Southern Settlements

Grade 1 2 3 4 5
Grade 1 – Easy
Treks in the foothills staying below 6,500ft / 2,000m. Trails are relatively gentle & wide, and average walking is 3 - 4 hours a day.

Click here for a full explanation of Trip Difficulty Grading

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Trek Difficulty Grading

Our treks vary from easy hikes in the foothills to challenging climbing adventures in the high Himalaya. More often than not, we use trails that have since ancient times been the only link between villages, settlements, and their inhabitants. The trails may take you through a well-inhabited area with many villages and tea-shops, or through a mountain wilderness without a single permanent settlement for days, but one thing is certain: there'll be lots of ups and downs as we walk from one Himalayan valley to another. Treks are graded on the basis of altitude, trails, walking hours per day, and length of trek.

Grade 1 – Easy
Treks in the foothills staying below 6,500ft / 2,000m. Trails are relatively gentle & wide, and average walking is 3 - 4 hours a day.
Grade 2 – Moderate
Treks in the foothills and the middle-hills going up to 10,000ft / 3,000m. Trails are mostly gentle and wide, but at times may involve more difficult stretches like a steep stone staircase. Average walking is 5 - 6 hours a day.
Grade 3 – Challenging
Fairly demanding treks, usually in the high Himalaya, going up to 13,000ft / 4,000m. Trails can be ill defined, narrow, steep, and rocky, and will usually take you into uninhabited or sparsely inhabited areas. Average walking is 6 - 7 hours a day.
Grade 4 – Demanding
These treks require participants to be in excellent health. They take you into the high Himalaya, altitudes ranging from 9,000ft / 2,800m to often in excess of 16,500ft / 5,000m. Trails venture into sparsely populated or uninhabited high-mountain wilderness, and are often ill defined, occasionally on glacial moraines. Average walking is 6 - 9 hours a day.
Note on altitudes
The altitude definitions indicate elevations through the major part of the trek. Treks usually involve side-trips into elevations exceeding the altitude ranges defined for their grades. Grade 3 and grade 4 trek itineraries are designed to allow proper acclimatization, with acclimatization days when we take side trips to higher elevations where necessary.

 

The classic day-hike in the southern Kathmandu valley rimland
  • 1-day easy hike from Kathmandu
  • Superb panoramas of the Himalaya and the Kathmandu Valley
  • Plentiful encounters with the rural Valley rim dwellers
  • Explore the historic Newar settlement of Kirtipur
A day trip to the Newar towns and villages in the southwest corner of the valley. Starting with a short drive to explore the historic town of Kirtipur, we hike through the beautiful cultivated countryside and scattered settlements. We soon ascend to the ridgetop at Bosan — the highest point on our hike — where we are rewarded with beautiful views of the Kathmandu Valley and a panorama of the Himalaya to the north. After a picnic lunch, we descend through woodlands and villages to cross the Bagmati river – close to where it drains the entire Kathmandu valley – on a suspension footbridge. A short climb brings us to the medieval Newar sister towns of Khokana and Bungamati. Khokana is renowned for its mustard-oil presses and Bungamati has traditionally been a woodcarver’s town. From here we drive back to Kathmandu, arriving late afternoon.
Southern Settlements is quite simply the best day out in Kathmandu!

Trip Itinerary

Day 1  Drive (30 min) to Kirtipur (1,334m / 4,380′); explore Kirtipur. Hike through cultivation and scattered settlements along the valley bottom, climb Bosan ridge (1,609m / 5,279′) and hike through Bosan village and Hattiban forest to the south-west rim of the valley and cross the Bagmati below Khokana. Explore the twin sister villages of Khokana and Bungamati; here we meet our transport and drive back to Kathmandu. Picnic lunch en route.

Dates and Pricing
We offer fixed-date departures every Wednesday and Saturday from October through May. We also operate a Monsoon version of this trip - check with us for dates.
  Day trip - No overnights
2 or more personsUS$ 35
Single room supplement US$
Cost Information
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Cost Information

The trip cost quoted is the cost per person, and includes:

  • Hotels: Accommodations in Kathmandu and Pokhara on twin / triple room-sharing basis with breakfast.
  • Tours: Sightseeing tours indicated with a certified English-speaking guide.
  • Transfers: All land transfers by car (Toyota Corolla or similar) or van (Toyota Hiace or similar).
  • Trekking: Room-sharing accommodation in local lodges, all meals, services of trek crew (guide, sherpa(s), and porter(s) to carry all luggage & equipment), applicable trekking / ACAP permit / National Park entry fees.
  • Permits, Fees, & Taxes: All applicable permits, entry fees, and taxes.
  • Trek leader: We provide a trek leader on groups of six or more. A tour leader can be provided upon request for smaller groups, upon additional cost.

Not included in the cost are:

  • Meals other than indicated.
  • Flights: All internal flights are extra. Internal airfares indicated are subject to change without notice.
  • Personal clothing & equipment (upon confirmation you’ll receive a clothing & necessity checklist of items we recommend you bring, items you can hire / purchase locally are indicated).
  • Personal expenses, bottled / alcoholic beverages, and tips to crew.
  • Insurance: We strongly recommend that all trip participants be covered by their own personal insurance that also covers emergency evacuation.
  • Other unforeseeable expenses that may arise due to factors beyond our control, like bad weather or flight cancellations.
  • Nepal visa fee.

 
  Day trip - No overnights
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Valley Vistas