Hiking the Kathmandu Valley Extension

Follow our expert guide into the Kathmandu Valley, visiting rural villages and gazing over Himalaya peaks

The Kathmandu Valley, on the Himalaya foothills, is the ideal warm-up destination for your main Nepal or Bhutan adventure. Starting and ending in Kathmandu, this short trekking extension takes you along relatively low altitude trails, visiting rural villages and rhododendron forests, while serving up incredible views of Himalaya peaks. By the end, you’ll be ready to tackle a harder trek and eager to continue your journey of discovery.

This extension can either run three days before the start of your main trip, or from the last day of your main trip. See the itinerary for more.

Sustainability and Impact

As a certified B Corp, we’re on a mission to improve our social and environmental impact across all our adventures.

We do this through our innovative Thriving Nature, Thriving People plan.

This ‘nature positive’ approach is designed to help nature and communities thrive in harmony though practical solutions, such as reducing carbon and waste on our trips, supporting conservation projects through the Exodus Adventure Travels Foundation, and rewilding 100 square metres for every Exodus traveller.

Is this trip for you?

This trip extension is rated Activity Level 2 (Easy & Moderate). For more information on our trip gradings, visit the Activity Level Guidelines page. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip, please contact us.

Suitability: This is not an overly physically demanding adventure; however, a good level of fitness is recommended. Trails are well maintained but there are some ascents up steps, which are more challenging. We walk for six to eight hours each day and stay in local lodges, known for their farming and community engagement. Altitude is not a concerning factor.

Flexibility: While this is a set itinerary, there is an alternative route for Day 2 if the tour leader feels like you may not reach your destination in time. Those who take this route will head to Karthikey, where they are picked up and transferred to our accommodation.

Booking: If you are the only person booked onto the extension, a compulsory solo traveller supplement is added. This rate is based on a single room, so no extra single supplement is required. Should additional passengers book onto the same departure, your compulsory solo supplement is removed and your booking based on twin-share rooming. You can choose to upgrade to include the optional single supplement if preferred.

Following a review of all our trips we have categorised this trip as generally not suitable for persons of reduced mobility. However if you are a regular traveller on such trips, please contact customer services to discuss the trip and your personal condition.

Vaccinations and Health

Nepal

There are no required vaccinations. However, recommended vaccinations include tetanus, typhoid, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, cholera, Japanese encephalitis, rabies and tuberculosis. You will also need a yellow fever vaccination certificate if you’re arriving from a country with risk of yellow fever transmission or transiting for more than 12 hours through a country with risk of yellow fever transmission. Some travellers may also need proof of a polio vaccination. Please confirm with your doctor or travel clinic.

There is little to no risk of malaria in Nepal; therefore, antimalarial tablets are not usually advised although may be considered for certain high-risk groups. You may wish to consult your doctor or travel clinic for further advice.

Additionally, dengue fever and chikungunya are known risks in Nepal. Both are tropical viral diseases spread by daytime biting mosquitoes. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available for either, and therefore the best form of prevention is to avoid being bitten. We recommend you take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

Most of our trips to Nepal go to high altitudes where there is a risk of being affected by Acute Mountain Sickness. Our itineraries are designed to enable everyone to acclimatise to these altitudes, but you should be aware that it is still possible for you to be affected. Please refer to the Altitude Warning within the Trip Notes for further advice on AMS.

When trekking at altitude, and particularly in cold weather, there is a higher chance of developing a cough (sometimes referred to here as the Khumbu cough) or cold symptoms. These symptoms could be a result of inhaling cold mountain air or dust (in the Everest region). You can mitigate against picking up coughs and colds by washing your hands with soap and water at available opportunities and using hand sanitiser. Also wear a buff over your neck and mouth when walking at altitude, particularly in colder weather, which will help limit cold, dry air entering your airways and keep your neck and chest warm.

Visa

Nepal

You can obtain your visa in advance or on arrival. The Immigration Department of Nepal has suspended visas on arrival for certain nationalities – please check if this applies to you with your nearest embassy or consulate.

Visa in advance

Apply for this through your local consulate or embassy. Further details on this option can be found here:

• For UK passport holders: https://uk.nepalembassy.gov.np/visa/
• For US passport holders: https://us.nepalembassy.gov.np/tourist-visa/

When applying for your visa in advance, the Nepalese government has an online application system (see links above for more info), but it is currently only accepting payments through Nepalese payment channels. Once the online form is completed, the applicant is required to print out the form and either send it, together with the passport, to the embassy, or attend in person.

Visa on arrival

1. When you arrive at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, there will be three lines. If you have already secured your visa, go straight to the Immigration line. If not:
   Fill in a tourist visa form at the electronic kiosks. After inserting your passport, the machine will automatically fill out an application form, take an electronic photograph of you and print a paper slip. If the machine won’t read your passport, complete the details manually using the touchscreen. We recommend taking a passport photo with you just in case.
   Top tip: This process can be completed through the online immigration portal (click ‘Visa On-Arrival’) within 14-days prior to arrival in Kathmandu, helping you to avoid lengthy queues at the kiosks when you come through immigration – ensure you print and bring the confirmation with you. If you have completed your visa on arrival form in advance, go directly to the visa fees counters with your printed confirmation and skip the kiosk queues.
2. Proceed to the visa fees collection counter and pay the visa fee (in cash, if possible). Make sure to keep the receipt. Card payments are not always possible, so paying in cash is easiest, most currencies are accepted but US dollars are preferred.
3. Go to the relevant immigration desk and present your tourist visa form, payment receipt and passport to obtain your 15-, 30- or 90-day visa stamp. Please check you have been given the correct visa duration.

Food & Drink

We do not include lunch and dinner on trek allowing you to choose what you want to eat. Lunch is taken on the trail and dinner is available in the nightly accommodation.

If you have a gluten-free diet, we strongly recommend you bring extra food and snacks with you to supplement the food on trek as there will be little variety available to you, particularly for breakfast. Even many of the soups are from powder/packets and contain gluten.

Drinking water

Staying hydrated is important when undertaking any physical activity, on this trip it is generally recommended to carry a 33floz (one litre) water bottle and drink at least 67floz (two litres) per person per day.

However, we strongly encourage you not to buy bottled water on trek as this contributes to the growing problem of plastic pollution in the trekking areas of Nepal.

You can top up water bottles at tea breaks and lunch stops along the way with some villages offering safe drinking water stations selling UV-treated water for about 50 rupees (US$0.40) per litre.

Exodus has partnered with Water-to-Go, a filtration system that eliminates more than 99.99 percent of all microbiological contaminants from any non-saltwater source – visit Water-to-Go for more information. Exodus customers can claim 15 percent off their first order and, better still, 15 percent of the purchase value will be donated to the Exodus Travels Foundation. Please note, if the water freezes it will clog up the filter. In this event, defrost before use by sitting the filter in lukewarm water for 10-15 minutes.

Weather

The main trekking season in Nepal is from October to mid-May when daytime temperatures at most altitudes are generally comfortable for walking, the sky is clear much of the time and rain and snow are occasional occurrences. Daytime temperatures will vary from 15C to 35C (59F to 95F) in the Kathmandu Valley to around 10C (50F) at 11,810ft (3,600m) and progressively lower the higher we go. Different seasons offer different advantages for trekking.

Post-monsoon/autumn: Mid-September to November

The main trekking season in Nepal. Day temperatures in Kathmandu are approximately above 20C (68F). Skies are usually clear and days on trek are sunny and mild with clear mountain views. Nights will be colder with temperatures dropping as low as -10C (14F) at the highest altitudes.

Winter: December to end of February

Despite the cooler conditions, this is an ideal time to trek in Nepal. Skies are usually very clear, especially in December, and the mountain views are at their best. Nights are very cold with temperatures down to -20C (-4F) at the highest altitudes but days are pleasant and sunny. The trails are also much less busy at this time of year. In Kathmandu, maximum daytime temperatures are 19C (66F).

Pre-monsoon/spring: March to May

Both day and night temperatures are warmer in general but often a haze builds in the afternoons. It is very hot in the lowlands and temperatures rise to 35C (95F) in Kathmandu. Flowers bloom in this season, one of the reasons people chose to trek in spring.