The Karnali River Whitewater Rafting

“Nepal’s longest, largest, and Wilderness and Pristine River in western Nepal.”

Kathmandu Adventure organize and run private and commercial rafting expeditions on some of the best rivers in Nepalese Himalayan and in the world. Karnali River is one of our most beautiful and preferred rivers for big water rafting and camping in Nepal Karnali River is known as Jewels of Himalayan and started from Tibet and drains into the Gangentic basin of India.

Karnali River is Nepal’s longest and largest river and with tributaries, it drains most of the far west of Nepal- the ‘wild west’ as many people call it. This bottom section of the river lives up to that name – the area that it flows through is wild and relatively unpopulated with some of the most pristine jungles, wildlife, and the best scenery in Nepal.

The Karnali River’s rapids are challenging & fun class III – IV+ pools and drops, with the river building to its climax in these lower canyons. Shortly after the sharp bend in the river the elbow by the Lohare Khola the side stream river put-in the valley narrows into a series of canyons, the Karnali river speeds up, and there are big rapids, one leading into another, almost continuously down to the Seti River confluence. From the elbow down the West-Seti River, the gradient is 3 meters per kilometer (15ft per mile), but after here the gradient eases, as the river winds through some of the magnificent un-spoilt scenery, eventually emerging onto the plains and flows through the Royal Bardhiya National Park to join the Ganges.

In terms of volume, the river is comparable to Sunkosi, but the Karnali River is more constrained by its canyon walls; giving bigger, more continuous, and more challenging fun rapids. The constrained nature of the river means that any increase in volume has a more pronounced effect on the difficulty of the rapids and this makes it a river that is best run at low/medium flows, In high water Karnali River gets more challenging to navigate a few rapids especially in the gorge section. The highest extreme instantaneous discharge measured at Chisapani the local town take-out was an incredible 21700cumecs (760000CFS)

The western part of Nepal Karnali Province is the most beautiful remote and untouched area in Nepal, the real life, culture, and tradition are incredibly amazing fascinating, and interesting in the world. People are still living a nomadic life in the area, living in a joint family system, Raute people make wooden craft baskets, pots, and many other stuff and exchange them in the nearby village with grain and nowadays sell into the bigger market to Surkhet. In the western part of Nepal people are relatively poor and closer to the Indian border, many people travel to the nearest town of India to seek jobs and opportunities for financial support for their families mostly youth from 14-35 years old people. Kathmandu Adventure is trying its best to bring more people to the area and support small local businesses and products by buying food for our clients.

The Bheri River is suitable for families’ vacation holidays fishing and rafting it’s in the Karnali province. Our goal is to create some opportunities for those far from Nepal’s youth in rafting adventure tourism and support local tourism.

We organize rafting expeditions all over the Himalayan Tamor River Expedition, and Sunkosi River both Rivers are very popular for multi-day expeditions in Nepal.

Trip Summary:

Starting point: Lohore Khola

Difficulty: Challenging (Grade III – IV+ )

Ending point: Chisapani

Best season: Oct to Dec & April – May

Distance: 190km.

Rafting days: 7 days

Accommodation: Tented camping

Trip cost: $1450 – $1950 (two-person tent north face)

River rating: 5 Star

Trip start and end: Kathmandu

Outline Itinerary
Day 01: Arrive in Kathmandu Trenasfer to Hotel
Day 02: Sightseeing in Kathmandu, and prep day.
Day 03: Fly to Nepalgunj/Shurkhet and drive to put-in.
Day 04: Raft 4-5 hours, our River journey starts.
Day 05: Raft 4-5 hours, beautiful River section, cultural interaction.
Day 06: Lay over, explore locals village.
Day 07: Raft 5-6 hours on the gorge section and camp.
Day 08: Raft 4-5 hours and camp.
Day 09: Raft 4-5 hours and camp.
Day 10: Raft 2 -3 hours and take-out, fly to Kathmandu.
Day 11: Extra day in Ktahmandu, visit local market.
Day 12: Fly back to your home.

Day 01: Arrive in Kathmandu Trenasfer to Hotel
Kathmandu Adventure’s trip leader who will meet you at the airport and transfer to a hotel in Kathmandu. On 1st day you’ll be catching some sleep rest and in the evening going out for dinner and exploring the fascinating Thamel tourist town.

Day 02: Sightseeing in Kathmandu, and prep day.
Breakfast can be taken at the same hotel that includes stunning views of the Himalayan. Today we’re going to explore this incredible Kathmandu city, a world heritage site. Whether you decide to visit some of the world heritage fascinating temples and stupas, take an early morning trip starting from Monkey Temple, check out the Sadhus and Pashupatinath temple architects, and do some local market, or just sit on the roof of one of the many restaurants for coffee, Kathmandu will treat you well and brings you smile and happiness in your face. In the evening your trip leader will brief you all on a pre-departure and pass all the necessary orientation of the expedition regarding the river journey, equipment, logistics, and environment for the trip.

Day 03: Fly to Nepalgunj/Shurkhet and drive to put-in.
After breakfast, we board our flight early morning to Surkhet, in the wild west of Nepal. From Surkhet will be traveling another 4 -5 hrs bus journey to the start of our river expedition. By late afternoon we will start to prep rigged and ready to set off for the short trip downstream to our evening camp. If we’re late and have no time for a rigged raft we camp at the starting point.

Day 04: Raft 4-5 hours, our River journey starts.
Today we see a gradual introduction of whitewater class II – III as we take to the river for about 4 -5 hours. We’d like to pause for lunch at the beautiful waterfall, sandy beach, or the village giving us the chance to interact with locals and take some fabulous photo opportunities. After Lunch, we get to try out our teamwork on some fun rapids before we run our first major rapids on the trip, “Cotton Pony” which leads us to our evening campsite.

Day 05: Raft 4-5 hours, beautiful River section, cultural interaction.
After breakfast, we have a fantastic day of the whitewater to look forward to starting with some unnamed class III fun rapids Sweetness And “Humans for lunch” En route, we stop at Jungleghat, a fairly major village en route is a very old settlement people cross a suspension bridge to Achham, we’ll test some famous local cup of tea interact with local about 20-30min. Shortly after 10 minutes downstream from the village are the rapids “Jailhouse Rock” & “Inversion” We relax for lunch at the waterfall and float another hour to our overnight stay called Scorpion Beach where we enter a beautifully forested canyon and cascading waterfalls

Day 06: Lay over, explore locals village.
Layover day, depending on your decision and interest today we can stay at the camp play volleyball, do yoga meditation, read books, learn kayak, or hike up to the local village. There are many opportunities to learn about local people’s daily lives and culture.

Day 07: Raft 5-6 hours on the gorge section and camp.
After we have been suitably rested and refueled we head downriver to take on the biggest whitewater of the expedition/trip. “Godshouse” is our 1st land scout rapid for the day and great fun. We continue downstream to enjoy the towering waves of “Juicer” and “Flip ‘n Strip” before stopping for lunch. After the Lunch break, the rapids keep on coming thick and fast, in the form of “Snapshot”,“Freight Train” and the other rapids before we hit some calmer water further downstream. One of the best whitewater days on the Karnali River trip.

Day 08: Raft 4-5 hours and camp.
The whitewater action of the previous few days gives rise to some calmer water and the chance to relax and sunbathe etc. This section of the River is a very beautiful and scenic landscape; we will pass through villages see their lifestyle and many more interesting things on the river journey. You can try out some kayaking and learn raft rowing/paddle guiding/learning hydrology.

Day 09: Raft 4-5 hours and camp.
Another day where we gently float at the river speed while fishermen show off their catch and summon us to come and buy as we drift on past. Local Fishermen catching and selling fish are their daily income and tradition. Dugout canoes ferry passengers across the river and young children swim out to our raft with the prospect of a ride further downstream. Today will pass through some of the beautiful landscape forests and many small villages, there are always chances to learn about the local life and traditions. This is our last night on the river camping, we always provide tents, but if you’re interested in sleeping out under start that’s always possible too.

Day 10: Raft 2 -3 hours and take-out, fly to Kathmandu.
We’ll have early breakfast as we watch the sunrise over the hills. Chisapani marks the end of our journey. In this section especially last day of early float we may be lucky to encounter Gangetic Dolphin and other wildlife. After lunch at the local Restaurant at Chisapani, we drive about 2 hours to Nepalgunj for our return flight to Kathmandu. You’ll be transferred to your hotel where you can grab a shower before we go out for our post-trip meal and share our feedback and experiences of the trip

Day 11: Extra day in Ktahmandu, visit local market.
One day's rest in Kathmandu allows you to smoothly journey back to your home the next day. Kathmandu is a vibrant city where you can buy some beautiful gifts and souvenirs for your home or loved one. Visiting Asan is a great way to see local's daily shopping and grocery traditions. Thamel is a great place to explore for dinner or you can try authentic Nepalese cuisine nearby.

Day 12: Fly back to your home.
We will arrange your transport to the airport 3 hours before your flight departure time. Please check with our staff the night before and get ready for your journey back home.

• All meals on rafting expedition.
• Domestic flight tickets Kathmandu – Nepalgunj - Kathmandu.
• State-of-the-art rafting equipment, all the rafts NRS brand and branding PFDs (NRS), Helmet Pro-tech, Wet suits or paddle jackets for each client.
• Experienced world-class rafting and safety kayaker and first-aid trained crew.
• Comprehensive group medical kit with some emergency med, trauma kits, river-related meds.
• All essential camping equipment, Tents, cooking utensil, sleeping bags, sleeping mat, dry bags expedition big size 100ltr capacity sharing and one small day dry bag.
• Rafting permits and rafting fees.
• Clean treated drinking water (iodine/ chlorine) for both clean dishes and veg.
• Meals Dinner, Breakfast, and Lunch with hot drinks, tea coffee, and hot chocolate.
• 4-night hotel in Kathmandu with breakfast on twin/double occupancy standard rooms.
• Sightseeing in Kathmandu with tour guide and private vehicle.
• Airport picks up and drops as needed.

• International flight tickets, visa fee, baggage fee.
• Lunch and dinner while you are in Kathmandu.
• Personal/health / travel/ adventure insurance.
• Personal clothing for your trips.
• Extra nights in Kathmandu/hotel & lunch and dinner in Kathmandu.
• Emergency evacuation fees and charges.
• Guide/crew tip.
• All bottle beverages i.e. coke/soda, beer/alcohol/ mineral water, etc.