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Kali Gandaki River Rafting. (The Holy River)

One of the famous names of Himalayan Rivers, the Kali Gandaki rises in Mustang, an enclave of Nepal poking into Tibet on the other side of the Himalaya. Here, it is a flat and braided river, flowing in an arid open valley: the explorer Michel Peissel ran this stretch of the river in a small hovercraft in 1973 and at least two other groups have rafted and kayaked this section. At Kalopani the river drops off the roof of the world and cuts one of the deepest gorges in the world between Dhaulagiri, height 8167 m. to the west and Annapurna 8091 m to the East. This gorge is one of the ancient trading routes gradient eases and the river is run able from upstream of Beni. After the confluence with the Modi Khola, the river swings south through an area where until recently, tourists were almost unknown. There are few villages actually on the river- most are located on the river terraces some hundreds of meters above. The Kali Gandaki is named after the goddess Kali and is considered a particularly holy river, an auspicious place to be cremated and every river confluence is dotted with cremation sites and burial mounds (if you're won during what's under all those piles of rocks, we recommend against exploring!). It is also a gold bearing river- you will probably meet several small groups of gold workers who sluice and pan the gravel of the riverbed for minuscule amounts of the metal. This is a rewarding river for the bird watcher and we've also seen mongoose, monkeys, and signs of leopard and otters. A new dam just below the confluence with the Andhi Khola is currently hearing completion and most trips in the future are likely to take out here. The dam is planned to divert some 142 cubic down the tunnel to the powerhouse, and here will be insufficient water to run the section below the dam. We have though included a description of this middle stretch of river for those able to do it. * Medium high flows. ** Due to pre-monsoon storms and snowmelt, expeditions at these times will be high flows. *** With monsoon season, the river gets wild and very high, so expect more challenging rivers…

Fast Facts

Location: Mid Western Nepal Difficulty in Nov : Class: 4(4+) From : Beni (Alt. 820m) To : Andhi Khola (Alt. 540m) Distance : 60 km (37 miles) Days : 3 Days From Pokhara : 4 hours Av. Gradient : 5 m/km (25ft a mile) Volume in Nov : 120 cms (4200cfs) Best Season : Oct-Dec, March-May Rapids Name: Little Brother, Big brother, Walk and Bake, Good Morning Cobra, Walk in the Dark

The Experience

Named after the Hindu goddess of destruction, Kali, the river rises in Mustang, on the northern side of the Himalayan range. As it tumbles down between the majestic Daulagiri and the Annapurna ranges, it creates one of the world's deepest river canyons. The recent damming of the lower portion of this river, has left us with one of Nepal's premier medium length river journeys; combining great whitewater with some of the most beautiful scenery in Nepal, seldom-visited villages, truly quiet and introspective evenings, abundant wildlife, sandy beaches and outrageously beautiful waterfalls. The rapids on the Kali Gandaki are much more technical and continuous keeping paddlers busy all day. Both experienced and novice rafters love this. Nowhere else is it possible to find such diversity on a 3 day raft trip. Most days begin in a similar fashion, usually with something hearty to eat (or to throw up later…). Gelatinous eggs are a favourite. Following a briefing on the day's route, the river is then tackled. You are then free to paddle, raft, admire the view, see villages, eyeball rapids, spot wildlife and await the carnage! The Kali Gandaki has some 60 rapids within 60km of river, most of moderate difficulty / Class 3. (There is an accepted international standard for grading rapids, rated 1-6, based on various conditions. 1 is slow moving water with a perceptible current, 5 is challenging, technical whitewater and 6 is unsafe to run commercially.) Over the course of the trip you'll be forced to contend with "Little Brother", "Big Brother" and "Rafters' Refund", all of which are quite big enough to flip a raft. The biggest rapid on the river lies at the end of the descent. "Walk in the Dark" is a sizeable rapid, graded 4+. These should provide gut-wrenching, adrenaline fixing whitewater rafting. You'll be twisted, turned, shaken and basically hurled all over the place. Admittedly this is not everyone's idea of fun (so that's just me then?), but it is undeniably a once in a lifetime experience. The sense of achievement in taming the river is tremendous. Hanging onto a piece of rope attached to a raft, whilst on spin cycle in one of the world's largest washing machines is not the easiest thing in the world. However, you should discover that fear and determination will combine to help you develop a grip of Olympic proportions! Sodden and shaking, the adrenaline rush is enormous. Nice drops, sparkling chutes and turbulent rapids provide class III to IV+ runs during the fall and spring seasons. This ancient trading route from Tibet takes you through the deepest river gorge in the world. Watch for the Dhaulagiri and Annapurna Mountain Ranges (the popular trekking route) and have your camera ready!

Major Attractions.

Majestic view of the Himalayas . Gorgeous rapids like God's House, and gorges like Jungle Corridor . Kayaking opportunity . Spectacular scenery . One of the finest stretches of white water in the world.

Kali gandaki River Rafting Itinerary.

Day: 1 This is the first day of our trip. You are welcomed with light breakfast in Pokhara before leave to rafting starting point. After approx: 3 hrs buses drive, we reach at Kusma (Rafting get in point). After reach there, some of the crewmen rig the raft; pack up the gear while others make lunch for you. After lunch your guide will takes you a side out of the river for briefing. Which take about 1 hour, finally we ride on the raft and flot down for 2 hours to camp from beginning to the first camp and we encounter rapids, Big brother, small brother, Cave, daze, and modibeni. Camping at saranghat and dinner will be serving at 7:30 pm. Day: 2 Breakfast will served at 800 am and after breakfast, we pack-up gears and will ready for second day adventure. Rafting will be 4 hours in this day, Including lunchtime served in between 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm. This day we encounter rapids, Doulebend, Pytonrock, Phalebas, Braindenfall, black rock and Sunder fall. Camping at Purtighat and dinner will be Serving at 7:00 pm. Day: 3 This is the final day of Kali gandaki River rafting. After continuous 2hrs floating, we finally reach at Mirmi, where yours bus will be ready to pick up you. Lunch will served at Mirmi while other will load the gears, into the bus. After lunch as soon as we take our journey back to Pokhara.