Rafting in Nepal
When you think of Nepal, probably, the first thing that strikes you mind is Mt. Everest after all it’s the highest peak on the earth. Along with Mt. Everest, Nepal is home to eight out of fourteen highest peaks in the world. Along with that, Nepal is blessed with the challenging river routes that attracts most of the Adventure seeker. In the season of monsoon melting snow, and the rain makes the river perfect for rafting. So, here in this article today, we are going to talk about rafting in Nepal, what’s the best season to visit Nepal for rafting and what you will get to see.
Rafting is an adventure sport. It is also one of the most adrenaline pumping extreme sports among many. Rafting can only be done in speed flowing water having high currents, thus making the river of Nepal a perfect match of rafting. It is a form of sport where a team or group of people get on an inflatable boat and take a ride in some of the fastest flowing river of the world.
People across all over the world come to Nepal for the adventure sport rafting. There are a handful amount of rivers where you can raft with all of your hearts. So, since the past three decade Nepal has been successfully able to call itself the rafting capital of the world. The large amount of rivers makes it possible for everyone to get their types of river to raft. From a gentle flowing river for the beginners / first timers, to some almost impossibly fast flowing waves for someone who wants to challenge their skills to the limits. There’s one for everyone seeking adventure among the rivers of Nepal.
Rafting in Nepal
Nepal is the best place in the world for white water rafting with over 600 rivers flowing through the country. And what makes Nepal for best place for rafting is the level of flow of water in all of these rivers. If you are a beginner, there are river streams where you don’t have to be a pro to paddle. Likewise, if you want to go for challenging rafting, there are tons of fast flowing white water that are most difficult that makes a memorable rafting tour in Nepal. So, without any further ado let’s talk about the top rafting spots in Nepal.
Trishuli River Rafting
Upper Seti
Lower Seti
Marsyangdi
Kali-Gandaki
Best Time of the Year for Rafting in Nepal
The best time to visit Nepal for rafting is from March to Early June and September to early December. Here is why:
Mid-October to November
The best time to visit Nepal and go for any expedition, trekking, hiking is in the month of October and November, the fall season. With clearer skies, sunny days, makes Nepal ideal for those who want to trek and go on an adventure sports like rafting. You will get to experience with exciting river runs.
Rafting in the Month of March to early May
March happens to be early summer in Nepal and has a long hot days with lower water flow. That means, you won’t get to see a fast flow of river in this month which is the best of those who are trying out rafting for the first time. As the season changes, in the month of May, due to some snow melt and pre-monsoon storms, rivers gradually raise increasing the flow of river.
In both of the months, you will not get the thrilling experience while rafting. However, is best for those who wants to take a taste of this sport.
Rafting: June to August
Due to monsoon rains, the rivers in Nepal carry ten times their lower water flow that can flood in very high speed. This makes most of the river in Nepal insanely difficult. Only some rivers in Nepal commercially run during the Monsoon season: Trisuli, Upper Seti, and Upper Sun Kosi.
Month: May to June and September to Early October
The month of May to June and September to Early October is the post monsoon season in Nepal. Due to the monsoon run-off, rivers in Nepal flows in extremely high pressure and volume. In the time of extremely high flow of river, it’s very dangerous to be in the river. In order to attempt rafting in this season, you and your team should be very experienced and should have knowledge of the rivers and need to have a very experienced rafting company.
Month December
In December, due to start of winter season, the days are short. The water in the rivers have a good flow however are too cold to enjoy. If you still want to experience rafting in this season, it’s better to wear wet-suits or consider shorter trips like hiking, site seeing or roaming around the city area.
Difficulty level of rivers:
The rivers are vastly categorized into different classes according to the difficulty in maneuvering the raft on the river. The categories of river are:
Class 1: These are the simplest river with little to know obstacles in the way and have a very gentle flow. This is the place to begin with if you’re just getting into the sport of rafting.
Class 2: These Rivers have relatively stronger flow than the class 1 rivers but still are not uncontrollable; they have a little amount of obstacles too.
Class 3: These Rivers are similar to class 2 rivers and have relatively more flow than class 1 rivers and also have a lot more obstacles a good understanding about rafting should be enough for you to get along these rivers.
Class 4: These Rivers usually have a long distance between the beginning and the end. These Rivers contains a lot of obstacles and also has a lot of strong waves, a good ordination is required between the teammates to complete these classes of rivers.
Class 5: rivers from class 5 have relatively long route and along the route is a strong flowing river with a lot of obstacles like large rocks, and boulders. Avoiding and rafting through those obstacles takes a lot of energy, thus only a team with experience should raft of these kinds of rivers.
Class 6: These Rivers are strong flowing and have a lot of obstacles like huge rocks and holes that may make it impossible for the raft to go pass through. Thus these types of rivers are impossible to raft on.
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