15-Day Nepal Cultural and Wildlife Tour

Fifteen Days and Seven UNESCO Monument Zones

Days 1 to 3 | Kathmandu Valley

Arrive in Kathmandu for three days in the valley. Swayambhunath, the hilltop stupa above the city, is among the oldest Buddhist sites in Nepal. Pashupatinath on the Bagmati River is the most sacred Hindu site in the country, and its cremation ghats, sadhus, and constant temple life are worth taking slowly. Patan Durbar Square has the richest temple architecture of the valley’s three medieval royal squares. Kathmandu Durbar Square holds the Kumari Ghar, the residence of the living goddess, and the Hanuman Dhoka palace complex. On the last Kathmandu day, Bhaktapur, the most intact of the three cities, adds the Golden Gate and the Peacock Window.

Days 4 to 5 | Chitwan National Park

The drive south crosses the Terai to Chitwan National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the main stronghold of the greater one-horned rhinoceros in Nepal. The jeep safari goes into the tall grass and sal forest where rhinos and deer feed. The canoe trip on the Rapti River glides quietly past mugger crocodiles and gharials on the sandbars, with river birds close by. Professional naturalists lead every activity and explain what you see.

Days 6 to 7 | Lumbini and Tansen

The drive west from Chitwan reaches Lumbini, the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama and one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the world. The Mayadevi Temple marks the exact birth spot, and the Pushkarni Pool nearby is where his mother bathed before the birth. The Ashoka Pillar, erected in 249 BCE, is the oldest surviving physical evidence of the site’s importance. In the monastic zone around the central garden, Buddhist communities from across the world have built monasteries in the styles of their home countries. Tansen, at 1,350 meters above the Kali Gandaki valley, is reached the same day or the next morning: a traditional Newari hill town with views of Dhaulagiri and its own craft tradition in metalwork and dhaka weaving.

Days 8 to 9 | Pokhara and Sarangkot

Pokhara sits below the full southern face of the Annapurna range, with Phewa Lake in front of it and Machhapuchhre, the sacred unclimbed peak, directly above the far shore. The predawn drive to Sarangkot (1,592 meters) reaches the viewpoint before first light for sunrise over the full Annapurna massif, from Dhaulagiri in the west to Lamjung Himal in the east. After breakfast, a boat ride on Phewa Lake shows the same peaks reflected in the still morning water. David’s Fall nearby and the Barahi Temple on its island in the lake round out the Pokhara day.

Days 10 to 15 | Nagarkot, Changu Narayan, and Pharping

On the way back to Kathmandu you stop at Nagarkot, at 2,175 meters on the eastern rim of the valley, where a clear sunrise shows Everest at 8,849 meters and the full eastern Himalayan chain from Annapurna to Kanchenjunga. Changu Narayan, on its hilltop above the valley, is the oldest surviving temple in Nepal, and its fifth-century stone carvings of Vishnu are among the best early examples of Nepali religious sculpture. The Pharping caves below the village, where Padmasambhava is said to have attained realization before taking Vajrayana Buddhism to Tibet in the eighth century, are active meditation sites visited daily by monks and practitioners. A farewell dinner in Kathmandu on the last evening, with traditional Newari food and folk dancing, ends the trip.

Day by Day

Days 1 to 3 Kathmandu Valley UNESCO Sites and Temples

Arrive at Tribhuvan International Airport and transfer to the boutique hotel for a welcome and a full orientation briefing. The Kathmandu Valley has seven UNESCO-listed monument zones, and three days is the minimum to see them properly. The briefing covers the full fifteen-day itinerary: the order of destinations, the activities and how physically demanding they are, where you stay at each point, and the practical arrangements.

On the morning of Day 1 you climb the 365 steps of the eastern staircase to Swayambhunath, past prayer wheels and stone carvings worn smooth over the centuries. The stupa on the summit, with views across the valley in every direction, is the image of Kathmandu that most visitors take home. Pashupatinath in the afternoon is very different. It is the most sacred Hindu site in Nepal: the cremation ghats on the Bagmati River are in constant use, sadhus in ochre robes receive visitors in the outer courtyards, and you see a working temple going about its day. The cremations, the rituals, and the pilgrims are all part of daily worship here.

Patan Durbar Square, on Day 2, stands out among the three medieval royal squares for the quality and density of its temple architecture. The stone courtyards, the gilt rooftops, the Krishna Mandir (built entirely of stone in the seventeenth century), and the Patan Museum inside the palace complex make this the best single morning in the valley if you are interested in religious art and architecture. Kathmandu Durbar Square in the afternoon holds the Kumari Ghar, the residence of the living goddess, and the Hanuman Dhoka palace complex, whose courtyards and museum give the most detailed account of Kathmandu’s royal history in the city. If you take the optional Everest Mountain Flight on the morning of Day 2, it leaves at sunrise and follows the Himalayan chain east from Kathmandu, with the peaks much closer through the aircraft windows than from any viewpoint in the valley.

Bhaktapur, on Day 3, is the most intact of the three medieval cities and the best one for slow walking. The lanes of the old town are car-free, the Newari architecture is better preserved here than anywhere else in the valley, and two of the best-known works of art in Nepal are here: the Golden Gate at the entrance to the Palace of Fifty-Five Windows, a gilt repousse doorway of fine metalwork, and the Peacock Window on the Pujari Math nearby, a carved wooden lattice of peacock feathers that shows Newari woodcarving at its height.

Stay: Luxury Boutique Hotel in Kathmandu

Days 4 to 5 Chitwan National Park Jungle and Wildlife

The drive south from Kathmandu drops through the Siwalik foothills to the Terai, the subtropical lowland at the foot of the Himalaya. Chitwan National Park, established in 1973 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1984, protects 952 square kilometers of sal forest, grassland, and river habitat and is the main stronghold of the greater one-horned rhinoceros in Nepal. The population has grown from fewer than 100 in the 1960s to nearly 700 today, one of the most successful large-mammal conservation programs in Asia.

The jeep safari on Day 4 goes into the tall grass and forest in the morning, when wildlife is most active and the light is best. Professional naturalists from the park identify and explain everything you come across: birds, deer, signs of tiger, and rhinos in the grass. The canoe trip on the Rapti River on Day 5 is quieter. The dugout drifts past mugger crocodiles on the sandbars and gharials in the deeper channels, the forest on both banks is reflected in the still water, and the birding is excellent at that hour. Evenings at the jungle resort include naturalist talks on the park’s ecology and conservation history.

Stay: Premium Jungle Resort in Chitwan

Days 6 to 7 Lumbini and Tansen Birthplace of the Buddha and a Hill Town

The drive west from Chitwan to Lumbini crosses the Terai through flat farmland, with the Himalayan foothills visible to the north. Lumbini, just north of the Indian border in the western Terai, is where Siddhartha Gautama was born in approximately the fifth century BCE, a date established by the Ashoka Pillar that the Maurya emperor erected here in 249 BCE. The pillar is the oldest surviving physical evidence of the site’s importance and one of the oldest historical inscriptions in Nepal. The Mayadevi Temple marks the exact birth spot, and its excavated foundations show the layers of building added over two and a half millennia. The Pushkarni Pool, where Queen Mayadevi is said to have bathed before the birth, is just east of the temple.

The monastic zone around the central garden is a UNESCO World Heritage Site designed by the Japanese architect Kenzo Tange. Its layout places the Theravada monasteries in the eastern zone and the Mahayana and Vajrayana monasteries in the western zone. Buddhist communities from Thailand, Japan, Sri Lanka, China, Korea, Vietnam, Myanmar, Germany, France, and Tibet have each built monasteries here in the architectural tradition of their home country. Allow time for a slow morning walk through the zone; it shows how many different forms Buddhist architecture takes in a single garden.

Tansen, at 1,350 meters, is reached the same afternoon or the next morning. The drive climbs from the Terai through the Palpa hills to a Newari hill town on a ridge, with views of Dhaulagiri and the western Himalayan chain that few other easily reached places in Nepal can match. The town’s craftsmen are known for dhaka, the distinctive patterned woven cloth, and for their metalwork, including the karuwa bell-metal vessels associated with Tansen throughout Nepal. The old quarter is largely free of motor traffic, and its Newari stone architecture is well preserved and good for an unhurried walk.

Stay: Heritage Hotel in Tansen

Days 8 to 9 Pokhara and Sarangkot Lakeside and Sunrise

The drive from Tansen to Pokhara descends from the Palpa ridge to the Kali Gandaki valley and then runs north through the foothills to the lake city. At 800 meters, Pokhara sits closer to a major Himalayan massif than almost any other city its size in Nepal: the Annapurna range rises directly above the northern shore of Phewa Lake, with Machhapuchhre, the sacred unclimbed peak, in the center of the view. You arrive in the afternoon with time for a first walk along the lakeside, when the peaks are reflected in the water in the late light.

On the morning of Day 9 you leave before 5am for Sarangkot, driving up the hillside above Pokhara in the dark to reach the viewpoint at 1,592 meters before first light. The sunrise lights the full Annapurna massif, from Dhaulagiri in the west to Lamjung Himal in the east, while the hills around you are still dark, and the color moves down the faces of the peaks as the sun clears the eastern ridge. After breakfast, a boat ride on Phewa Lake shows the same peaks from lower down, with Machhapuchhre reflected in the still water before the afternoon wind picks up. David’s Fall, the waterfall that disappears underground at the edge of the city, and the Barahi Temple on its island in the lake complete the Pokhara days.

Stay: Luxury Lakeside Hotel in Pokhara

Days 10 to 15 Nagarkot, Changu Narayan, and Pharping Mountain Views, Temples, and Caves

The drive back from Pokhara to Kathmandu follows the Prithvi Highway east through the middle hills, with the mountains visible above the valley rim for much of the way. Instead of going straight to Kathmandu, the route climbs to Nagarkot at 2,175 meters on the eastern rim of the valley, a hill resort above a forested ridge with one of the widest mountain panoramas you can reach by road from the capital. On a clear morning the view runs from the Annapurna range in the west to Kanchenjunga in the east, with Everest (8,849 meters) in the distance above the nearer ridges. Where Sarangkot is close, Nagarkot is wide, and the two views complement each other.

Changu Narayan, on its hilltop above the Bhaktapur valley, is the oldest surviving temple complex in Nepal. Its stone carvings date to the fifth and sixth centuries CE and are the earliest examples of what became the Newari sculptural tradition. The Vishnu images in the courtyard include a Vaishnava sculpture from the Licchavi period that is among the finest pieces of early South Asian religious sculpture in Nepal. The walk up through forest from the road, and the views of the valley and the mountains from the platform above the courtyard, make the visit worthwhile even apart from its history.

The Pharping caves, below the village of Pharping in the Dakshinkali valley south of Kathmandu, are the meditation caves associated with Padmasambhava, the Indian master credited with bringing Vajrayana Buddhism to Tibet in the eighth century CE. He is said to have practiced in the Asura Cave, lower on the hillside, and the Yanglesho Cave above it, and to have attained there the realization he later carried north across the Himalaya. Both caves are still in daily use: monks and practitioners come to meditate here in his tradition. The valley around them, with its Newar farming villages and the Dakshinkali temple on the valley floor, fills out the last day before the farewell dinner.

The farewell dinner on the last evening in Kathmandu comes with traditional Newari food and the folk dance program that goes with the set menu at the old city’s cultural restaurants. It closes fifteen days that took you from the medieval streets of the capital to the jungle lowlands, the birthplace of the Buddha, the Himalayan lake city, the mountain rim above the valley, and the caves where Tibetan Buddhism has its roots.

Stay: Scenic Hill Resort at Nagarkot then Luxury Boutique Hotel in Kathmandu

The Sherpa Standard

Every SherpaHolidays trip is fully supported from arrival to departure. Here is what that means on this one.

Accommodation and Meals

• City and Hill Hotels: A luxury boutique hotel in Kathmandu on arrival and return, a heritage hotel in Tansen, a luxury lakeside hotel in Pokhara, and a scenic hill resort at Nagarkot.
• Jungle Resort: Two nights at a premium jungle resort on the edge of Chitwan National Park, chosen for its location and the quality of its naturalist program.
• Daily Breakfast: Gourmet breakfast at all hotels and resorts for all fifteen days.
• Full Board at Chitwan: All meals and refreshments during the two-night stay at the Chitwan jungle resort.
• Farewell Dinner: A farewell dinner on the last evening in Kathmandu with traditional Newari food and a folk dance program.

Leadership and Support

• Heritage Guide: A dedicated, professional English-speaking local guide for all sightseeing in the Kathmandu Valley, Bhaktapur, Lumbini, Tansen, Pokhara, Nagarkot, and Pharping.
• Wildlife Naturalists: Experienced naturalists and park rangers at Chitwan to lead the jeep safari, canoe trip, nature walks, and evening ecology talks.
• Experienced Staff: Road travel, rafting, wildlife activities and travel in remote places carry risks of illness, injury and death. Experienced staff, briefings and equipment reduce risk but cannot eliminate it. Your itinerary identifies your guide team, including Sherpa guides on Himalayan routes, and the support and equipment included.

Transport and Access

• Private Transfers: All ground transportation by private, air-conditioned vehicle for the full fifteen days, including airport pickup, all drives between cities, and all sightseeing transfers.
• Permits and Entry: All permits and entrance fees for UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Chitwan National Park, temples, and monuments, handled for you.
• Airport Service: Private airport pickup on arrival and drop-off on departure, timed to your flights.

What Is Not Included

• International airfare to and from Kathmandu and Nepal entry visa fees
• Lunch and dinner in Kathmandu, Tansen, Pokhara, and Nagarkot, except the farewell dinner
• Optional activities: the Everest Mountain Flight, paragliding from Sarangkot, helicopter tours, or white-water rafting
• Comprehensive travel insurance, which is a condition of every booking. Your policy must cover emergency medical treatment, emergency evacuation, trip cancellation and interruption, and repatriation.
• Tips for guides and naturalists, bar bills, laundry, and personal shopping
• Single supplement (for those taking a private room)

Five Highlights

Lumbini: The Birthplace of the Buddha

Lumbini, in the western Terai, is one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the world, visited by Buddhists of every tradition and from every country where Buddhism has taken root. The Mayadevi Temple marks the spot where Siddhartha Gautama was born, and the Pushkarni Pool nearby is where his mother bathed before the birth. The Ashoka Pillar of 249 BCE is the oldest surviving physical evidence that the site was already recognized as the birthplace within two centuries of the event. In the monastic zone around the central garden, designed by Kenzo Tange, Buddhist communities from Thailand, Japan, Sri Lanka, China, Korea, Vietnam, Myanmar, Tibet, and Europe have built monasteries, so you see many styles of Buddhist architecture in one garden. Most Nepal itineraries do not include Lumbini.

The Everest Panorama from Nagarkot

Nagarkot, at 2,175 meters on the eastern rim of the Kathmandu Valley, has one of the widest mountain panoramas you can reach by road from the capital. On a clear morning the view runs from Annapurna in the west to Kanchenjunga in the east, with Everest (8,849 meters) above the nearer ridges. At sunrise the peaks come out of the predawn blue and catch the first light while the valley below is still in shadow. It is a different view from the one at Sarangkot: wide where Sarangkot is close. This trip includes both.

Tansen: The Hill Town Above the Gorge

Tansen, at 1,350 meters above the Kali Gandaki valley, is one of the least-visited of Nepal’s major destinations. The Newari hill town has a largely car-restricted old quarter, craftsmen who still work metal and weave dhaka cloth, and a hilltop position with direct views of Dhaulagiri and the western Himalayan range. It shows a side of traditional hill life that the busier valley and lakeside do not. From the ridges above town you can see 8,000-meter peaks without any trekking. Experienced Nepal travelers seek Tansen out, and this trip includes it as a matter of course.

The Wildlife of Chitwan

Chitwan National Park is the main stronghold of the greater one-horned rhinoceros in Nepal, with a population that has grown from fewer than 100 in the 1960s to nearly 700 today. The jeep safari goes into the tall grass and sal forest where the rhinos feed. The canoe trip on the Rapti River moves quietly past mugger crocodiles and gharials on the sandbars, and the river birding is best in the still of the morning. Professional naturalists lead every activity and explain what you are seeing as well as finding it.

The Caves of Pharping

The Asura and Yanglesho caves below the village of Pharping, south of Kathmandu, are the meditation caves of Padmasambhava, the Indian master who introduced Vajrayana Buddhism to Tibet in the eighth century CE. Buddhists in Tibet, Bhutan, Mongolia, and much of the Himalaya trace their tradition back to his practice in these caves, and monks and practitioners still come every day to meditate. After the Buddha’s birthplace at Lumbini earlier in the trip, it makes a fitting last day.