Arriving at Tribhuwan International Airport is an experience in itself. Don’t let it put you off, as our airport representative will be waiting to welcome you with your name written on a placard. Depending on traffic, the drive to your hotel takes about 20-30 minutes.

Starting in Boudhanath, you will visit the largest Buddhist stupa in Asia which is the hub of Tibetan culture in Nepal. The 36-meter high stupa is one of the largest stupas in South Asia. It was built on the site where ancient Tibetan merchants used to rest and offer prayers over the centuries and formed a kingdom within a kingdom.

One of the most fascinating and important World Heritage Sites in Nepal, Bhaktapur is made up of three large squares filled with historic shrines and temples, Newar architecture and fine art. Famous for its clay pots and exquisite wood carvings, Bhaktapur is also legendary for its colourful festivals and its delicious and unique cuisine. Bhaktapur retains its medieval feel and the local people are still engaged in farming and traditional crafts like pottery, metalwork, art and woodwork which have supported the city since it was established in the 12th century. This is a ‘must see’ place to explore! You will be shown the magnificent Golden Gate in Durbar Square (square of the palaces), the Palace of 55 Windows, the Nyata Pola Temple, Newar houses and pottery square. Although the town was damaged in the 2015 earthquake, there has been a lot of work to repair the old buildings.

You are taken to Panauti, another medieval town where you have lunch with a local family before being taken to explore the beautiful authentic old town.  Surrounded by sacred rivers, this is the birthplace of a number of legendary figures. It is famous for its 40 temples and 28 festivals that are celebrated throughout the year. Panauti’s temples are dedicated to various deities can be seen scattered around the small old town. You will be taken to see Indreshwar Mahadev Temple – Panauti’s most famous temple. Panauti is rich in Newari culture and although many of its festivals are similar to those celebrated in Kathmandu, others are unique with a completely local character.

Patan  Durbar Square: Patan City is surrounded by a fascinating array of temples, built in various architectural manners. Patan Durbar Square is a home of numerous temples like Krishna Mandir, Bhimsen Mandir, Taleju Bell, Bhai Dega and much more, which also display that Gods and Humans have always lived with each other since long-long time ago.

All the temples are decorated with masterpiece handicrafts, and according to the Newari architecture.  The City is built on Newari cultural perspectives, thus, the city holds the utter pride of Newar history.

Most of the monuments of the city belong to the medieval Malla period, from 15 to 17 centuries. Golden Gate & Golden Window from the old palaces,  traditional  metal craft, Krishna Mandir famed in 21 Golden Pinnacles,  the Royal Bath of Sundari Chowk, the Royal Taleju Temple, Vishwa Narayan (Bishnu) Temple are the some of the finest examples of unique craftsmanship,  and faith of the locals to the Gods projected in the wood.

The temple of Bhimsen and its magnificent golden balcony overlooking the backdoor of the temple also includes any other shrines & sculptures scattered in and around the square.

After completing a sightseeing tour of Patan Durbar Square, we shall drive to Pharping, south of the Kathmandu Valley.

Just above Pharphing, Neydo Monastery  – a Tibetan Style monastery – is a home to 140 monks from India & Nepal, combined. The present  Karma Charme is the seventh reincarnation figure of the Lama of the unique  Neydo Kagyu tradition,  which also follows the Nyingma Lineage Tibetan Buddhism.

The Neydo Rinponche Monastery guest house provides accommodation in comfortable, well-appointed rooms (all with private bath, kettle to make tea/coffee, private balcony). Further, wide balconies provide stunning views across the valley and the monastery has elegant, comfortable sitting area – a lovely place to think, relax and to read  – and excellent meals are guaranteed in the dining room.

Overnight in Neydo Monastery

Meals – Breakfast in Hotel Traditional Comfort

Dinner in Neydo Monastery

Rising early for the morning prayer ceremony with the monks, after breakfast you are driven to Kurintar, about 100km from Kathmandu on the banks of the Trisuli River.

Your lodge sits on a ridge in the middle of forested hills that slope down to the sandy beaches of the Trisuli River. Here you can find the tiny settlements of various tribal groups like Chepang, Dorai, Magar, and some Brahman and Chettri people who eke out their subsistence from foraging in the forests, trapping the odd small animal or wildfowl, and cultivating wheat, rice, maize and vegetables. Typically animist, these people are the last of the hunter-gatherers who live in Nepal.

After breakfast, you go on a guided walk in the hills behind your lodge where you can visit some of the homes of the local Chepang and Magar people. This area is very rich in birdlife and flora, with many orchids along the shady pathways. Walking back to the hotel via a lower route, you pass fields and the white sand beaches of the Trisuli River.

After lunch you are driven to Barauli Jungle Lodge in Chitwan where you spend the next couple of nights. Voted as number 1 by TripAdvisor in 2017, this stylish and luxurious jungle lodge hotel offers the best of Nepali hospitality. Located close to the Rapti River in Meghauli, you see the wildlife in and around Chitwan National Park during the two days of your stay here.

In the evening, take a stroll through the local village, and interact with locals to learn something about their way of life. Accommodation is provided in twelve little cottages that have been built by the villagers,  simply furnished, but offers everything for a comfortable stay. The village women, who are also the owner of each cottage, live nearby the homestay so that they can take care of their guests as staying at their homes. Enjoy the local welcome ceremony by the Tharu community people and cultural dance performed  by the villagers.  (Barauli Community Homestay)

Chitwan National Park was the first national park in Nepal and was set up 1973. It was made a World Heritage Site in 1984. With an area of over 932 km2 and an altitude of between 100 m to 815 m in the Churia Hills, it is home to 68 species of mammals. You may see the “king of the jungle,” the Bengal tiger as this is reported as being one of the best tiger habitats in the world. More commonly sighted are the one-horned rhinoceros, sambar deer, red muntjac, hog deer, rhesus monkeys, Hanuman langurs and wild elephant.

You will be taken on a jeep safari and a nature walk, visiting a local village outside the national park and can ride on an elephant. (Barauli Community Homestay)

After a morning game drive and breakfast, you are driven to Bandipur. Described at a ‘living museum of Newari culture’ by Lonely Planet, Bandipur lies on a ridge about 700m above the river. An important stop for traders along the India-Tibet route in the eighteenth century, the Newars brought their cultural heritage and architecture which has remained unchanged. In the nineteenth century Bandipur was a prosperous trading centre, with its buildings that have ornate elegant neoclassical façades and wood-carved shuttered windows.

Although the village suffered decline in the 1970s after the building of the Prithi Highway from Kathmandu to Pokhara, a lot of work has gone into helping restore Bandipur to its former glory. Bandipur Eco Cultural Tourism Project (BECT-Project) that is funded by EuropeAid supports Bandipur as a unique tourist destination. Now with its glorious 18th-century architecture, pedestrianized bazaar and cafes, it is a very relaxing place to chill out.

As well as Padma Library that is in the heart of Bandipur bazaar, there are several temples in or close to the main bazaar, including the temple of Khadga Devi, one of the most revered in Bandipur. Only open once a year on the day of Phulpati during Dasain, the shrine does not contain any statues of gods or goddesses, but just a Khadga that is a sacred sword wrapped in layers of cloth. Bindhabasini Temple in the middle of the bazaar is constructed in the traditional pagoda style and Chandithan temple can be seen just to the west of the bazaar. Mahalaxmi Temple, to the southeast of the bazaar is medieval and also in the style of a pagoda. Then to the east of the bazaar is Narayan Temple with its statues of the god Harihar and the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu.

You will explore the hills around Bandipur, hiking to Ramkot. Ramkot is an easy two-hour walk west of Bandipur passing through Muchuk village. Ramkot is a typical Magar village with traditional round houses and is untouched by modern development, offering an opportunity to see the lifestyle of people in rural Nepal. If you want to go further, Chabdi Barahi is another two hours of easy hiking.

Not only are there spectacular views from your hotel, but a short walk to Tundikhel gives an excellent vantage point to the north of Bandipur’s main bazaar where you can see the sun setting over the Himalayan Range including Dhaulagiri, Machhapuchhre, Langtang, Manaslu and Ganesh Himal, among others. You should be able to see the legendary Gorkha Palace and Manakamana Peak, and look down to the Marsyangdi Valley, Bimalnagar and Dumre.

After breakfast at your hotel you are driven to Pokhara, about 3 hours away where you will have the rest of the day at leisure. One of the largest cities in Nepal, in area it is Nepal’s biggest, covering an area larger than Kathmandu. At an altitude of around 830m, it is famous for its beautiful lake and the mountains: the Annapurna Range with three of the ten highest mountains in the world — Dhaulagiri, Annapurna I and Manaslu are all easily seen from here.  Staying at Lakeside beside Phewa Lake, this is a scenic area where there are plenty of bars, cafes, restaurants and shopping.

An early start and you visit the two highest viewpoints over Pokhara and the surrounding mountains. You go first to Sarangkot (1592m) which is on the top of a hill overlooking Phewa Lake on one side and the Himalayas on the other. From here it is possible to go paragliding, flying down to Lakeside. After lunch you go boating on the lake and hike up to the World Peace Pagoda which commands a view over the lake to Sarangkot and the mountains. The pagoda was built in 1996 and is 35m high. Its 37 steps take you to its second tier where there are four Buddha faces that look out in the cardinal directions. A standing Buddha in bronze faces south, while a Sri Lankan Buddha meditates looking to the west, a Thai Buddha faces north and a Japanese Buddha looks eastwards.

There are lots of things to see and do in Pokhara. There are a few museums, the most notable being the International Mountain Museum (IMM). In addition there is an ethnographical museum, Pokhara Regional Museum and Annapurna Natural History Museum with collections of flora and fauna, and butterflies. There is also the Gurkha Museum featuring the history of the Gurkha soldiers. Gurkha soldiers are still recruited here in Pokhara. You might like to go boating or take the opportunity to try out paragliding. For the fearless, you might want to have a go at Nepal’s second bungee jumping site: Water Touch Bunjee Jumping.Or if you are interested in Tibetan culture, you can take a tour of the Tibetan settlements with a Tibetan guide.

Flying back to Kathmandu takes only about 35 minutes. On the way from the airport back to your hotel, you will be taken to Pashupatinath, the Hindu temple complex site on the banks on the sacred Bagmati River. A World Heritage site since 1979, it is a collection of over 500 temples, ashrams, sacred images and inscriptions that are within the 264-hectare site. It is the most important Hindu temple in Nepal and one of the most important Shiva temples in the Subcontinent. The area is alive with colour and activity. While non-Hindus are not permitted to enter the main temple, it is possible to visit a vantage point from where there are good views of the temple and the ghats. (Traditional Comfort Hotel)

You have the rest of the day free. You might like to try out one of the many cooking classes or workshops on offer, go for some more sightseeing or do some last minute shopping. 

In the evening we will gather for our farewell dinner at the Krishnarpana Restaurant in the exclusive and luxury Dwarika’s Hotel. Here we will be served a special 6-course Newar dinner. This is a not to be missed experience from the moment you enter the authentic and stylish hall to the moment when you depart, a farewell gift in hand.

You transfer to Tribhuvan Airport to connect with your onward flight. Please note that you should check in three hours prior to your flight time.