5.0
Rafting Expedition on the Sun Kosi River in Nepal
- Nepal
- 8 nights
Raft one of National Geographic's top ten river journeys, from the mountains to the jungle
What's Included?
- Maximum group size: 15Join small n’ sociable groups of like-minded, active and outdoorsy people – designed to be solo-friendly
From…excluding flights
Highlights
Take a thrilling, 270km journey from the lush hills near the Tibetan border, through the jungle, to the confluence of the Ganges
Visit remote Hindu temples and white sandy beaches and see beautiful scenery and amazing wildlife on this classic rafting expedition
Be part of an expedition that supports the local community and has helped to rebuild homes following the devastating 2015 earthquake
Itinerary
Day 1
Butterfly Beach
Rafting7hrsWild campingSolo tentLunch and dinner includedShow Day 1 detailHide detail
Leave Kathmandu and drive to Dolaghat, where you'll get straight into the water, beginning with some Grade 2 rapids, followed by a visit a local Hindu temple. Set up camp on the white sand of Butterfly Beach and spend the rest of the afternoon fishing, reading, playing football, doing yoga, or just relaxing. End the day with a meal cooked by your guides as you watch the stars come out overhead.
Day 2
No Exit and the Meatgrinder
Rafting7hrsWild campingSolo tentAll meals includedShow Day 2 detailHide detail
Time to tackle some bigger rapids, specifically No Exit (Grade 3) and Meatgrinder (Grade 4). You’ll also have the opportunity to try a few cliff jumps, explore some bat caves and look for tiger footprints. After making camp, your guide can give any kayaking beginners some basic lessons in case you want to try your hand at it over the coming days, then spend the rest of the evening relaxing and enjoying a world far from any light pollution.
Day 3
The Anxiety Series
Rafting7hrsWild campingSolo tentAll meals includedShow Day 3 detailHide detail
Begin the day with the brilliantly named Anxiety series of rapids – Pre, Post and High, located just below the confluence of the Likhu Khola. Play in the warm water, enjoy the passing scenery and take to the kayaks, before setting up camp on the shoreline. You might even get the chance to play football with the locals. Take an evening walk in the jungle and then relax around the campfire as the sun goes down.
Day 4
The big one/two
Rafting7hrsWild campingSolo tentAll meals includedShow Day 4 detailHide detail
Come face-to-face with the famous Hakapur rapid, the biggest on the whole journey. Depending on the season and water level, this rapid may or may not be runnable. If it is, be prepared to get wet and make sure you get your breath back in time for Hakapur II, which is often more exciting than the first. Camp at the confluence of the Sun Kosi and Dudh Kosi, which runs down from Everest, and meet a holy man who has lived in a cave here for the past five years and share some of his incredible stories.
Days 5, 6 & 7
Dramatic rapids, spectacular scenery
Rafting7hrsWild campingSolo tentAll meals includedShow Days 5, 6 & 7 detailHide detail
Over three exciting days you’ll tackle 10km of non stop rapids, including Jaws I, II and III, Rhino Rock and the Jungle Corridor, ending with the aptly named and thoroughly notorious Rollercoaster - don't worry, it's completely safe and completely exhilarating. You'll also reach one the highlights of the entire trip - a wild and impressive waterfall under which you can take a well-deserved shower. Next up is the Big Dipper and Black Hole, the last big rapids on the river and a fitting finale to the Sun Kosi. See the landscape change as the jungle disappears making way for the flat Indian Plains and if you dare jump from a 30ft bridge into the river below. Just after the confluence of the Arun and Tamur rivers, you’ll stop at a serene Hindu temple and then paddle on to Chatra, where you’ll have a last dinner with your team before jumping on the bus or plane back to Kathmandu.
Day 8
The final paddle
Rafting5 hoursAll meals includedShow Day 8 detailHide detail
Your last day on the water. After the confluence of the Arun and Tamur rivers you will stop at a Holy Hindu temple,Baraha Chhetra to view the sights and get a blessing.
After this you get to relax and enjoy the last few hours floating to point where you leave the river at Chatra. It's time for a cold beer and celebration for the expedition of completing the expedition, before either jumping on the bus for a 15 hour drive back to Kathmandu.
Or if you want to pay for a flight, you will arrive back in Kathmandu around 7pm.
Day 9
Kathmandu
Show Day 9 detailHide detail
If you took the bus, you should arrive back in Kathmandu early this morning, ready for onward travel or some more time in this incredible country. If you took the plane you will have arrived the previous evening.
Practical Stuff
Getting There
- Nearest airport
- Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM)
- Pick up
- Thamel District, Kathmandu
09:00 on Day 1 - Drop off
- Kathmandu
Approx 10:00 on Day 9 (or 19:00 on Day 8 if you opt for the flight)
What is and isn't Included?
What's included
Local, qualified, English-speaking guides
7 nights riverside camping
Munch on tasty food throughout
To and from Kathmandu
Porters to help carry your kit
All your rafting and camping equipment
All river permits
What's not included
You know your own spending habits best, so please budget an appropriate amount for things like optional meals and drinks, shopping, optional activities, and laundry.
Where You'll Stay
Private room upgrades are not available on this trip due to the nature of the accommodation.
Sun Kosi River
What You'll Eat
Your raft guides are magicians with a gas stove and an open fires, so you'll be pleasantly surprised by the quality (and quantity) of the food. Expect cooked breakfasts, salads, pastas, Dal Bhat (the local speciality), steaks, lasagna, curries and mo…
Optional Extras
Flights
- Flight at end from Biratnagar to Kathmandu to avoid bus journey.
- …/per person
Pre/Post Trip Accommodation
- Hotel in Kathmandu - Double / Twin Room
- …/per night
- Hotel in Kathmandu - Single Room
- …/per night
To request any extras, message your host via your Much Better Adventures account once you have booked your trip.
All extras must be paid before your trip starts.
Ratings & Reviews
5.04 reviews
- 4 stars (0)
- 3 stars (0)
- 2 stars (0)
- 1 star (0)
Latest Reviews
Before You Travel
What to Pack
Know before you go! Some stuff we'll provide, other things you'll need to bring.
FAQs
How much should I tip?
Tips are not included in the trip cost. These are entirely at your discretion but there is an expectation to tip for good service. Your guide will help with advice, however, we'd suggest the following as a guideline per person:
Senior guide: £50 per group. Junior guide: £30 per group
Of course, you are free to tip more or less, and the amount should be reflective of your perception of service and quality - a tip is not compulsory and should only be given when you receive excellent service.
What do I do about drinking water?
You will be provided with clean, safe drinking water from fresh sources throughout this trip. Your guide uses a filtration system to purify this water with chlorine. Plastic bottles are to be avoided so please bring your own water bottle.
Can I leave my excess luggage somewhere?
Any excess luggage can be safely left at your host's base at the start of the trip. Alternatively, most hotels in Nepal are happy to store luggage for you.
Can I book on my own?
Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
Who is running the trip?
Our team of Adventure Hunters co-create exclusive adventures which are run by highly vetted, specialist hosts. The trip is run by our trusted host partner in the destination. We only work with independent, local, in-destination experts who know the very best places to explore and how to stay safe. Read more information about the local teams we partner with. You’ll be introduced to the host straight after making a booking via the Much Better Adventures platform.
What is the official travel advice?
Much Better Adventures refer to the UK Government’s official travel advice when designing trips and monitoring trip operations. We recommend that all customers are familiar with the practical information provided on the Government’s FCDO website, where current travel advice can be found by searching for the applicable destination(s).
For customers joining this trip from other international destinations – please also read the official travel advice applicable to your country of residence/origin, as this may differ.
What vaccinations do I need?
We recommend checking out the country-specific information and also talking to a travel nurse.
How are the trips priced?
We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.
If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.
Why are your adventures only for adults?
All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. You must be over 18 to join one of our trips.
Who else will be on my trip?
You're always in good company on one of our adventures.
Our trips are typically made up of a mixture of solo travellers and small groups of 2 or 3 friends, with most in their 30s-50s.
Our sociable adventures are solo-friendly by design and naturally attract outdoorsy people with a shared mindset; a love for adventure, a desire to push themselves and meet awesome, like-minded people along the way. Check out our Community Values – a shared code to make sure that everyone's experience is safe, inclusive and brilliantly unforgettable.
It’s this camaraderie that has so often turned a great adventure into a life-changing one.
Don't just take our word for it:
- 95% of people rate the group dynamics on our trips 5/5
- 90% of people recommend joining a trip to make new friends
- 75% of people have met people on our trips that they would now consider friends
See here for more info about the Much Better Adventures tribe.
What's the carbon footprint for this trip?
We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity.
What's the number?
It works out on average at 97kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.
The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.
But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:
- Driving 1000 miles/1609km would be approximately 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person, if there were two of you in it).
- A return economy class flight between London and New York would be approximately 1619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
- 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approximately 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.
What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity, ensuring the protection of the reserve and its wildlife.
Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.
Want to Know More?
Ask our AI Assistant
Get instant answers about this adventure
Departure dates
Don't see a date you like?
Get an email alert when new dates are added.
We've Got Your Back
Book with confidence and peace of mind.
Got a Group of 6 or More?
Book the whole trip privately. We sort the details, you split the cost. Pure adventure, zero faff.
Unlock £100 off your next adventure
Still Undecided?
A few other trips to tickle your fancy