Kathmandu

cashbackproblems

Hey i am going to Kathmandu in Feb/March and on a much tighter schedule than you!

I am spending 1 day in KTM, then next day flying to Pokhara to do a 4/5 day trek of Poon Hill. This is one of the easier teahouse treks (but still requires a decent level of fitness) and would advise something similar given you time frame, the views from Ghorepani of Mt Everest are breathtaking!! You can also do day treks from Pokhara and go boating on Phewa Lake. Bakthapur is also worth visiting in KTM, along with Durbar Square.

You can also do a 45min mountain flight with Buddha Air which will take you to the top of mount everest something you will otherwise never be able to do!

3 weeks is a lot...but then there is plenty to do. You could consider doing 1.5 weeks in Nepal (if trekking isnt appealing) and spend the other week in Dehli and do the golden triangle (Dehli/Agra/Jaipur) for example. This is what i will be doing.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Kathmandu

Coraline

I like the flying idea! Definitely on the list now

I found this trek on a website somewhere (can't remember the source I copied and pasted it from):

The Kathmandu Valley Cultural Trekking Trail.
Day 01: Kathmandu - Sundarijal - Chisapani (2150M) 5:30hrs.
Day 02: Chisapani - Nagarkot (2163M) 5 to 7:30hrs. An interesting trail takes us to the hill retreat of Nagarkot, perched on a ridge 28 km east of Kathmandu. It commands sweeping views of the Himalayas. Five of the world's ten highest peaks, Everest, Lhotse, Choyu, Makalu and Manaslu are visible from here.
Day 03: Nagarkot - Dhulikhel 6:00hrs The trail climbs up to the tower of Nagarkot. From the tower there are excellent views of mountain including view of Mt Everest and Kahmandu valley. Trail descends through rhododendron forest and villages to Dhulikhel.
Day 04: Dhulikhel -Namobuddha- Kathmandu. The trail passes many villages and terrace to reach to Namoboudha. In Namobuddha there are some interesting Tibetan monastery which is such an intresting among the tourists.

I thought about India but it would be doing too much for me--my preferred way of travel is to do about a month per country, alternating between doing stuff (like trekking in this example) and simply just "hanging out" and soaking up the feel of the place.

Does anybody have any idea of hitch-hiking there? The last time I did it was in Iceland before I moved from there and had a blast--but that is a totally different breed of cat since it has zero crime and everybody speaks English.

cashbackproblems

Coraline wrote: »

I like the flying idea! Definitely on the list now

I found this trek on a website somewhere (can't remember the source I copied and pasted it from):

The Kathmandu Valley Cultural Trekking Trail.
Day 01: Kathmandu - Sundarijal - Chisapani (2150M) 5:30hrs.
Day 02: Chisapani - Nagarkot (2163M) 5 to 7:30hrs. An interesting trail takes us to the hill retreat of Nagarkot, perched on a ridge 28 km east of Kathmandu. It commands sweeping views of the Himalayas. Five of the world's ten highest peaks, Everest, Lhotse, Choyu, Makalu and Manaslu are visible from here.
Day 03: Nagarkot - Dhulikhel 6:00hrs The trail climbs up to the tower of Nagarkot. From the tower there are excellent views of mountain including view of Mt Everest and Kahmandu valley. Trail descends through rhododendron forest and villages to Dhulikhel.
Day 04: Dhulikhel -Namobuddha- Kathmandu. The trail passes many villages and terrace to reach to Namoboudha. In Namobuddha there are some interesting Tibetan monastery which is such an intresting among the tourists.

I thought about India but it would be doing too much for me--my preferred way of travel is to do about a month per country, alternating between doing stuff (like trekking in this example) and simply just "hanging out" and soaking up the feel of the place.

Does anybody have any idea of hitch-hiking there? The last time I did it was in Iceland before I moved from there and had a blast--but that is a totally different breed of cat since it has zero crime and everybody speaks English.

I have heard of that trek and did consider Dhulikel for a view point, but a friend who is a seasoned trekker said you cant beat Poon Hill/Ghorepani at sunset...check out tripadvisor for other suggestions. You can find a guide/porter once in KTM/Pokhara but research before so you dont get ripped off. Do not book anything with western companies everything will be cheaper there.

This is my itinerary:

Day 01: Pokhara (Pkr), and drive to Nayapul( one hr) and trek to Tikhedhunga
Day 02: Trek to Ghorepani (2855 m).
Day 03: Climb to Poon Hill for and trek to Tadapani (2595 m).
Day 04: Trek to Ghandruk explore the ethnic village, trek to Nayapul and drive to Pokhara, stay in Pokhara fly back to KTM that evening/next day.

In 3 weeks you can easily go to Chitwan national park as well and stay overnight.

danandjens_worldtravels

We did an Everest base camp trek with this group in 2009. They are local and we found them on Thamel and after chatting to these and another one or two operators these guys were great. They stored our bags, gave us free t-shirts, introduced us to Dahl Baht before we left and most importantly gave us a fantastic trip. http://www.treknepal.com/home

They have lots of different kinds of tours so you could maybe find or make one you like. We liked them because they were local, we went at the end of Sept and had a tour with just 4 of us, watching the big international tours go by with 20 or so in a group we were glad we picked them. The tea houses are all the same once you're up there so paying for a big company like Intrepid and Gap made no difference, except we felt we got a good service as there we so few of us.

If you are going trekking, buy your gear on Thamel (or just off) its cheap as chips and we assumed copies, but our North Face fleeces, walking socks and waterproofs are all going strong. In fact i want to go back and buy out more of the 'fake' north face as its soooo good!!

PompeyPete

Coraline wrote: »

Does anybody have any idea of hitch-hiking there?

It's possible, but it won't be a freebie.
Make sure the driver isn't drunk, and that the vehicle is fit for purpose.