TREKKING, TRIPS, TOURS, EXPEDITIONS, YOGA & ADVENTURES IN THE HIMALAYAS

 

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Sun Kosi – the River of Gold

Overview

Reputedly one of the world’s top ten rivers, the Sun Kosi – the River of Gold – flows 272 km through the untouched countryside and small villages of the beautiful Mahabharat Lekh mountains of the central Nepali Himalaya. The start point lies 3 hours east of Kathmandu at Dolalghat and the end-point is at Chatra, near Dharan, in the Eastern Terai.
The Sun Kosi’s volume increases considerably as it combines with seven big tributaries to become one of the major rivers of South Asia. The first few days offer fun class II-III rapids and allow time to learn the skills and the teamwork needed for the much larger, far more challenging rapids to come. From the third day onwards, the white water builds into great, thundering class III – IV+ rapids. The Sun Kosi presents the chance to see a very special part of Nepal that is rarely seen by outsiders and with it, billions of gallons worth of heart-pumping, world-class white water action.
Rafting the River of Gold
In addition to outstanding white water rafting, the Sun Kosi offers varied and changing landscape from terraced farmland to steep gorges and then to subtropical jungles. Each night, we camp on large sandy riverbanks in close contact with village people and rewarding sights of wildlife, including butterflies and an abundance of birds.
The final part of the river will be the most dramatic – 10 km of nearly non-stop class IV rapids through the “Jungle Corridor” and climaxing with the “Big Dipper” rapid.
Just before the end of our river trip, we float by the great Hindu Temple of Shiva at Baraha Chhetra and then, just around the corner, the hills dramatically give way to the flat lands of the Terai and the northern plains of India stretching endlessly before us. From the take-out, on to the Rhinos of Chitwan then the flight to Kathmandu.

Major Rapids encountered:
Day 2: ‘No Exit’ and ‘Not Nothing Major’ – both class III.
Day 3: ‘Meat Grinder’ in the morning and ‘Punch and Judy’ in the afternoon – both class III+
Day 4: ‘Pre-Anxiety’, ‘High Anxiety’ & ‘Post Anxiety’ – all big class III-IV’s in the morning. ‘Harkapur I’ & ‘Harkapur II’ – class V’s in the afternoon.
Day 5: ‘Jaws’ and ‘Dead Man’s Eddy’ in the morning and ‘Rhino Rock’ in the afternoon – all class IV’s.
Day 6: Six large class III-IV’s back to back through ‘Jungle Corridor’ in the morning and ‘Roller Coaster’ later.
Day 7: ‘Afternoon Delight’, ‘Black Hole’ and ‘Big Dipper’ (aka Big Flipper!) – all big class IV’s.
Day 8: Plenty of fun class III’s down to the flat Terai, before taking the road west to Royal Chitwan National Park and then to Kathmandu.

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