Rafting from Pokhara, half a day on the Seti or two on the Kali Gandaki

The Upper Seti in half a day

The river is twenty minutes from Lakeside, and you get about two hours on the water, grade III in normal conditions. It's continuous and splashy, and over before you've quite settled in. You're back in town for lunch.

Pick it if you're between treks, travelling with people of mixed enthusiasm, or want to find out whether you like rafting before committing to something longer. Non-swimmers are fine in a lifejacket after a good briefing, as long as they tell the guide before getting in the boat. Don't expect wilderness. The road runs close by for much of it and you're near town the whole time. We collect you from your hotel in Lakeside and bring you back afterwards.

The Kali Gandaki is the big one

You spend two to three days on the river that drains the gorge between Dhaulagiri and Annapurna. It runs at grade III to IV depending on the flow, through a steep-sided canyon with no road access for most of its length.

Nights are spent camping on sand beaches, with dinner cooked over a fire and a huge sky overhead. Along the way there are waterfalls, hot springs in places, and the feeling of being somewhere you couldn't have reached any other way.

The rapids are more serious than the Seti's and better spaced, with calm pools between them. If you've rafted before and want Nepal's whitewater instead of a taster, this is the trip.

The season changes the river completely

October and November, just after the monsoon, give the biggest reliable water. It's fast and powerful, the most exciting rafting of the year, and that's why it's peak season.

From December to February the levels drop, the rapids get more technical and rockier, and the water is cold. It's still good rafting and quieter, but bring warm layers for when you get off the river. From March to May the water is low and friendly, so that's the best window for nervous first-timers and families. In the monsoon itself, June to September, the rivers run very high and many commercial trips stop. Be sceptical of anyone still running then.

Choosing an operator

Check that the company gives you a helmet and uses modern self-bailing rafts, that a safety kayaker comes along on anything above grade III, and that the guides carry throw bags and a first aid kit. All of that is standard here.

Ask how many people go in each raft and whether they give a safety briefing on land before you get on the water. A crew that briefs you properly has thought about what can go wrong.

Like paragliding, the cheapest quote on the street is cheap for reasons you can't see from the riverbank.

Walk it with us

Private departures on your dates, guided by the people who wrote this page.

Questions we get asked

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