Kathmandu Wildlife safaris and game drives Trips

On the whole a great itinerary. I would drop the Sunderbans though, since the chance of seeing any wildlife while sailing for hours up and down the middle of the river is unlikely, especially since the animals are behind a fence. We had an excellent tour leader, Kiran who is warm, very informed and energetic and who certainly went that extra mile in solving problems and caring for everyone. The local guides who travelled with us were also great, as were the drivers. The hotels in India were the Summit hotels, an Indian chain. They are clean and quite well organised. However since those in Sikkim were out of town we were forced to eat dinner in the hotels which produced the identical menu. It would have been better to have spent the bits of free time we had in Sikkim in the towns themselves.

This trip was amazing, from flying into Kathmandu with the view of the Annapurna Range visible over the tops of the cloud to experiencing the bustling city of Kathmandu, with its temples, palaces and bazaars! We loved the trekking, the fantastic scenery with early morning views of the Annapurna mountains and the stays in the Teahouses. A highlight for us was a walk through a village where we met local people working their own land and keeping livestock, meeting the retired Gurkha and his wife who led it. We loved our time in Chitwan, seeing the one-horned rhinoceros at the National Park, enjoying walks in the village and a very peaceful canoe boat trip on the river which were all great after the long treks of the previous days. The food was fantastic, exceeding our expectations especially in the Teahouses where we were surprised by the quality and quantity of food. We definitely did not go hungry on this trip! Our tour leader Su was brilliant, very organised and with lots of knowledge that he was happy to share. His love and enthusiasm for Nepal was evident. We thoroughly enjoyed our time talking to him, his catch phrase “anything is possible” was a constant when we asked questions. The other members of our support crew were fantastic too, very attentive, always there with a smile and amazingly produced tea even at the earliest hours when we were viewing sunrise over the mountains.

Walking, wildlife, food and culture: this tour ticked a lot of boxes for me. It is true that the poor visibility at this time of year (March) meant that the Annupurna mountains weren't visible during much of the trek, but the landscape with its flora, fauna and small farms still made the walking interesting and enjoyable. A special highlight was seeing the one-horned rhinoceros at the Chitwan National Park, and the cultural events staged at the Green Chwadi Retreat at Chitwan were an unexpected bonus. There was a wealth of birds to see throughout the tour, and our tour leader, Su, was very knowledgeable in identifying them. As someone who is unable to eat gluten, I had been worried about how I would cope with the food; and I am extremely grateful to Su for helping me to navigate this, as well as ensuring that there were always things available for me to eat.

The discover Nepal trip was amazing. Our tour leader, Su, was also amazing - attentive, informative, super friendly, always there to help. The highlight for me was Chitwan and if I was to make any recommendation it would be to try and squeeze in 3 nights there so another game drive would be possible.

A very enjoyable trip, with a lot of variety. Our tour leader, Su, was absolutely excellent. I particularly enjoyed the hikes and our time in Chitwan National Park, and the Nepalese people are very friendly. The roads in Nepal are currently very poor, although there are infrastructure works underway to improve the major routes. However, the scenery and interesting settlements we passed through made up for the bumpy ride. The only disappointment was the haziness during the first half of the trip, which meant that we couldn't see the high mountains, but this was outside Explore's control! A December or January trip may be a better option for clearer views.

An amazing country, so colourful, friendly, interesting and our tour guide was second to none. There were temples, palaces, wildlife and we loved being on safari in Chitwan National Park. A fascinating culture with wonderful views and very comfortable accommodation. A super trip.