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BLACK DIAMOND EXPEDITION
w w w . b l a c k d i a m o n d e x p e d i t i o n . c o m
i n f o @ b l a c k d i a m o n d e x p e d i t i o n . c o m 0020
Off road mountain biking in Nepal
❖ Explore the ancient temples of Kathmandu
❖ Stunning lakeside rides at Pokhara`s Phewa Tal (Phewa Lake)
❖ Bike the Vertical Mile across the Kathmandu Valley rim
❖ Cycle to the sensational Annapurna viewpoint of Sarangkot
Experience the exciting off-road mountain biking in Nepal
www.blackdiamondexpedition.com
+977-01-4440476 / 4440534
Nepal, Cycling and Mountain Biking, 12 Days
VIEW DATES PRICES & BOOK YOUR HOLIDAY HERE
Trip Duration= 12 Days
Group Size= 1-10 person
Accommodation= 6 Nights Hotel, 5 Nights Camps
Meals= 12 Breakfast, 11 Lunch, 11 Dinner
BLACK DIAMOND EXPEDITION
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Nepal is recognised to be one of the world's greatest
mountain biking destinations and this superb cross-
country bike ride, pioneered by BDEx, is one of our
favourites and an acknowledged classic adventure.
Linking together with a maze of remote powdery roads
and village paths between Pokhara and Kathmandu,
this is a brilliant mountain biking adventure for just a
week and a half. Flying to Pokhara, we have a couple of
days biking the area's classic routes, including the Kali
Horseshoe, with superb views of the Annapurnas and
beautiful Macchapucchre (Fishtail).
Experience the exciting Off-Road Mountain biking in
Nepal. Black Diamond offers numerous sites to explore
in a single trip to fullest satisfaction.
Overview
BLACK DIAMOND EXPEDITION
w w w . b l a c k d i a m o n d e x p e d i t i o n . c o m
i n f o @ b l a c k d i a m o n d e x p e d i t i o n . c o m
Day 1: Arrive in Kathmandu (1,350m)
One of our representatives welcomes you at the TIA in Kathmandu and your transfers from Kathmandu Airport are provided. Meet
the group at a hotel in Kathmandu. Depending on your arrival time, you may have the opportunity to explore the immediate vicinity
of the hotel and get acclimatized to this bustling city. Alternatively, you may prefer to recover from your journey by relaxing beside
the hotel pool. Package services begin only with the evening meal. Your guide will take dinner with you and will provide an informal
briefing about the days ahead.
Day 2: Sightseeing tour in Kathmandu amongst the Buddhist and Hindu sites
Our bikes (still packed) will be collected in the morning and are transported overland to Pokhara. After breakfast we’ll take a
sightseeing tour of Kathmandu, including the sacred Hindu site of Pashupatinath and the striking Buddhist Stupa at Bouddhanath.
After lunch we have time to explore the bustling, narrow streets of the Thamel area of the city and visit the ancient palaces of Durbar
Square. As a part of this trip package, we have included complimentary evening meals at our hotel or favourite restaurants in
Kathmandu on each night that we stay in the city.
Day 3: Flight to Pokhara
After breakfast we catch the morning flight to Pokhara, which provides superb aerial views of the peaks of the central part of the
Nepal Himalayas, especially the Annapurna range. We also have views of the route that we will be riding on our bikes. On arrival at
About Leader
You are really fortunate to spend time with our guides
who hold strong communication skills. They are great at
projecting their voices across a group in a cler and easy to
understand manner. They are gifted with what you call to
be the great conversationalists with outgoing
personalities. We ensure you that you feel open and
comfortable talking to whoever accompanies you as your
guide. Our guides possess a great experience of almost all
the travel and trekking sites of Nepal. They can
disseminate their awesome knowledge and experiences
to you. They are not only enthusiastic but at the same
time are humorous as well to relieve you from the often
tiresome walks. We never compromise when it comes to
time. Our guides are always punctual and perform things
in time. They have keen sense of direction and can easily
lead you in whichever route you follow them. Mostly, we
assign the local guides who can bring their own
knowledge, gain a genuine experience.
Off road mountain biking holiday in Nepal /Itinerary
BLACK DIAMOND EXPEDITION
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Pokhara, we check into a very pleasant hotel in the lakeside district of the city. Pokhara is at an altitude of just 800 metres and is
warmer than Kathmandu. It’s also less hectic and has a very chilled, almost beach like, atmosphere. It boasts probably the best
mountain views of any major town in the Himalayas, with the Annapurnas, especially the sacred mountain of Macchapuchare (the
Fishtail) dominating the skyline. After lunch, we get reunited with our bikes, which we reassemble and check out by taking a short
ride along the shores of Pokhara’s lake, Phewa Lake.
Day 4: Exploring Sarangkot with views of the Annapurna peaks
Pokhara is too pleasant a place to leave immediately and so we spend an extra day here. Now fully recovered after our long journey,
we set off on a quite challenging day ride, the circuit of Sarangkot. This ride is mainly on a switch-back blacktopped road. Just before
the top of the pass at Kaski, we turn onto a jeep track and a combination of short, steep climbs and contouring trails take us to a high
viewpoint overlooking Pokhara and the lake. From here, there is an impressive panorama of the Himalayas stretching from Dhaulagiri
to Manaslu. Descending now, we can enjoy a great 10 kilometre blast down to Pokhara on steep, fast mixed trails, then on through
the town to our lakeside hotel. A cold beer as the sun sets over the Himalaya is a great way to finish our first full day of biking.
Day 5: Explore awesome descent through the village of Hot Chilli to Begnas Lake
We now set off on our classic off-road journey back to Kathmandu, avoiding tarmac roads wherever possible. Leaving Pokhara, initially
on the main Kathmandu highway, we soon turn off onto a narrow road that climbs towards the north-east. We follow a natural
horseshoe on ridge-top trails that encircle Khaste Lake, with the tarred road soon giving way to a rough jeep track. Our high point is
at around 1270 metres, just after the village of Hot Chilli. Beyond this small settlement, we turn off onto a doubletrack trail just before
the ridge and begin an awesome and sustained descent complete with (optional) technical sections down to the Begnas Lake. We
pass through Begnas Village and meet up with our support vehicle and crew, who have already established our camp and have drinks
waiting. For those who want more cycling, there’s the option of a short, flattish ride by the lake. Or, the more adventurous rider can
sample the stepped carry-climb back up to the Kali Ridge and repeat the earlier descent.
Day 6: Dawn to Dusk ride
As the name implies this is a longish day, which provides brilliant biking. Climbing directly above our camp on a jeep road, we can take
a detour to a village right at the top of a low hill between Begnas and Rupa Lakes to the south. Then, we drop back down to the jeep
road on a village path that includes interesting sections of steps. Beyond the twin lakes, we climb again to cross the ridge of Sundari
Danda and drop down to Modi Khola at Bhorletar, at first on a jeep road - which is in the process of being improved - then on rougher,
undulating trails. Instead of crossing the river at Bhorletar, we have reconnoitred a new route on the western bank, passing through
the villages of Pulchok and Poland, crossing tributary streams and even including some sections of singletrack through the paddy fields
BLACK DIAMOND EXPEDITION
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- raised paths and 90-degree bends make for some fun riding. The locals can be pretty amused by our antics. We are the only bikers
that they have seen attempting this route and they seem to think we’re all crazy. We finally cross the river to reach our camp at the
small village of Kalasti. Again, our support vehicle has had to go along the main highway and our crew will be waiting for us and have
our riverside camp set up.
Day 7: Biking to Chhepetar beside the Doraundi river
You may begin to wonder how we can sustain the quality of the off-road riding - and today it gets even better. Starting out below 400
metres, we have a mix of up and down today, with a longish initial ascent and lots of downhill rushes. To begin with, it’s uphill, on a
section we named the 'jungle highway', to the start of the real climbing. We gain around 400 metres over the course of about 2 and
a half hours, passing through completely unspoilt ridge-top villages that make this route so memorable. Although only a relatively
short distance from the main highway, these villages have only ever had a handful of Western visitors and our recent groups have
certainly been the only mountain bikers they had ever seen. The locals could not be more friendly and pleasant. A fast and rough
descent leads to the narrow tarmac road from Dumre to Besisahar (the principal access point for the Annapurna Circuit Trek). We are
only on the blacktop for half an hour, heading north, before we turn off and cross the Marsyangdi River. A short steep climb then
takes us up to the rim of the valley and a small village which is a good spot to stop for lunch, with views towards Manaslu, one of the
world’s 8000 metre peaks. After lunch, we climb again and again enjoy some outstanding cross-country riding, through small villages
and past mud-brick kilns on a maze of footpaths and powdery roads. Crossing a small pass - soft drink stop at the village at the summit
- we then drop down to the Doraundi River. This is a magical jungle section that is 95% rideable - apart from the odd section of steep
steps. Back down at 500 metres again, we reach our camp at Chhepetar beside the Doraundi River.
Day 8: Short tarmac ride up to Gorkha
After a leisurely breakfast, we ride a short section of jeep track that takes us to the tarred road leading to the ridge-top town of
Gorkha. As this is an offshoot of the main highway, traffic is relatively light, and we have a pleasant road climb up to Gorkha, which
generally takes about an hour and a half. Arriving in this small hill-town, we check in at a basic, but comfortable hotel with the added
bonus of hot showers. We have most of the day to take it easy or look around. Gorkha holds a central place in Nepalese history, as it
is the hometown of the former Royal Family and is the ancient capital of Nepal. It is also where the original Gurkha soldiers came
from. There is the option of 3-hour circular walk taking in the 300 metre ascent to the ancient Gorkha Durbar with its palace, temples
and fascinating carvings. This climb is well worth the effort as the peaks of the Annapurna and Manaslu massifs suddenly come into
view as we reach the top. Or, there is also the option of a circuit ride that contours through the cultivated terraces and loops back to
the halfway point on the climb we tackled yesterday - the views of the Doraundi valley are outstanding. Although Gorkha is midway
between Kathmandu and Pokhara, very few Western tourists come here, and the terrace of our hotel makes the ideal spot for relaxing
and taking in the spectacular views.
BLACK DIAMOND EXPEDITION
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Day 9: Corker ride down to the Budhi Gandaki river
Still one of the best days of riding anywhere, we have made some changes to today's route to provide a better mix of off-road and
jeep road riding. This is the first of 3 excellent and quite challenging days on this trip. On our original reconnaissance back in 1998 it
was agreed by everyone that this was one of the best mountain biking days that we had ever had - it may have been something to do
with the fact that no one had a clue where we were going to end up, as nobody had ever biked here before. Leaving Gorkha it's
straight onto rough, undulating jeep tracks, contouring at around the 1100 metre level to a viewpoint where we should see the peaks
of Mt. Manaslu and Mt. Ganesh. Then, from the village of Mailung, we begin a wild 700 metre descent - firstly along the ridge and
then dropping directly into the Buri Gandaki Valley, with some optional technical sections. Once we reach the valley floor, our
amended route turns north (instead of south) and follows a largely forgotten jeep track towards the village of Sallyantar, with some
sections of paddy fields and several stream crossings. Before Sallyantar, we cross the Budi Gandaki and follow village trails and jeep
track above the Ankhu river to Hanse Bazaar and then Kali Sundhara Bazaar. Our support vehicles have made a long detour to reach
this remote spot and the group's baggage and camping equipment may need to be portered across the Ankhu river to our overnight
camping place. The vehicles cannot cross the river here and will make another detour to meet up with us again tomorrow.
Day 10: Cycling to Samari Bhanjyang
We make an early start for possibly the toughest day of the holiday, especially if it is hot. Our vehicle support can be called up for
bikers having a bad day. We continue our journey eastwards, starting out with a long and steep ascent on a washed-out and at times
rocky jeep road, via Chisapani and Charanki Pauwa, to Katunje. There are fantastic panoramic views of the Annapurnas, Manaslu,
Ganesh and the Langtang peaks. We drop down again into a tributary valley of the Trisuli River and then climb up to the ridge known
as the Samari Bhanjyang, with some more short sections where we may have to get off and push. Beyond this point it's largely downhill
on jeep road to Phedi, where we meet the tarmac road for the last stretch into Trisuli Bazaar. We set up our camp beside the river on
the outskirts of this major bazaar town.
Day 11: Biking up to the rim of the Kathmandu Valley via Thansing Phant
Crossing the rim of the Kathmandu Valley involves a challenging climb, with 1600 metres of ascent on a newly improved tarmac road
via Thansing Phant. Long, and at a generally fairly easy gradient, this 'Vertical Mile' climb will take around 4 hours. Our support vehicle
follows us and we will stop for lunch at our high point, with great views of the Nepal Himalaya. After lunch, our descent into the city
will take just about an hour. At our Kathmandu hotel, we pack up our bikes and then go out to celebrate the end of our Himalayan
biking bonanza with dinner in one of Kathmandu’s top restaurants.
BLACK DIAMOND EXPEDITION
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Day 12: Departure day. Transfers to Kathmandu Airport are provided
BDEx Land Only Package services end after breakfast. Transfers to Kathmandu Airport are provided. There are lots of extensions that
can easily be added to your holiday in Nepal. Why not pre-book a simple day-tour in the Kathmandu Valley, or a multi-day excursion
to one of the important wildlife reserves at Chitwan or Bardia. Extension packages are also available to include a visit to neighbouring
Tibet or Bhutan. Contact our office for details.
Package includes Package Excludes
➢ A professional and qualified Nepalese cycling leader
➢ Kathmandu Airport transfers
➢ Internal flights and all land transport involved in the itinerary
➢ Guided sightseeing tour of Kathmandu
➢ All accommodation as detailed in the trip dossier
➢ All meals throughout the trip
➢ Full camping service including all equipment (excluding personal
equipment)
➢ Travel Insurance
➢ Nepalese Visa
➢ Tips for local bike guide and support
crew
➢ Miscellaneous expenses - drinks and
souvenirs etc
➢ Bike Carriage on the flights - please
check with your carrier for charges
If you would like to be part of this amazing trip, or would like more information, please contact
+977-01-4440476 / 4440534
www.blackdiamondexpedition.com
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