Kalinchowk Multi-Sport Adventure - 8 Days

Detailed itinerary

Day 1: Welcome to Kathmandu!

As you fly into Kathmandu, you'll have beautiful views over the valley, the Himalaya, and of the terraced fields below. After going through customs, a representative will be waiting to guide you through the initial culture shock of Kathmandu’s narrow, winding streets and get you settled into your hotel. Once you've settled in, head out and visit one of Kathmandu's cultural highlights. In the evening, the tourist hub of Thamel is a good place to grab your first meal, with a variety of restaurants to chose from offering both Western and local Nepali dishes.

Day 2: To The Last Resort

After breakfast this morning, we set outbound for the legendary The Last Resort, the last stop before Tibet!  It is set amidst sprawling terraces high above the Bhote Kosi River, with comfortable safari tents set in lush gardens. The Resort’s buildings, including the charmingly designed male and female common bathrooms, a gorgeous (and well stocked) bar and dining area are all uniquely crafted in local stone, carved wood and slate, blending traditional design with modern comforts.

Depending on your arrival time, the afternoon is free for your chance to check out Nepal’s only bungee jumping (3^rd highest in the world), the world’s biggest swing, try your hand at rafting, canyoning or the high ropes course, or simply relax with an excellent massage, or in the sauna and plunge pool.

Day 3: Into the wilderness

After a hearty breakfast in the garden of The Last Resort, head out across the bungee bridge and start trekking. Initially, you will head up through charming villages and terraced fields, gaining more and more views of the Jugal Himal section of the Himalayan Range. After lunch, plunge into the pristine forest high above the Bhote Kosi river valley. This trek is incredible as it takes us into such a wilderness area in such a short time! There are few places in Nepal that don’t see the impact of the booming population, but the forests of this area are amazingly well preserved and offer simply stunning trekking. Trek up past a little sacred lake and through stands of towering rhododendron trees to reach your campsite in an open meadow with gorgeous views to Jugal himal and south across a seemingly endless succession of ridges and valleys.

Day 4: Thingsang La

This morning tuck into a great camp breakfast before hitting the trails again. Today you will aim to reach a great campsite near Thingsang La (La means pass) and head out through stunning forest, interspersed with meadows. Midway through the day, reach a huge meadow perched high above razor-sharp ridges with tremendous drops down into the valleys below and amazing views north to the Himalayan Range. Here there is another sacred lake (where forest leopard tracks have been spotted in the past) which is part of a chain of shamanic power places linked across this section of the range, culminating in Kalinchowk. The meadow here provides seasonal grazing for cows from the villages way down below and we trek past stone shelters dotted here and there as we make out way across and back into the forest. Emerging from the forest we find ourselves at the head of the valley and we contour around a massive bluff before dropping down to your campsite just below Thingsang La. 

Day 5: Kalinchowk

Today is not for the fainthearted or people with vertigo! You have one of Nepal’s greatest ridgeline walks ahead of you... If you have vertigo there are two choices: tell us before the trek and we will make alternative arrangements for you or you could try the ‘saturation method’ and see if you can win yourself over! Either way, please let us know so that we can ensure your safety. From camp, you will have a short climb back to Thingsang La and for the next four to five hours it is up and down (and even flat sometimes) along the top of the ridge, with amazing views down into the valleys below us and up to the high mountains on the north side.

You will most likely have a packed lunch somewhere along the ridge as it is hard for the kitchen crew to find water up here to cook us lunch. You will finally reach Kalinchowk (3,790 m), a rocky spire with 360-degree views and an amazing shrine, by early afternoon. Kalinchowk is like a floating island isolated from its neighbors with magnificent views of Lapchi Kang, Mani Himal, Gaurishankar, Tibet, Langtang Himal and the Mahabarat Range flattening out into the Northern Indian Plain.

Kalinchowk is a little-visited wonder, sacred to Shamans, Hindus, and Buddhists – the tiny peak is packed with prayer flags fluttering above thousands of holy metal Tridents pointing up to heaven – all set against this incredible backdrop. After taking in the views and learning about this amazing religious site you then descend steeply to Khurikharka, your overnight camp.

Day 6: On your bike!

If you didn't have enough of the views from Kalinchowk yesterday you might head back up the hill for sunrise views before breakfast.

After fuelling up for a big day ahead, you will mount up on your mountain bikes for an epic downhill all the way to the Bhote Kosi River! You drop no less than 2,800 m and have an awesome time doing it on a mix of jeep trails and paved road. Head down first on the new jeep trail from Khurikharka, biking through stunning rhododendron and oak forests, with spectacular views of the surrounding forested hillsides and Sherpa villages. Once you hit the main Kathmandu/Jiri road you will have a great paved surface for your initial climb up to Mude bazaar at 2,500 m before you plunge down to the river at approx 800 m – an exhilarating ride to say the least.

Day 7: Ride the rapids on the famous Bhote Kosi

The Bhote Kosi river comes to us from the snows of Tibet and is a steep mountain river providing one of the best short river raft trips in Nepal and perhaps the world. The next rapid is never far downstream and the occasional stretches of calm give you a chance to reflect on the beauty of the river and its surroundings of terraced fields perched on precipitous slopes and the curious villagers checking out your progress.

Today you have a wild rafting ride ahead of you so, again, fuel up well at breakfast time as you will need the energy for the river! Rafting on the Bhote Kosi is known as a full body experience, much more active than simply paddling along... one of the most common paddle commands on the Bhote Kosi is “hold on!”

After a full on day, we load up into the van and head back into Kathmandu where you will check into your hotel for a well-earned shower before heading out for dinner.

Day 8: Depart Kathmandu

Time to say farewell to Nepal. Enjoy your last moments in Kathmandu with breakfast in a café, a city stroll, and/or souvenir shopping. A representative will meet you at your hotel and drive you to the airport for your return flight home. It's good to be at the airport at least two hours prior to departure.