique activity. You’ll be away from the hotel most of every day to get a sense of why Nepal is so unique. You’ll also have opportunities to stop and relax because Nepal makes you feel refreshed even on the most ambitious, adventure tour.
Start in Kathmandu and spend a day discovering two medieval kingdoms, as well as Buddhist shrines, Hindu temples, a Tibetan pagoda and a cremation site. A local guide will show you the temple reconstruction process and reveal how heritage is being repaired brick by brick by brick. Then, you’ll spend time trekking on a majestic trail through villages that have both Everest and Annapurna views. Afterward, fly alongside the world’s highest mountain on a fixed-wing flight to take in the highest landscape on earth, including glaciers and valleys, icefalls and unruly slabs of rock. It will reveal a world that you see from all angles as the pilot loops around Everest.
White-water rafting will be part of the journey to Pokhara, followed by a relaxed evening in the lakeside town. After you arrive, you’ll explore pagodas, temples, spiritual waterfalls, mountain views, and connections with the locals. It’s on the following day that you paraglide above the lake, soaring the skies like a bird from the mountains. A different perspective comes on the same day during a Nepalese cooking class. Then, you’ll spend the next day mountain biking as you’re deep in the mountains while you descend through villages on a leisurely journey from Sarangkot to Pokhara. So much has happened yet by day seven you’ll appreciate Nepal’s adventure. More than anything, though, Nepal helps you escape into a new world. We work closely with the top Nepal travel companies to ensure that you have a fully customized trip of a lifetime.
Starting Price
$2,600 per person (excluding international flights)
Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.
What's Included
- Accommodations
- In-country transportation
- Some or all activities and tours
- Expert trip planning
- 24x7 support during your trip
Your final trip cost will vary based on your selected accommodations, activities, meals, and other trip elements that you opt to include.
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