Nepal’s Classic Highlights – 9 Days

You’ll enjoy stunning views of the city, the Himalaya, and the terraced fields below as you take off and land in Kathmandu. After clearing customs, a representative will be there to welcome you and help you get used to the unfamiliar tiny, twisting streets of Kathmandu as you make the hour-long drive to the village of Nagarkot, which is nestled in the hills northeast of Kathmandu. This is the best way to spend your first night away from Kathmandu’s bustle!

You have the option of hiking for two to three hours to get to Nagarkot’s village and the hotel, where your luggage will be waiting, rather than taking a car the entire way. After a

long journey, this easy stroll through farms and villages with lovely views of the surrounding valleys is a terrific way to stretch your legs.

Get up early to see the Himalayan sunrise—it’s a stunning sight, and it’s followed by a delicious meal! After breakfast, you have a choice of taking a 1-hour drive from Nagarkot to Bhaktapur or a 4-hour hike. The Kathmandu Valley’s Changu Narayan village, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is traversed on a downhill hike. This small town’s well-known temple is the least frequented of its kind in the valley, making it a special destination to visit given less tourists. The temple, which is thought to be the oldest in Nepal, was built in the thirteenth century.

The majority of Bhaktapur’s spectacular structures, notably the five-story Nyatapola Temple and the tallest temple in the Kathmandu Valley, are still surviving despite the city’s heavy damage from the 2015 earthquake. Bhaktapur is a historic Newari city. Fine Newari crafts, particularly pottery, are produced in the area and can be seen drying in the broad town squares.

You will tour Bhaktapur’s temples and courtyards in the morning. You will then be driven the hour-long distance to Patan. The Kathmandu Valley’s Patan is the greatest location for souvenir shopping. There are many traditional Newari artisans in the area, thus you can find stores offering jewelry of all kinds, metal statues, Buddhist thangka paintings, and brass and copper cookware.

Although the number is rapidly increasing, Patan doesn’t have as many hotels as central Kathmandu, yet it works to the discerning traveler’s favor. Several charming boutique guesthouses have been created from local historic properties.

You’ll need to wake up early this morning to catch your trip to Chitwan National Park in Nepal’s famed Terai area. You’ll discover that the environment and culture here are completely dissimilar to those in Kathmandu or the Himalaya. The term “Terai” refers to the vast plains in the southern region of Nepal; this region is the furthest northern extension of India’s huge Gangetic plains; it was gained and lost over decades of conflict and possesses both Indian and Nepalese traits and cultural traditions.

If you choose an afternoon flight, a representative from your lodge will pick you up at the Chitwan airport, and you will arrive at the resort in time for lunch and a briefing on the activities you can participate in today and tomorrow.

Choose from a selection of options today, or spend the day unwinding and adventuring on your own.  Spending time with Nepal’s beautiful elephants while they explore the dense jungle in search of wildlife or going on a river safari in historically accurate wooden canoes to see wildlife and birds along the river banks are two ways to make the most of your day.

The bigger one-horned rhinoceros, spotted deer, hog deer, sambar deer, and barking deer are among the wildlife found in Chitwan. A large diversity of birds are also present. If you’re lucky, you might catch a glimpse of a leopard, a sloth bear, or a Royal Bengal tiger (although it’s getting harder and harder to see tigers these days!).

A 3–4-hour trip from Chitwan to Lumbini is required after breakfast. King Mayadevi is credited with giving birth to the Buddha at Lumbini, a Buddhist pilgrimage site in Nepal’s Kapilavastu district close to the Indian border. Between about 563 and 483 BCE, the Buddha was alive.

The other three were Bodhgaya, Sarnath, and Kushinagar. Lumbini is one of four centers of pilgrimage that have emerged in locations significant to the life of the Buddha. The UNESCO designated Lumbini as a World Heritage Site in 1997. The sacred site at Lumbini includes the Asokan pillar, the Mayadevi temple, the remains of former monasteries, a sacred Bodhi tree, a bygone bathing pond, and the exact location of the Buddha’s birth. Pilgrims from many nations practice meditation and chanting at the spot from early morning until early evening.

The Crane Sanctuary, a location rich in culture and birds, is located in Lumbini. Take binoculars if you want to see the Booted Eagles, Eurasian Marsh Harriers, and Eurasian Wigeons.

You’ll have time in the morning to take in the dawn and see the nearby temples. After that, you’ll be driven to Bhairawa Airport to catch your flight to Pokhara. You’ll be driven to the hotel by a private car after you arrive in Pokhara.

You’ll have the whole day in Pokhara today to unwind or partake in a number of activities. Go shopping, check out the cafes and restaurants, or try something more daring like paragliding or mountain biking.

You’ll be taken to the Pokhara domestic airport following breakfast in order to catch your flight back to Kathmandu. To ensure you’ll have enough time to catch your flight if you’re traveling home from Kathmandu today, make sure your flight doesn’t take off before 11 am. (Around 9:15 am is the earliest you may return to Kathmandu.)