Karnali River
Rafting in Nepal
One of the finest big volume rafting and
kayaking trips in Nepal and definitely
the best combination trip, trekking,
white water rafting and wilderness.
The Karnali is Nepal's longest and
largest river and with its tributaries,
it drains most of the Far West of Nepal.
The rapids are also pretty wild, with
the river building to its climax in
these lower canyons. In terms of volume,
the river is comparable to the Sun Kosi,
but the Karnali is more constrained by
its canyon walls, giving bigger, mote
continuous and serious rapids. This
constrained nature of the river means
that any increase in volume has more
pronounced effect on the difficulty of
the rapids and this makes it a river
that is best run at low flows. Highest
extreme instantaneous discharge measured
at Chisapani was an incredible 21,700
cumecs.
The trek to start of the river trip is
pleasant and highly scenic. It climbs
through mixed forest and then traverses
two ridge tops with excellent panoramic
views of the Bheri forests.
| Profile |
|
|
| From |
Sauli |
Alt. 560 m |
| To |
Chisapani |
Alt. 195 m |
| Distance |
180 kms |
|
| River days |
5-7 days |
|
| From Kathmandu |
3 days |
|
| Difficulty in November |
Class 4 (5) |
|
| Average gradient |
0.2 % (10 ft a mile) |
|
| Est. max. gradient |
0.5 % |
|
| Volume in November |
300 cumecs |
|
| Best season |
Nov to Dec
and Mar to Apr |
|
10 Days Karnali Rive Rafting
Day 01 : Drive to Bhutwal by private
bus, camp at Bhutwal.
Day 02 : Drive to Surkhet and overnight
camping.
or
Day 01 : Fly to Nepalgunj, overnight at
the hotel.
Day 02 : Drive to Surkhet and overnight
camping.
Day 03 : Trek from Surkhet to Dhanigad,
overnight camping.
Day 04 : Trek from Dhanigad to
Kareleghat, camp at the river bank.
Day 05 : Rafting from Kareleghat and
overnight camping.
Day 06 : Rafting day and camping on the
beach.
Day 07 : Rafting day, camping on the
beach near the confluence of the Seti
River.
Day 08 : Rafting day, camping on the
beach after passing Bijura Village.
Day 09 : Rafting to Chisapani, end of
the trip, drive back to Kathmandu by
private bus.
Day 10 : Arrival in Kathmandu
or
Day 09 : Raft ends at Chisapani, drive
to Nepalgunj and overnight at the hotel.
Day 10 : Fly back to Kathmandu.
Make Reservation
