Nepal

“The adventurous way or the gentle way?” Roop asked.  My kids both yelled “Adventurous!”  And seconds later I was utterly soaked.

It was only our second day in Nepal and my family and I were already well and truly into our adventure as we white-water rafted on the Trisuli River. It was great fun and our first afternoon ended with us camping on a riverbank. The next morning we rafted onwards towards Chitwan. Little did I know that another drenching awaited us!

Chitwan is one of Nepal’s wildlife gems. There are about 400 Asian one-horned rhinos in the park, and we were delighted to see just one of them. The elusive tigers sadly remained   aloof, but we had come with the view that a tiger-sighting would be a bonus rather than an expectation, so we simply enjoyed everything else that Chitwan offered us. This turned out to be quite a lot: a canoe trip, a nature walk, an ox-cart ride to a Tharu village, birdwatching, and a fabulous elephant-back safari.  But the best bit for me (as a major lover of elephants) was taking a bath with an elephant!  The eles come to the river to cool off and clean up after the morning’s rides. Sitting on their back, their mahouts encourage the elephants to douse you with trunkful’s of water – excellent fun.

I didn’t really know what to expect of Bandipur but it turned out to be a worthwhile detour. High up in the hills east of Pokhara, this small rural village has kept intact much of its original architecture and charm.  A stay here is perfect for chilling out in lovely surroundings, but also for walking to villages nearby to find out about local cultures.  Our small hotel, Gaun Ghar, was a wonderful example of one of the fine old houses having been brought back to life.

Having the kids with us, we never intended to do a great deal of trekking on this trip, but it was nice to see something of the iconic town of Pokhara and we managed some short walks around and about.

We did more walking; however, in the Kathmandu Valley.  The stunning cities of Kathmandu and Patan did not disappoint, but I have to say that my favourite spot was Bhaktapur. In the midst of ancient town squares we found women drying rice next to shops where master painters toiled over incredibly detailed and beautiful thankas (religious paintings).

Nepal for me completely lived up to and indeed surpassed expectations. Mention Nepal to most people and they will think ‘trekking’ or maybe the wildlife.  It is really SO much more than this though. So get out there and soak it up!

Amanda Marks www.tribes.co.uk