Nepal Exotic Safari Tour is a wonderful combination of culture and nature. It is designed in a way that your tour will begin with visiting culturally opulent Kathmandu Valley taking you to Nepalgunj via scenic flight, and further to Bardia National Park; the transition is smooth and gradual.
The Kathmandu Valley consists of three beautifully distinctive cities: Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur. These cities were once ruled by three different rulers, and hence have different historical legacies. It resulted in rich historical and cultural heritages, so you will find the cities abundant with historical and cultural monuments of varying arts and architecture. Temples and stupas are ornate in intricate hand carvings. The experience further will get enhanced upon your arrival to Nagarkot, a popular hill station, from where you will be able to view 33 different mountain peaks. Finally, the Bardia National Park will embrace you in its wilderness.
The Swoyambhunath Stupa, the Pashupatinath Temple, and the Bauddhanath Stupa are carefully and compulsorily included to be visited in Kathmandu for their grandeur, grace, and religious importance. The Pashupatinath is the holiest for the Hindus around the world, whereas the other two are of profound veneration for the Buddhists. Just 16 km east of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur is popularly known as the City of Devotees, City of Culture, and Living Heritage. Moreover, Bhaktapur Durbar Square is almost like an open museum. You will find many medieval palatial structures and temples. Somewhat similar is the case with the Patan Durbar Square of Patan. It too is rich in historical and cultural heritage. Besides various temples and stupas, the town is also famous for crafts and metal works.
Bardia Jungle Safari will be an outstanding and exotic experience. You will have lunch in a local restaurant, and interact with the people there. It will be thrilling to float on a raft in a slow-moving river. You will travel to a remote Tharu village and watch cultural dance followed by dinner. Moreover, Jungle Walk will be awesome, for you will get to view one-horned rhino, Asian elephant, and Bengal tiger among other animals. Elephant safari will further heighten your pleasure and excitement.
Day 01: Arrival in Kathmandu
Day 02: Visit Swoyambunath & Patan
Day 03: Drive Patan to Bhaktapur via Thimi
Day 04: Drive Bhaktapur to Nagarkot via Changunarayan
Day 05: Trek Nagarkot to Changunarayan & drive to Kathmandu: visit Pashupatinath & Boudhanath
Day 06: Flight Kathmandu to Nepalgunj & drive to Bardia
Day 07: Bardia Jungle Safari
Day 08: Bardia Jungle Safari
Day 09: Drive Bardia to Nepalgunj & flight to Kathmandu
Day 10: Visit Kirtipur & Departure
Day 01: Arrive in Kathmandu airport and you will be transferred to the hotel in Patan by one of our representatives. Welcome dinner at one of the traditional Nepali restaurants.
Overnight: Hotel
Elevation: 1334m
Day 02: Visit Swoyambunath and Patan: start our tour with the magnificent Swoyambunath which is 30 minutes drive from Patan. Then, drive back to Patan to witness its incredible architecture from medieval period. Since we would be staying in Patan, we can explore all the small alleys of this historical town.
Swoyambunath is one of the oldest stupas of the Kathmandu Valley. It is situated on one of the highest hills in the valley. It watches over the Valley from the top of a hillock on its western side just three kilometers west of the city center. The stupa is one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Nepal and its establishment is linked to the creation of the Kathmandu Valley out of a primordial lake. Swayambhu is also known as Samhengu and is recognized as a World Heritage Site. It is also one of the oldest and most glorious Buddhist shrines in the world which is said to be two thousand years. The four sides of the stupa are painted with the eyes of Lord Buddha.
Patan - the second largest town in the valley is situated to the south of Kathmandu. Patan's great building boom took place under the Mallas in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. Numerous temples of widely diverse styles, as well as many Buddhist monasteries, are scattered around the fascinating town. Patan is famous for its crafts and metal works which are wonderful souvenirs.
Overnight: Hotel
Day 03: Drive Patan to Bhaktapur via Thimi: Today we drive to the oldest part of the Kathmandu valley, a quick stop at old Thimi on our way and observe some traditional farming and old alleys of Thimi village. Then finally we go to visit an ancient city called Bhaktapur. This fascinating city reminds you the true culture and living style of medieval period.
Bhaktapur- Located about 16 km east of Kathmandu in the Kathmandu Valley, Bhaktapur is known as the'City of Devotees', the 'City of Culture', the 'Living Heritage', and 'Nepal's Cultural Gem'. It is one of the 3 royal cities in the Kathmandu Valley. We visit four different squares in this city: Durbar Square (palace square), Tamaudi Square (public square), Pottery Square and Dattatrey Square.
Overnight: Hotel
Day 04: Drive Bhaktapur to Nagarkot via Changunarayan: drive to one of the oldest temples of the valley, Changunarayan before we head to Nagarkot. It is a fascinating place where you can see oldest Manu script found in Nepali history and some magnificent temples. Then, an exciting drive to Nagarkot for an hour on winding road. It is a great place to escape from Kathmandu’s hustle bustle.
Nagarkot – One of the most popular hill station / viewpoints close to Kathmandu valley, the reward would be the view of 33 different mountain peaks of different regions including Mt. Shisapangma of Tibet.
Overnight: Hotel
Day 05: Trek Nagarkot to Changunarayan and drive to Kathmandu and visit Pashupatinath and Boudhanath: on our way back from Nagarkot, we hike down to Chagunarayan which would take about 4 hours. Then, a short drive to Kathmandu to visit Pashupatinath and Bouddhanath. We participate in Buddhist puja ceremony in the evening at Bairoling monastery.
Pashupatinath Temple is one of the holiest pilgrimage destinations for all the Hindus of the world. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, one of the trinity and the guardian (patron) deity of Nepal. This is one of the oldest temples, situated on the banks of the Holy Bagmati River. It is a double–roofed golden temple with four triple silver doorways. Pashupatinath covers an area of 281 hectares, which is one of the biggest temple complexes in Nepal.
Bouddhanath Stupa lies about 6 km east of downtown Kathmandu and it is the largest stupa in the Valley and one of the largest in the world. It presents one of the most fascinating specimens of stupa design with hundreds of prayer wheels and 108 small images of Buddha all around. Just like Swoyambhunath, this stupa has four sides with the watchful eyes of Lord Buddha. All the Buddhists throng to this stupa to take part in the sacred rituals during the Buddhist festivals.
Overnight: Monastery
Day 06: Fly Kathmandu to Nepalgunj and drive to Bardia: a scenic flight to Nepalgunj for about an hour then drive to Takurdwara (Bardia NP) about 60 km from the airport. Check into Racy shade resort.
After the lunch, village visit. we visit the temple area, the Bazaar and enter some of the typical Tharu houses and observe the local traditions and living style.
Overnight: Resort
Day 07: Bardia Jungle Safari: after breakfast, we drive for an hour to Chisapani, over the Karnali Bridge and explore the area. We stop for a typical lunch (with local fish) in a local restaurant. After lunch, we begin our floating safari (on raft). There is no big rapid on the river and this excursion offers good opportunities for magnificent landscapes and birdlife among other animals.
In the evening, we pitch the tents on a sandy beach (just across the river, outside NP) and we go in a very remote and authentic Tharu village for cultural dances and diner (A must watch show of the Bardia trip).
After the program we go back to the tents where a big wood fire awaits us.
Overnight: Camping / tents
Day 08: Jungle walk (full day): after an early breakfast, we go for jungle walk into the national park with a naturalist / guide and a porter. There are good possibilities to see one horned rhino, wild Asian elephants or Bengal tigers among other animals.
We have picnic / pack lunch.
Overnight: Resort
Day 09: Elephant safari then fly back to Kathmandu: After an early cup of tea, we go for elephant safari for about 2 hours. Elephants are very adapted to go inside the vegetation so this ride provides great opportunities to have close encounter with animals in the park. Once we are back from elephant safari, we have breakfast then have some free time to explore more in the area.
After lunch, we drive to Nepalgung to catch our flight back to Kathmandu.
Overnight: Hotel
Day 10: Visit Kirtipur and Departure: start our day visiting one of the oldest fort towns of Kathmandu valley. It is about an hour drive from Thamel. After visiting Kirtipur, we drive back to Thamel and have some free time before we go to airport.
Kirtipur - Originally a Newari foundation, Kirtipur is still a centre of Newari culture. It has been merged with surrounding villages to form the municipality of Kirtipur. It consists of many temples monasteries. The town which dates from 1099 A.D. straddles two hills and a large pond in between. It is a natural fortress.
NOTE: The price of the tour will be adjusted according to the group size.
Accessories
Climate:
From the eternal snow of the high peaks to the extensive tropical lowlands, Nepal has a wide variety of climates.
Spring: March to late May: In this season, Kathmandu is in full bloom, lots of different types of flowers can be seen at this time of the year. Temperature is mild, end of the cold winter and approaching warm and hot summer. Temperatures vary between 10 ° C to 28 ° C but can rise up to 30 ° C. Between 2000 and 3000m, temperature rarely drop below 0 ° C. However, few frosts or snowfalls are possible in March above 4000 m.
The summer/monsoon period - It interrupts the majority of trekking from late June to late August. Some of the trekking regions "trans-Himalayan", Dolpo and Mustang, however, remain protected from monsoon prevailing rest of the country. They are the only channels available in Nepal in the summer.
Autumn: mid September – mid December - Perfect temperature and weather for trekking. Brings cooler days, but clear skies. Above 3000 m altitude, temperatures can drop to -10 ° C at night.
In winter: mid-December - mid-February - Nights are generally cold, dry climate, Above 3000m, temperature drop down to 0 ° C to - 15 ° C at night, the days are often sunny.
“JUST arrived back from Manaslu Trek, Nepal (this was our 5th trip to Nepal), And visit MERANGDING and ANGPANG villages […]
“I had such a great time while in Nepal. Chandra definitely made enjoyable environment for our such an extremely diverse […]
