Annapurna to Chitwan: Walks & Wildlife

Experience Overview

One trip, two of the great adventure experiences in Nepal: walking in the Annapurna foothills and wildlife watching in Chitwan. The trekking portion of our adventure is the ideal introduction to walking in the Himalaya, staying at low altitude with spectacular views throughout. After, we experience another side of Nepal by going in search of roaming wildlife at Chitwan National Park. With the help of an expert naturalist, we explore the home of the one-horned rhino, while also spotting birds, crocodiles, boars and deer. Why trek with Exodus? More than 30 years’ experience organising treks in Nepal Exodus annually commissions independent air-safety audits on domestic carriers in Nepal and only use those approved as part of the audit Experienced English-speaking local leaders who are qualified in first aid All staff (leaders, guides and porters) are fully insured and paid a fair wage Speak to Exodus office staff who have done the trek themselves
Profile
— Accommodation: 7 Superior nights (5 mountain lodge, 2 jungle lodge), 3 Classic nights (hotel) — Travel by air-conditioned private bus and one internal flight — Six days of walking with full porterage — Low altitude throughout, maximum reached: 6,601ft/2,012m — Small group size (maximum 16). Minimum age: 16
At a Glance
— Accommodation: 7 Superior nights (5 mountain lodge, 2 jungle lodge), 3 Classic nights (hotel) — Travel by air-conditioned private bus and one internal flight — Six days of walking with full porterage — Low altitude throughout, maximum reached: 6,601ft/2,012m — Small group size (maximum 16). Minimum age: 16
Trip For You
This trip has been graded Activity Level 3 (Moderate). For more information on our trip gradings, visit the Activity Level Guidelines page. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip, please contact us. Walking routes and fitness: Our six-day Annapurna hike is a great introduction to Himalayan trekking with full porterage throughout, so you need only carry a backpack. There are three to five hours of walking on most days. You need fairly decent fitness levels, as there are quite a few steep uphill walks and some quite long descents (two to three hours). Many of the trails consist of stone steps. Accommodation: The lodges used during your trek offer the highest level of comfort in the Himalaya and are luxurious compared to the teahouses. Nepal flight safety: Many of our treks in Nepal use domestic flights to reach the trekking areas. The mountainous Nepalese terrain is subject to changeable weather, which makes flying conditions complex and challenging, and unfortunately there are significantly more incidents here than in other countries, including fatalities. The EU highlighted the poor safety record in Nepal in 2013 by including all Nepalese-registered airlines on the EU banned list, which prevents them from flying in EU airspace. While no Nepalese-registered airlines currently fly within the EU, the EU instigated this ban to highlight the risk of flying in Nepal to EU citizens. These airlines are unlikely to be members of internationally recognised safety audit systems and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Nepal does not operate to the same standards as those of Western nations. Flying within Nepal is therefore a known risk, and we strongly encourage you to consider this carefully before booking. We suggest you refer to the following sources: The current travel advice for Nepal issued by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeThe Air Safety Network entry for Nepal In response to concerns over this safety record, Exodus arranges for independent air-safety auditors to visit Nepal annually to assess the suitability of the available carriers. We then restrict our use to only those approved as part of this audit. In emergency situations, we will need to use helicopters, so we also have a list of approved helicopter carriers. Should concerns arise regarding the safety of an airline on our approved list, we will remove the carrier from the list immediately, and it would only be reinstated once our air-safety auditors are confident the airline meets acceptable safety standards. We appreciate you may have concerns about flying within Nepal, so we ask that you consider all the information above when deciding to book this trip.
Group Description
The group is generally between four and 16 people. All departures have an English-speaking Nepali tour leader throughout. All Exodus tour leaders are highly experienced and have undertaken Exodus leader training courses and wilderness first-aid training. The trekking guides are licensed by the Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN) and receive additional training through Exodus. The leaders are assisted by additional guides (where necessary) and there is one porter for every two passengers to carry the trek packs. All your main gear is carried for you, and you only need to carry whatever you require for that day’s trek.
Eating Drinking
All breakfasts, seven lunches and seven dinners are included. Allow approximately 3,000-5,000 rupees (US$22-US$38) per day for meals not included in Kathmandu and Pokhara. Dhal bhat is the staple diet in Nepal and comes in many different forms but generally comprises curried lentil dhal and meat or vegetables, rice, and a pickle/chutney. Another popular snack is momos, a Nepalese dumpling filled with meat or vegetables. Meals in the lodges range from traditional Nepalese food to Chinese and Western dishes. The food is good quality and usually served buffet style. You are provided with safe drinking water on trek and in Chitwan. If you have a gluten-free diet, we strongly recommend you bring extra food and snacks with you to supplement the food on trek as there will be little variety available to you, particularly for breakfast. Even some soups are from powder/packets and contain gluten. Drinking water Staying hydrated is important when undertaking any physical activity; on this trip, it is generally recommended to carry a 33floz (one litre) water bottle and drink at least 67floz (two litres) per person per day. However, we strongly encourage you not to buy bottled water on trek as this contributes to the growing problem of plastic pollution in the trekking areas of Nepal. You can top up water bottles at tea breaks and lunch stops along the way – some villages have water stations selling UV-treated drinking water for about 50 rupees (US$0.40) per litre. Alternatively, all teahouses provide free cold water. This should not be drunk untreated, so we recommend you bring a reusable bottle/water bladder (ideally two) and use an effective form of water treatment. Talk to an outdoor retailer for the latest advice as technologies are improving all the time. Exodus has partnered with Water-to-Go, a filtration system that eliminates more than 99.99 percent of all microbiological contaminants from any non-saltwater source – visit Water-to-Go for more information. Exodus customers can claim 15 percent off their first order and, better still, 15 percent of the purchase value will be donated to the Exodus Travels Foundation. These bottles filter the water as you drink through the spout may not be the most efficient while on the go on a trek.
Transportation
We use a private air-conditioned minibus for the main road journeys and private hired jeeps in Chitwan National Park. We also take an internal flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara. All internal flights in Nepal are subject to weather conditions; if the flight is cancelled due to fog or bad weather, for example, travelling by road will be unavoidable. Please read our note on flight safety in Nepal in the Is This Trip for You? section of our Trip Notes. The trekking portion of the trip requires you to walk between each lodge. Other forms of transport may be available along the route (horses, jeeps etc) but Exodus is not able to take responsibility for the safety or cost of any transport that you choose to take even if provided with the assistance of our tour leader or staff.
Joining Instructions
Key information Start hotel: Hotel Ambassador, Lazimpat Rd, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal Phone: +977 1-4514432 Recommended arrival time: You can arrive at any time today. There will be a welcome briefing in the evening, but if you miss it the leader will update you separately Airport: Kathmandu Airport (KTM) Getting to the start hotel The start hotel is approximately 25 minutes’ drive from the airport. Exodus provides free arrival transfers to the start hotel from the airport for all customers. If you would like further information on joining this trip, please speak to your sales representative. Catching your return flight Exodus provides free departure transfers for all customers to Kathmandu Airport (KTM) from the end hotel. Please note, unless specified otherwise, the transfers will be to the start (or pre-tour) hotel and from the end (or post-tour) hotel and will be on the date on which the tour starts/ends; transfers to other hotels in the same city and/or on different dates may attract an extra charge. Transfers should be booked with your sales representative at least two weeks before the tour starts.
Weather Information
The main trekking season in Nepal is from October to mid-May when daytime temperatures at most altitudes are generally comfortable for walking, the sky is clear much of the time, and rain and snow are occasional occurrences. Daytime temperatures vary from 15C to 30C (59F to 86F). However, different seasons offer different advantages for trekking. Mid-September to November: Daytime temperatures are up to 25C (77F). Skies are usually clear and days on trek are sunny and mild with clear mountain views. Nights are colder with temperatures dropping to about 5C (41F). December to end of February: Despite the cooler conditions, this is an ideal time to trek in Nepal. For this particular trip, December is the best month as the skies are usually very clear, the days are sunny, and the mountain views are at their best. Early mornings and evenings are cold with temperatures down to about 5C (41F), but days are sunny with temperatures up to 22C (72F). The trails are also much less busy. Chitwan is cold in the early mornings and evenings but pleasantly warm in the daytime. March to May: Temperatures are warmer in general but haze often builds in the afternoons and there can be rain. Temperatures rise to 30C (86F) and above in Chitwan and in Kathmandu. On trek, the days are hot (up to 25C/77F) and nights are a bit cooler. Flowers bloom in this season and this is one of the reasons people chose to trek at this time. In any mountain area, the weather is never wholly predictable; you should be prepared and equipped to deal with any differences in weather beyond the conditions described above.
Spending Money
We recommend taking your personal spending money in cash (US dollars, British pounds or euros can all be changed easily). Marked, torn or damaged notes may not be accepted. Please remember, £50 notes, Scottish or Irish currency cannot be changed in Nepal. Cash can be changed easily at the airport on arrival in Kathmandu or at money changers in the Thamel area of Kathmandu. Hotels in Nepal can also change up to US$300 per person. Our staff will advise you on how much money to take with you on trek. You need to withdraw/exchange enough money in Kathmandu to last the duration of your trek – to cover snacks, drinks, tipping and other incidentals. It is a good idea to carry spare cash on the trek in case of an emergency. Carrying cash is unavoidable so we suggest splitting it up into a few different places – but remember to keep track of how much you have stashed where. Optional excursions Several optional tours and activities are available from Kathmandu and Pokhara. An optional Everest sightseeing flight is available on your free day (weather permitting) from around 27,750 rupees (US$210) per person – subject to change. It’s worth checking the weather and seat availability on the flight with your leader before booking. Some fuller flights may mean you won’t be allocated a preferred window seat and have poor visibility of the Everest range. Anyone taking an internal sightseeing flight in Nepal should pay attention to the statement ‘Flying in Nepal’.
Tipping
Tipping is customary in Nepal and usually expected. Tipping can often be an awkward affair, especially when in an unfamiliar country where you are not sure when or how much to tip. As such, your tour leader will usually offer to arrange and look after a group tipping kitty, which will be used to tip hotel porters, local guides, assistant guides, porters, and the drivers. Your leader will suggest how much to contribute, depending on group size, but a rough guideline is provided below. A tip for the leader is at your discretion and separate to the amount they will suggest for the other staff. We suggest you send an envelope around the group at the end of the trip, and you can put in what you like and give to the tour leader on the last evening. The following are guideline amounts received by each staff member from the group as a whole. Tour leader: 32,500-36,000 rupees (usually tipped on the last night in Kathmandu) Your trekking crew (tips are usually given on the last evening of the trek in Dhampus) Trekking guides: 21,000-26,000 rupees for each guideTrek porters: 12,000 rupees for each porter General tipping guidelines: Drivers: Pokhara to/from Biretanthi (per each-way transfer): 500 rupees in total from the groupPokhara to Chitwan: 1,500 rupees in total from the groupKathmandu to/from Chitwan (per each-way transfer): 1,500 rupees (US$10-12) in total for the journey Naturalist Guide (Chitwan): 1,350 – 2,000 rupees (US$10 – 15) per passenger, per dayHotel porters: 150 rupees (US$1-2) each time for each roomTeahouses and lunch stops on trek: it’s customary to round your bill up to the nearest 50 rupees or 100 rupeesRestaurants: 10% of the bill if good service To help budget for the tips, generally there will be one member of trek staff (leader/guide) for every eight members of the group. You also have one porter for every two group members to carry your luggage. If you are unsure on how much to personally budget, check with your tour leader when you arrive in Kathmandu. Please try to give all tips in local currency.

Highlights