Nepal – The Ultimate Adrenalin Rush

If you enjoy the thrill of jumping off a mountain bridge into a gorge, or like the adrenalin rush of floating (hardly!) down the mighty Himalayan rivers or perhaps even fancy a shot at climbing Mount Everest then Nepal is THE place to go.

Flying into the country itself is a bit of an adventure, as the towering snow-clad mountains provide the perfect obstacle course for the pilots. If your heart is still intact on landing then perhaps you are fit enough to carry on with you holiday!

Kathmandu is a delightful city with the perfect blend of old and modern. You really can fit in somewhere. But for those with an eye for adventure and excitement head straight to Thamel.

The heart of adventure and the life of the city, Thamel has the ability to convert a fraidy cat into a brave, daring eagle!

The atmosphere there will make you want to climb mountains and walk with the Yeti. The streets are filled with tourists and locals bustling about either shopping for antiques, pirated DVDs or investing in mountaineering gear. But most will just be soaking in the vibrancy in the air. And don’t panic if you suddenly find yourself singing out loud or skipping along the street. Just follow the music and let it lead the way. Most likely it will take you straight to the Rum Doodle Bar and Restaurant.

Aside from bumping into people who have possibly just climbed Mount Everest, the food and music at this place is outstanding. You’ll find autographed footprints (yes, of that mysterious Yeti, of course!) all over the walls with success message from mountaineers, following the tradition that began with the autograph of Sir Edmund Hilary himself. You can join the ranks with your own ‘Veni, Vidi, Vici’ message too.

When or rather if you manage to get out of Rum Doodle, you may want to dive into the tourist offices to finalise your other adventure trips, primarily because you do need permission to go both rafting and trekking. If you’re going trekking (congratulations on being so fit), it is advisable that you go about the whole exercise officially because there are taxes and fees to be paid for climbing. Yes, you do the hard work and pay for it!

Besides obviously mountaineering, most people make a bee-line to Nepal for white water rafting, and make no mistake, it is absolutely worth the courage and partial insanity to navigate rivers like the Kali Gandaki, the Karnali or the Bhote Kosi - all of which are further up in the mountains. In addition to the sheer thrill of riding the rapids and rough white waters, the scenery is so breath-taking, you really must try to keep your eyes open despite the looming rapids. If you are daring enough, you could also go kayaking down these rivers and hope that you navigate correctly to rejoin your party for lunch!

While you are on a rafting trip, you could also throw in some canyoning. If you like to climb, walk, swim, jump and rappel, then you are sure to enjoy this. It involves rappelling down deep gorges, sliding down water falls when there is no other path and swimming across rivers while following the path the canyon has set. It’s best you use waterproof bags for cameras and other electronics because when there is no rock or sand beaches, the only way to go forward is to swim.

In and around Pokhara, a lovely lake town just a 20-minute flight from Kathmandu, you’ll find several mountain biking tracks as well as hiking paths. Pokhara is also the starting point for most mountain climbers. It is also close to Sarangkot, another mountain village which over looks the Himalays and has Pokhara for its front yard. The walk up to Sarangkot to see the sunrise is tiring yet highly fulfilling when you see the vista. Also, once you’re up there, you might as well put those adventure boots back on and treat yourself to some paragliding so you can have a birds eye view of the Annapurna Mountain Range and the glistening Phewa Lake.

Now if you have really toughened up and gathered your beastly courage and are raring to go on, I strongly recommend you make your way to Bhote Kosi. Located on the Kathmandu-Lhasa highway, this area is the ultimate paradise for thrill seekers. It’s got the white water river for possibly the best rafting experience as well as a host of other extreme sports. The exact place you want to head to is The Last Resort. No really it is, because beyond it lies the mighty China!

Only a three hour drive away from the capital city, The Last Resort is a dream come true for the venturesome. They offer a variety of extreme, adventure sports including, bungee jumping, Canyon Swing, Canyoning and high ropes.

It is located on an exotic mountain ridge, with the Bhote Kosi River beneath and can only be reached by crossing a simple suspension bridge at a height of 160m. Remember this bridge though, because this is the one you’ll soon be diving off when you go bungee jumping.

Considered to be one of the most spectacular jumps globally, due to its location and free fall, the bungee jump gives you the ultimate adrenalin rush. But if you don’t think you can stomach the thought of plummeting towards a gorging river, - head first at that - then maybe you could opt for the canyon swing where in you are harnessed around the waist and jump feet first off the bridge and then are swung 240meters between the canyons. Of course, both the bungee and the swing have their thrill but swing is in all likelihood the lesser evil. And if you hesitated at the top then don’t pretend you made a lovely swallow dive because you have been captured on camera! You’ll even get a tee-shirt that says you bravely took the plunge along with the DVD of the graceful (or not) jump.

No need to sign up for climbing because you automatically, get your share of climbing. To make your way back to the resort you have to trudge up the mountain face and skip over little rivulets which in itself is a baby adventure! Be sure to get gather you wits about you, along with your breath and senses and focus after the jumps before you begin you ascent. If you fail to do so you might end up in the river without a harness or raft!

I recommend staying over at the resort in one of their luxurious safari tents and perhaps wind down with a drink in their dip pool while enjoying the live music in the background.

After all of this, if you still have some nerve and courage left over then sit back and enjoy a mountain flight which takes you within touching distance of the Himalayan range (don’t expect to be hugging Mount Everest though). After all, you deserve some glory after your adventure trip. At least you can tell the world you went all the way up to the peak of the highest mountain in the world – in an airplane!