180 kilometers long Karnali River springs straight from Mount Kailash in Tibet and is one of the most preferred rafting destinations by both the guides and rafters as it offers an excellent white water thrilling roller coaster ride. The river flows into remote areas of immaculate jungle with abundant wildlife, birds and fish. The starting point of this rafting track is Dhungeshwor, which is around a 24 hour drive from Kathmandu; whereas the take out point is Chisapani (578 kilometers from Kathmandu).
The combination of some exquisite natural beauty and the magnificent white water canyon makes Karnali rafting one of the best trips available in Nepal. The best seasons to raft in Karnali are October to December and March to May. The 10 days river expedition is ideal for someone who is looking for a more different experience of Nepal with beautiful scenery and a great river action. And the main advantage of this rafting trip is that the take out point is situated ideally for people who want to visit Bardia National Park; and Karnali River itself is a great destination for fishing. Karnali rafting is one of the finest multi day rafting destinations.
We will drive to Surkhet from Kathmandu, which takes about 16 hours. We will spend the night there.
Day 02:
After breakfast, we will head towards Dhugeshwor, which is a 6 to 7 hours’ drive from Surkhet.
Day 03:
Preparations for the rafting will begin on the 3rd day, where we have to through the rapid called “1st Inquiry”. You will be guided by the professionals for safety and paddling instructions. We will camp on the river bank this day.
Day 04:
After all the preparation and a fulfilling breakfast, we’ll start our journey. We will come across big rapids like Jail house today.
Day 05:
The adventure of rafting in Karnali will begin on the 5th day. We will hit some rapids of God House, Juicer, Flip and Strip. After rafting further down the river we will reach the conference of Seti Beni, which will be our camp site for the day.
Day 06:
This is our Layover day. We will remain unraft at SetiBeni for this day.
Day 07:
We will raft almost the entire day today. You will get to witness some enchanting sceneries and hit a few small rapids which will be like relaxing after two days of a thrilling experience. After paddling down further we will reach Jamuna village; the camp site for day 6.
Day 08:
Our rafting trip will continue from Jamuna village and we will camp and relax at an unspoiled beach today.
Day 09:
We will continue to raft this day while enjoying the beautiful sceneries and relax throughout the journey as the frequency of the rapids start to decrease. We will set our camp at some instant distance above of Bheri Confluence.
Day 10:
On the final day of our rafting trip, we will reach Chisapani. You can either drive back to Kathmandu or Bardiya National Park for a jungle safari of 2 day; or you can fly back to Kathmandu from Nepalgunj.
- Professional English speaking licensed guides highly trained and safety certified to international standards in Whitewater River Guiding, Swift Water Rescue, and Wilderness First Aid
- Professionally trained and certified safety kayakers.
- Gear raft support.
- Quality rafting and kayaking equipment, including boats, kayaks, helmets, paddles, PFDs, dry bags and Pelican boxes.
- Accommodation in a camp and all necessary facilities including two man tents, shelters, simple mattress and sleeping bag, toilet tents, etc.
- Treated drinking water.
- Two-way transportation – buses, 4WDs.
- River permits.
- Industry standard first aid kits.
- Team photos (photos videos by our team).
- Visas, flights, other taxes etc.
- Personal items like toiletries, clothing, camera etc.
- Alcohol and other packed food.
- Insurance policy: paddlers need to have their own insurance since we only provide insurance to our crew.
- Tips for guides – we pay our guides and porters fairly but if you want you can tip them personally.
