Walking the Annapurna Foothills

Our tour starts today in Kathmandu, the busy, colourful and chaotic capital city of Nepal. Our tour leader plans to meet everyone in the hotel reception for a welcome meeting at 5 pm. For those that wish, there is the chance to enjoy a group dinner afterwards. There are no other activities planned for today. If you miss the welcome meeting, our tour leader will leave any essential information and details of the best time to catch up with them at the hotel reception. If you'd like to receive an airport transfer today, you'll need to arrive into Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM). You should allow at least 45 minutes to reach our hotel in central Kathmandu as traffic congestion in the city can be bad. Depending on the arrival time of your flight, if you'd like to get a head start on exploring, our hotel is located a short walk from the lively Thamel area. Home to a multitude of outdoor gear, souvenir shops, great bookshops and a huge variety of restaurants, it's a fun place to wander.

After breakfast this morning, our tour leader will brief us on our upcoming trek. We'll also have the chance to visit a local hire shop to pick up any last-minute equipment. After our briefing, we'll have a walking tour of the city, visiting the bazaars and the temples of old Kathmandu in the company of a local Nepalese guide. Nepal's bustling capital is a captivating mix of spice sellers, potters, and rickshaws, all crowded together amidst a city of vibrant noise and colour. Our sightseeing takes in the sumptuous majesty of Durbar Square and its collection of ornate palaces, courtyards and temples, as well as the Asan Bazaar and the Kumari Ghar, home to the living goddess of the Kumari Devi.

This morning, we'll set off driving out of the high Kathmandu valley and descend to the foothills where we'll stay at a riverside hotel in Kurintar at the much lower altitude of about 262 metres/859 feet. As we leave the valley, on clear days, we'll have views of the Ganesh, Manaslu and Annapurna ranges of the Himalayas. En route, you'll have the option to partake in an exciting half-day whitewater rafting trip on the Trisuli River (Grade III-III+). No previous experience is required (although we do recommend that you are confident swimming for at least 25 metres/82 feet unaided) and the price includes all permits, equipment, the services of experienced river guides and lunch. The rafting trip finishes at the beach just below our hotel, so those who don't fancy rafting can continue to the hotel by bus and spend a leisurely afternoon relaxing by the pool.

This morning, we'll head to Pokhara (840 metres/2,756 feet). Pokhara is smaller and more relaxed than Kathmandu and is beautifully situated on the banks of Lake Phewa. There are superb views from here of the snowcapped Annapurna range, including Machhapuchhre - the famous Fishtail Mountain. We'll call in at our hotel to deposit the luggage not needed for the trek and then continue our drive northwest to the trek start point at Kande (1,700 metres/5,577 feet). From here, we'll walk for around two hours passing cultivated fields and scattered small settlements to the Gurung village of Badauri (1,661 metres/5,449 feet) where several trails cross. Today's 5-kilometre/3.1-mile walk is expected to take around two hours with a total ascent of 305 metres/1000 feet and a descent of 405 metres/1,328 feet.

After breakfast, our walk takes us mostly through mixed oak and rhododendron forest to the high point of the trek - Panchase Danda 2,500 metres/8,202 feet. The summit has panoramic views of all the Annapurna peaks as well as 8,000 metres/26,248 feet Dhaulagiri to the west and 8,000 metres/26,248 feet Manaslu to the east. This area is also part of a pilgrimage route, and we may visit the nearby shrine to the Hindu god Shiva. We descend to Panchase Bhanjyang - a bhanjyang being the local name for a pass (2,100 metres/6,890 feet). There are several local houses at the pass, and we have wonderful views of the mountains as well as of Pokhara and Phewa Tal. Today's 9-kilometre/5.6-mile walk is expected to take around six hours with a total ascent of 940 metres/3,084 feet and a descent of 440 metres/1,443 feet.

Our walk today is through a largely uninhabited area on a less major trail. We'll spend some time in the forest but will also pass several open meadows specifically cleared to graze water buffalo. In the spring you can look out for rhododendrons and white orchids in bloom in the forest. There are several welcome stone-built resting places along the route which climbs to the top of a ridge and then crosses three small passes on the descent to our overnight stop at Bumdi (1,500 metres/4,921 feet). Today's 14-kilometre/8.7-mile walk is expected to take around six hours with a total ascent of 470 metres/1,542 feet and a descent of 1,020 metres/3,346 feet.

We're now coming back into a much more inhabited area and we'll pass many cultivated fields and several settlements. There are lots of cherry trees in blossom here in November. We'll pass the chhettri village of Pumdi with its distinctive houses to reach the white dome of the Japanese Peace Pagoda all the while with good views of the mountains to the north. From here, we'll descend through Rani Ban (the Queen's Forest) to the end of the trek near the dam at the southeastern end of Phewa Tal. From here we drive a very short distance to our hotel. Today's 10-kilometre/6.2-mile walk is expected to take around four hours with a total ascent of 60 metres/196 feet and a descent of 791 metres/2,595 feet.

Today is free to explore the interesting town of Pokhara. You could make an optional visit to Tashiling, a thriving village of Tibetan refugees with its own schools and monastery, where you can watch Tibetan carpets being made. Alternatively, hire a boat to visit a small temple on an island in Phewa Tal. There will also be time for some souvenir shopping.

Today we'll drive approximately 5 to 5.5 hours to the flat lands of Nepal's Terai region where we stay just outside of Chitwan National Park. Once a private hunting ground, Chitwan is now a National Park with thick tree cover and tall elephant grass sheltering a wealth of animals. We'll be briefed today on the variety of activities that we can enjoy in the park and orientate ourselves on a short walk around the village. All park activities will be accompanied by a trained naturalist guide who will help us get the best enjoyment from these excursions.

Throughout your stay, you'll be kept busy except for a couple of hours around lunchtime when you can read or relax in the shade. Activities in the park include a jeep safari searching out Chitwan's famous rare one-horned rhino, bird watching, jungle walks and a dugout canoe trip along the Rapti River. Canoeing will be dependent on the water level, floating silently down the river in a traditional dugout canoe allows us to spot many varieties of water birds. On a nature walk in the company of trained native naturalists, we walk along trails in the less densely forested parts of the park. An early morning bird-watching walk near the river will reveal many of the 450 bird species that can be found in the park, especially the kingfisher.

Today we'll make the journey back to Kathmandu. The drive will take approximately seven to eight hours. Please note, the road is currently part of a major infrastructure project which might cause some delays (and excess dust) along the way. We'll try to keep the journey as comfortable as possible.

Today has been left free with the opportunity to make various optional excursions which our tour leader can help arrange. One option is to visit the Newari town of Bhaktapur in the eastern corner of the Kathmandu Valley. Also known as Bhadgaun or the City of the Devotees, Bhaktapur evokes the feel of a medieval village, a snapshot of a time when the city lay along the prosperous trade routes between Tibet, China and India. The ancient centre of the town is a dazzling collection of temples, palaces and monasteries that has earned it a place on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Other places to visit include the Swayambunath stupa, perched on a hilltop and also known as the 'monkey temple' because of its resident group of very inquisitive primates and nearby Patan, whose Durbar Square has the finest collection of temples and palaces in the entire country.

The trip ends after breakfast at our hotel in Kathmandu. There are no activities planned today, so you're free to depart from Kathmandu at any time. If your flight is departing later in the day, luggage storage facilities are available at our hotel. If you'd like an airport transfer today, you'll need to depart from Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM).