5 Incredible things to do in Nepal if you're not into hiking

1. Explore the busy streets of Kathmandu

Our first full day in Kathmandu was spent visiting the city centre. It felt quite incredible suddenly being exposed to the sights and noise of the city; a complete contrast to the peacefulness of Bhutan where we’d just been.

I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in the chaos of Durbar Square knowing that at our private guide knew where we were going; it meant I could just relax and enjoy looking around.

Our main stop was Boudhanath Stupa, a gigantic temple complex on the top of a hill, one of Nepal’s holiest sites. We loved walking around the shrines to different gods and seeing monkeys flinging themselves from rooftop to treetop and back again. The whole area was covered in prayer flags which made everything so colourful and vibrant.

From here we continued on to Bhaktapur, a town just outside Kathmandu founded in the medieval period, which enjoys traffic-free streets. There are some impressive buildings here, but I enjoyed wandering the markets and seeing all the fresh fruit, as well as hiding from the sun in local bars, and trying the local beer - something that we couldn’t really do in Bhutan.
 

2. Visit Chitwan National Park - some of the best wildlife viewing in Asia

The drive from Kathmandu to Chitwan is an experience in itself. Our expert driver negotiated the horrendous traffic of outer Kathmandu and swiftly got us onto the cliff road out of the city.

The cliff road is a gravel road clinging to the cliff face, with every type of vehicle working their way along slowly, somehow not falling off the side. Once you’ve calmed down from that experience, the rest of the journey is relaxing, passing lots of farms and villages and becoming progressively more rural before reaching Chitwan National Park - a fantastic part of Nepal and well worth a visit.

Our full day here involved an early morning safari. This was an unforgettable experience, and we were lucky enough to spot several rhinos which was very exciting, but we missed the elusive leopards and tigers.

We also spent time exploring the park on foot with a jungle guide, which gave us an opportunity to spot the smaller animals, before taking to the water and paddling our own canoes. From the water, we could see fish, storks and rhinos. On our way back, were treated to a view of the mountains turned bright pink against the sunset - a magical vision over the quiet lake.

3. Get an adrenaline rush in Pokhara – Nepal’s adventure capital

We left Chitwan for our final stop in Pokhara, but not before seeing the elephants one more time and to stopping feed them and take some more photos.

Arriving in Pokhara, we’d planned to stay for 3 nights. Having done a fair amount of sightseeing already, we decided to try some outdoor activities as Pokhara is the adventure capital of Nepal – somewhere I definitely recommend including in your round the world trip.

A few hours later and I was running off the top of a hill on a paragliding trip! This is so exciting; you have the best views of the mountains and lakes from your viewpoint flying high above under a parachute canopy. Perhaps the best experience is to be literally soaring with the eagles who join you, doing exactly the same thing with their wings. I would highly recommend a paragliding trip here as you’ll find some of the best ‘thermals’ in the world (the warm upward drafts of air that keep you up) – in fact adrenaline junkies from all over the world come just to paraglide.
 

4. Try some easy mountain hiking 

Although none of us were experienced hikers, we felt we should go for at least one mountain walk while in Nepal, so we opted for a low level, reasonably flat hike trail.

It’s great to explore the local mountain ranges by foot and we were blessed with beautiful sunshine and blue skies the whole time which definitely added to our enjoyment. We were joined by a guide who was studying English and was keen to tell us as much as possible about local Nepali life and his town. We were pleased to learn from him and also not have to worry about getting lost! At the end he kindly returned us to a great bar he knew and we had a local beer or two overlooking Lake Phewa to celebrate our achievement. A perfect day.
 

5. See Mount Everest from the air

Leaving Pokhara, we started the long drive back to Kathmandu, where we’d spend two more days before our flight home, but our guide had planned a surprise for us; he’d secured a discounted group rate for a Mount Everest flight - one of the best places in the world to take a scenic flight.

The next morning we headed to the airport early in the morning and boarded a 12-seater plane (all with window seats) heading straight towards Everest. It’s a one hour trip and is well worth it, as you’ll get a guided tour of all the peaks in the Himalayan ranges and a map so you can spot them yourselves. It’s an experience I will never forget – and worth treating yourself if you’re in Nepal as it’s one of the best places in the world to take a scenic flight.

Interested in these incredible things to do in Nepal?

If you’d like to visit Nepal as a single destination or include it in your round the world trip, we can help! Whether you want to look for elephants and tigers in Chitwan, hike through the Himalayas or explore the temples and squares of Kathmandu, we can build the perfect Nepal trip for you. If you are interested in learning more please give us a ring on 1273 320 580 or request a quote.