Pure Nepal

Day 1: Kathmandu - Bhaktapur
You will be met on arrival at Kathmandu airport and transferred to Bhaktapur for rest and leisure at Heritage Hotel. If time allows, you will be picked up at 17:00hrs from the lobby and head out for a walk in Bhaktapur city with a local old man to see the local lifestyle of the people. Around 18:30, you will head back to the hotel for leisure and overnight.

Day 2: Bhaktapur
After an early morning call at 06:00 am, you will be picked up by a local and escorted to the temple where you will witness the prayers (puja). If you are interested we will also offer you a butter lamp to light. On the way back to the hotel you will pass by the local market and buy some vegetables and meat for your dinner at night. Around 07:30 am, you will return to the hotel for breakfast. After breakfast, you will drive to Changu Narayan. Renowned to be the oldest temple in Nepal, Changunarayan temple has beautiful, intricate, and well-preserved architecture, and the temple is surrounded by very beautiful stone carvings. Afterwards you will go for a hike to Telkot where you will have amazing views over the valley and the Himalayas. The hike will take about 2-3 hours. After the hike, you will be able to explore the town more and visit a wood-craft center, paper factory, and pottery center and you will also have a chance to see how they wave their traditional dress. In the evening you will return to your hotel where you can refresh for dinner. Dinner will be served at a local family where you will be able to interact with locals, learn to cook the food you bought in the morning and the man of the family will share his experiences on wood carving and the contribution he has made to restoring after the earthquake. After dinner, you will return to Heritage Hotel for leisure and overnight.

Day 3: Bhaktapur - Panauti
After breakfast, you will head out to Saga from where you will start the hike to Panauti. The hike will take you across the rim of the Kathmandu Valley, passing through diverse natural landscapes and multiple ethnic villages. Along the way, you will experience the unique lifestyle, culture, and tradition of Tamang and other indigenous communities. You will end your hike in a Newar community and check-in at Panauti Community Homestay which is run by the women for the women. Followed by lunch and in the afternoon you will walk down with the ladies to visit Panauti Town. You will visit the small town and it's ancient temples and the Nepal Vocational Academy, where they run short-term handicraft and carpenter courses. In the evening you will head back to the Panauti Community Homestay for dinner and overnight.

Day 4: Panauti
After breakfast, you will be transferred to Namobuddha, which is a 25km drive from Panauti and takes about 30 minutes. The little village of Namobuddha is a small town but is of enormous importance to Buddhists, and what a worthwhile place it is to visit to escape Kathmandu for a couple of days. The air is fresher, the skies cleared, exceptional food, and there are interesting cultural and hiking attractions around town. Namobuddha itself has two points of interest, the Thrangu Tashi Yangtse Monastery (home to around 250 monks), and the Namobuddha Stupa, downhill from the monastery. You will hike the 2 km to reach the monastery where you will interact with the monks and their activities like their prayers and meditations. In the afternoon, you can decide to hike down to Panauti, which takes around 3 to 4 hrs depending on the pace, it’s a good downhill and through the countryside. On the way, you will get to see traditional villages meet local people, beautiful temples and the holy river Panauti, amazing landscapes, scenic view, trail passing through the forest, and many more. It will take about 3 to 4 hours to reach Panauti. Upon arrival in Panauti you can take some time to rest and enjoy dinner and overnight at Panauti Community Homestay.

If you prefer to take the day rather slower; you can opt to stay in Panauti where you will be staying with the family members, and they will teach you to cook, take for a short hike or to their land field and walk around then villages.

Day 5: Panauti - Gorkha
Early Morning, you will have breakfast at the hotel and afterwards, walk up to highway and board the vehicle for your drive to Manakamana cable car basement where you will board the cable car. After your arrival at the top, you will walk 10 minutes to the Manakamana Temple. The Manakamana temple is one of the highly worshiped and one of the oldest temples of Nepal and houses a goddess believed to grant the wishes of all those who make a pilgrimage to her shrine. Afterwards you will continue your drive to Gorkha, which is located in the lush green hills, facing Mt Manaslu in the north. The rest of the day is free at leisure. Dinner and overnight at Gorkha Guan.

Day 6: Gorkha
Early morning you will enjoy the sunrise over the Himalayas. After you enjoyed a delicious breakfast at your hotel, you will start with a hike to the nearby village of Magar. The trail is mostly through the fields where you can see people working on their field and seasonal crops growing. The trail is mostly up hill and bit down once you reach the village, upon arrival the villagers will welcome you and you can explore and interact with locals. They will provide a local alcoholic beer a visit the health post and a local school. Later you will hike back to the hotel where you will refresh and spend some time in the garden where you can witness a beautiful sunset over the Himalayas. Dinner and overnight at Gorkha Guan.

Day 7: Gorkha - Naudada
After breakfast, you will head out to Gorkha Town. Gorkha is the place where the history of Nepal’s unification starts, it provides a unique opportunity to visit the famous and historical Gorkha Palace and Gorkha Museum. In the late morning, drive back to resort where you will check out and drive to Naudada. You will visit the village and learn about the daily lifestyle and walk toward the Sarangkot. Enjoy panoramic views of the mountains on your left-hand side and Pokhara Valley on your right-hand side. In Kaski Kot, you will find ruins of the fort of Kaski kings. In the afternoon you will arrive at the hotel for check in and enjoy the sunset over the Himalayas from your hotel. Dinner and overnight at Himalaya Deurali Resort.

Day 8: Naudada - Pokhara
Early morning at 5:00 AM you will wake up early and enjoy the sunrise over the Himalayas. At 6:00 AM - 6:30 AM you will enjoy a Yogic cleansing and from 06:30AM - 08:00 AM you will participate in Hatha Yoga class. At 08:15 AM you will enjoy breakfast in the garden from the hotel till 09:00 AM.
You will drive to Hanja for a visit to the Tibetan Refugee camp where you will visit the local Monastery and the camp. You are able to taste the local Tibetan Tea and learn about carpet waving. You will enjoy lunch at the monastery. In the afternoon transfer back to Pokhara where you will have some time to refresh and go for a boat ride on Phewa Lake. In the late afternoon you will also go for a cycling tour to the international mountain museum and enjoy dinner at a local restaurant at the lake side. Overnight at Atithi Resort.

Day 9: Pokhara
After Breakfast, you will drive to Phewa Powerhouse and go for a walk where you will cross the suspension bridge and continue your walk through the small Damsadi Village. From the first viewpoint you will enjoy the scenery of Pardi River, Annapurna, Manaslu Himalayan range, and the entire Pokhara valley. Further, you will walk to Ambot Village, which is a gentle ascending walk –approx. 30 minutes and walk back to Damsadi Village and cross the suspension bridge and drive back to Pokhara. In the late afternoon visit the Jangchub Choeling Tibetan Monastery. You will drive to Hemja, the refugee camp 5 km once you. reach there you will interact with the families and enjoy a cup of tea and then process to the monastery meet and then attend the prayers. You will explore the entire camp on foot, including the monastery, monks school, Buddhist temple, and Tibetan market while the guide explains more about the monastery and refugee camp. After the prayers, we will drive back to hotel for overnight at Atithi Resort.

Day 10: Pokhara - Chitwan
After breakfast, you will drive to Chitwan, en-route you will stop at a scenic village. Later continue your drive and head to Nepal’s famous jungle lodge at the Chitwan National Park. The park offers some of the richest and most spectacular wildlife sightseeing in Asia. Drive deep into the dense jungle during a jeep safari to face the elusive Bengal tigers and single-horned rhinos. The rest of the evening will be spent at leisure. Dinner and overnight at Jungle Villa Resort.

Day 11: Chitwan
Early morning wakeup call with tea or coffee and then proceed for the jungle activities. Possible jungle activities at Chitwan include canoeing, jeep drives and jungle walks. In the afternoon, you will visit a nearby village of the local people knows as the “Tharus”. Get a close insight into the lifestyle of this hardworking community. In the evening you will enjoy a Tharu cultural dance show. Dinner and overnight at Jungle Villa Resort.

Day 12: Chitwan - Kathmandu
After breakfast, you will drive back to Kathmandu which is a 6-7 hour drive. You will spend the rest of the day at leisure. Overnight at Nepali Ghar Hotel.

Day 13: Kathmandu
After breakfast you will depart to Patan city. Patan is famous for its fascinating Nepalese architecture, where you can witness master craftsmen busy at work making wooden masks, impressive golden statues of gods and goddesses, and stone smiths making the traditional Dunge Dhara (Stone taps). In the afternoon visit the Pashupatinath Temple, which is one of the most sacred Hindu temples, dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is situated five kilometers east on the bank of the sacred Bagmati River, the temple of Lord Shiva Pashupatinath, with its two-tiered golden roof and silver doors, is famous for its superb architecture. In the evening visit the Tibetan Buddhist Stupa of Boudhanath, which is one of the largest stupas in south-east Asia. You will hang the Tibetan Prayer flag and light the butter lamp praying for near and dears one. After this, you will visit a Thangka painting centre and end the day with a farewell dinner with an Everest summiteer. Overnight at Nepali Ghar Hotel.

Day 14: Kathmandu - departure
Today you will be transferred back to the airport for your departure flight back home.