Day 01:
After breakfast in Kathmandu hotel it’s now time to head off to the airport for an hour long flight to Nepalgang out in Nepal’s “Wild West”. From Nepalgang we board our rafting bus and head off for a fun ride to the river, stopping for rest breaks. The scenery as we traverse the Terrai is varied and splendid as we climb up the Churia Hills.  At Kalyant, our Sirdhar (head porter) shows up with his crew to will carry all the expedition gear the short walk to the river.  It’s quite a sight to watch a 60-kilo man in his mid thirties trudge along a mountain trail with a 70-kilo raft hanging off a strap across his forehead. It’s enough to make you want to join a health club. This part of Nepal sees very little tourism and the villages and farms you see along the trail are much the way rural Nepal has been for hundreds of years. By the afternoon we reach the Karnali River and rig the rafts and sort out kayaks. We drift off downstream a short distance to the first night’s camp.  

Days 4 - 10:
Our river guides spend time explaining the finer points on how to paddle through whitewater and stay in the raft as it contorts through the rapids. They will also teach you what they look out for when they run a river and how to move the raft using the water and rocks. Whitewater rafts are amazingly versatile and stable crafts, and in the care of an expert raft guide it is possible to run challenging lines safely and confidently. Your guide is a professional, someone who has devoted their life to learning and running rivers. Under his or her careful indoctrination the raft crew will learn how to work as a team, practicing on the numerous smaller rapids we encounter on the first 2 days of the river. By the time we get to the really big rapids, you will be more than prepared. Even though this is a challenging river, the natural progression of rapids actually makes it an ideal trip even for first time rafters.
Camping on the Karnali is breathtaking. The massive floods of the monsoon deposit huge tracks of pure white sand along the river which is ideal to camp on. When the local Nepalese living in the area do manage to find one of our campsites, the rewards are mutual.  We will have at least 1 layover day where we stay at the same river camp for 2 nights. BEACH PARTY!!! Volleyball, Frisbee, sun bathing, eating or just relaxing are favorite activities for the layover day. You can also take advantage of the day to trek to a peak or nearby village, or take part in the kayak workshop the safety boaters will offer. Several of the beaches we camp at offer waterfalls or mud baths, and if you’re into fishing, the Karnali offers some of the best fishing in Nepal. If you’re an avid fisherman, be sure to bring your kit along - you won’t be disappointed.

The most sustained challenging section of the river begins with God’s House, and continues in a series of canyons for about 7 kms and 16 rapids. This is what we are all here for – it’s a real ‘thrill a minute roller-coaster ride’ with rapids on every bend. The whole river narrows down into the bowels of the earth and we run such classic drops as Juicer, Flip and Strip, Totali Ghat, Snapshot and Freight Train before stopping at a sweeping sandy beach for the night.

 
Contorted sandstone cliffs tower on either side as we continue through the Red Rock Canyon and still more rapids. The confluence of the Seti River means that we’re past the major rapids on the Karnali. The lower section of the Karnali is home to fresh water dolphins and gaurials - the fish eating crocodiles with the long, graceful jaws. After days of whitewater it’s nice to take a rest and watch the scenery pass.

Day 11:
From our last campsite nestled in the rock formations of the lower canyon we drift down to Chisopani, the first town we’ve seen for 10 days. Chisopani isn’t much of a town, basically just a couple of daht baht shops and a damn impressive bridge, but even so it’s hard to get re-accustomed to the sounds of civilization. From Chisopani we transfer to Nepalgang for a 1 hour flight back to Kathmandu and our hotel.