Nepal, Asia

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Apple & Orange > Type of trip > Adventure > Nepal, Asia

TRAVEL GENERAL INFORMATION

Period of this trip:	October – November 2014
Country:	Nepal
Difficulty:	Easy
Currency used:	USD (mainly) – Nepalese Rupis
Duration:	4 weeks
Number of travelers:	2
Budget:	average 2,800 GBP
Best Period:	– October/November for trekking – March/April for Rhino/Tiger Safaris in the southern part of Nepal
Guide used:	Lonely Planet
VISA:	YES on arrival
General Info:	Nepal is a very easy Country to travel. You don’t need to plan a lot in advance in my view. Hotel/B&B or Guest Houses can be found the same day of arrival and give more chance to negotiate a better price. We tried different hotels&guest house and only the recommended one are posted in this page. I wouldn’t recommend to book on-line even if you find them in Agoda or booking, because it’s cheaper if you pay locally. All transports or trek can be arranged on the spot.

TRAVEL PLAN

Day

Area

What to Do

London to Kathmandu

Overnight flight from London to Kathmandu (KMD).

2-5

Kathmandu

We stayed in Thamel, the most touristic area in KTM and the safer. The taxi from the airport to Thamal is around 5 USD or 500 R.
Things to do in Katmandu:Walking tour in Thamel, visit markets, shops, little stupas (Lonely planet walkings are good)Walk from Thamel to Patan (ca 1 hour) – Entrance fee to Patan is 5 USD (pp)Visit Baktapur – Entrance fee is 15 USD pp valid for 1 week. To reach Baktapur you can go by bus (0.50c USD) or by taxi (10-15 USD).Visit Swayambhunath temple, also called “Monkey temple” – from Thamel is 30 min walking or by Taxi is 10m (3 USD). There is no entrance fee if you take the 300 steps, or if you enter from top of the hill you pay 200 R.
Best restaurant in Kathmandu – Thikali Blanchad (in Thamel) – suggested also in the Lonley Planet – 2-3 USD pp.

Kathmandu to Pokhara

Bus from KTM early in the morning (from 7 to 10 am all departures from Thamel). Bus with AC is ca 10-15 USD pp depending on the company: Green line is the most expensive 20 USD, without AC is 7 USD (pp). We took the bus without AC because we couldn’t find the one with AC, but it was not bad because in October is not that hot.
The journey lasts 6 hours with 2 stops (the agency selling the tickets told us 4.5hours to get there with just 1 stop). On arrival in Pokhara bus station, there are lots of Hotel and Guest Houses owners trying to sell their place. You don’t need to book in advance as there are plenty of accommodations for all budget and you can negotiate locally. See the room first! We stayed at Green Land Guest House with room from 10 to 30 USD (all with en suite bathroom) including breakfast. Our room was 25 USD, with nice balcony. They also organize trekking trip at good prices.

Pokhara

Visit the lake, boat trip, visit local shops (the best are Tibetans), sun set from the stupa.
Tip for Trek: there are several agencies in Pokhara selling trekking experiences. We have visited 5 of them before choosing and prices change a lot. After the trek we realized that the best option is not to go for All inclusive package (Guide, tea house and food). It’s better to pay separately. To give an idea, we paid all-inclusive 45 USD (pp) per day; however the cost of the same guide was 20 USD (pd) + ca. 3-5 USD for accommodation in the tea houses (price per room per day) + ca 15 USD for food (for 2 people per day).
We could have saved 30 USD per day with that option. If you want to hire a porter, the cost is 15 USD per day.

Agency: Geo Space Travels & Tours
Lakeside 6 (Near Hotel Mt Top)
tel: +977-61 462910/460234
e-mail: info@everesttrekkingnepal.com
geospacetours@gmail.com
web: everesttrekkingnepal.com

8-13

Mardi Himal

Mardi Himal short trek What to bring: 2 passport photos (for the park entrance permit); water proof backpack, jacket and shoes; sleeping bag – you can hire at 1 USD (pd) in Pokhara; flash light; wet wipe (no much shower on the way); trekking “fuel” (mix of nuts, dry fruit); walking sticks; hot water thermos (nice to have); muscle pain spray (nice to have); water-purifying pills (for me are useless given that you can buy water for few cents). Annapurna National Park: entrance fee 200 R (pp). Trek Permit3500r with Guide (pp).

day: From Pokhara to Phedi with taxi; trek to Deurali. This bit is possible to do also by car, so the real trek starts from day 2. In my view this trek is ok, but not great, can be avoided starting directly from Deurali.
day: From Deurali to Forest Camp (2600m).
day: From Forest Camp to Low Camp (4 lunch). and to High Camp (4000m).
High Camp to Mardi Himal and back to High Camp.
High Camp to Sidin Village – way down.
Sidin to Pokhara.

14-16

Australian Camp

Relaxing 3 days in this beautiful panoramic place easy to reach by Taxi from Pokhara and with a short 1.5 hour trek. The view of the Himalaya is spectacular at the sun rise (wake up at 5am)!! From September to November is also the eagles migration season and you can observe them very closely and get some free bird watching lessons from the university researchers going to the camp every year to study the migration.

Pokhara

Last day in Pokhara for some shopping and relax by the lake.

Chitwan National Park

Bus from Pokhara to Chitwan National Park is 8 USD with A/C. Journey last 7 hours with 2 stops. We stayed at Gauda Lodge – very nice place and near the best restaurant in the village: Rhino restaurant (2 or 3 USD per meal). Note: October and November are not the best months for a safari experience in this area due to the tall grass (up to 3m) which makes the chances to see rhinos very low, let alone to see tigers which are unfortunately close to extinction.

19-21

Chitwan National Park

Things to do:

Jeep Safari – 45 USD pp (5 hours)
Elephant riding – 14 USD pp (1.5 hours)
Canoe and Elephant Breeding centre 16 USD pp (4.5 hours)

Please do not do the “washing with elephant” experience because for elephants is very against their nature. Elephant needs to have a bath once a day and not multiple times a day, this ruins its skin. Elephant riders are also very cruel with the animals. I regretted having the elephant riding as the elephants were bitten all the time.

Chitwan to Kathmandu

Bus from Chitwan to Kathmandu, 10 USD pp with AC (got the impressions other people paid 6 USD pp).

23-25

Kathmandu to Nagarkot

We felt lazy to take the bus, so we took the taxi from Katmandu to Nagarkot (35 USD total) and relaxed 3 for few days in this small village. The view of the Himalayas Everest side is stunning! Several Short treks are available.

26-29

Kathmandu

Few more days to Katmandu visiting: