ZipFlyer and bungee — two very short, very intense minutes

One is 1.8 km of steel cable and 600 m of vertical drop. The other is a jump off a tower into a gorge. Both are over fast — here is whether they are worth it.

By Dawa Gurung · 5 min read · Updated 1 August 2026

These are the two activities in Pokhara that people book on a dare and then talk about for the rest of the trip. Neither takes long. Neither is subtle.

They are also the two we are most careful to set expectations on, because the ratio of waiting-around to actual thrill is not what most people imagine. Here is what you are buying.

ZipFlyer: the numbers do the talking

The Sarangkot zipline runs about 1.8 km down the hillside with roughly 600 m of vertical drop, which puts speeds above 100 kph. It is regularly described as one of the steepest and fastest ziplines in the world and the claim is not obviously silly.

You go head-first and prone rather than sitting, which makes it feel considerably faster than a conventional zipline, and the run finishes down in the valley near the river.

The ride lasts under a minute. Including transport up to Sarangkot and the queue, budget two to three hours for it. That ratio bothers some people and not others, and it is worth knowing before rather than after.

Bungee near Pokhara

The cliff jump at Hemja, about half an hour from Lakeside, is a tower jump over a gorge. It is exactly what bungee always is: a long, contemplative walk to the edge, a few seconds of falling, and a great deal of adrenaline afterwards.

Whether that is worth it is a question only you can answer. No one has ever called bungee good value per second, and plenty of people call it the best thing they did.

There is also the much older and higher jump at the Bhote Koshi near the Tibetan border, several hours from Kathmandu, which is the one with the reputation. If bungee specifically is your goal and you are passing through Kathmandu anyway, that is the bigger version.

Safety, briefly and seriously

Both operations are commercial, established and run to international equipment standards, with harness checks and staff whose job is to check them again. That is what you are paying for.

Declare back and neck problems, heart conditions, pregnancy and recent surgery. Both activities involve a sharp deceleration, and the operators will ask — answer honestly rather than hoping. Weight limits apply at both, at the top and the bottom of the range. Tell us your numbers when booking and we will confirm rather than have you turned away at the tower.

Which, if you only do one

If you want the sensation of speed and are nervous about a freefall, take the zipline. It is fast, it is over quickly, and there is no moment where you have to make yourself step off anything.

If the thing you want is the moment of committing, take the bungee. The zipline does not give you that and it is the whole point of the other.

And if you want the best value adrenaline in Pokhara, honestly, neither — go paragliding. Thirty minutes in the air off Sarangkot costs about the same and gives you a hundred times the airtime. We say this to people at the desk regularly and we mean it.

Walk it with us

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

ZipFlyer Sarangkot2-hour outingRs 10,600 · See dates →Hemja BungeeHalf-day outingRs 10,100 · See dates →Sarangkot Tandem Paragliding30–40 min flightRs 11,900 · See dates →

Questions we get asked

How long does the zipline actually last?

Under a minute of riding. Two to three hours door to door with transport and queueing. Manage expectations on that and you will enjoy it.

Is there an age or weight limit?

Both have minimum and maximum weights and a minimum age, and they vary by operator and conditions. Give us ages and weights at booking and we will confirm exactly.

Can I do both in one day?

Yes, easily, and plenty of people do — zipline in the morning, bungee after lunch. Add paragliding and it is a very silly and very good day.

Do they run in monsoon?

More reliably than flying does, since neither depends on thermals. Heavy rain and lightning will stop both, but a cloudy day that grounds paragliders usually does not.

Flying, falling and floating: Pokhara's adventure sports, honestly ratedParagliding, zipline, bungee, ultralight and white water — what each one is actually like, what it costs, and which ones are worth your money.7 min read →Everything in one day: how much adrenaline fits between breakfast and dinnerSunrise, a flight, a zipline and a river, all before dark. The realistic version, with the timings that make it work.5 min read →Before you clip in: how to check an adventure operator in five minutesParagliding, rafting, canyoning, bungee and zipline are all well run here by most operators and badly run by a few. You can tell which in about five minutes.5 min read →Rafting from Pokhara — half a day on the Seti, or two on the Kali GandakiOne is a two-hour warm-up twenty minutes from Lakeside. The other is a river trip through a gorge with no road, and a night on a sand beach.6 min read →

Still deciding?

Tell us your dates and how much walking you have actually done, and we will tell you honestly whether this trek is the right one for you.

Ask a guide