Rafting Nepal 2019 – Tamur River

Choose between taking the overland transport voyage to Biratnagar or getting a longer stay with one more day investigating Kathmandu and fly the following day.

In the morning a short flight takes us to meet the bus travellers in Biratnagar, one of the main towns of the Terai plains, and continue driving to Basantapur though spice gardens and lush foothills. A cozy family-run teahouse is our rest place for the night. The local people are a fascinating collage of tribes and castes that have perfected the brewing of their local drink, Tungba (millet beer), to a fine art…

After sorting out porters and other logistics, we start our trek by walking though ancient rhododendron forest and welcoming villages that have had only a very limited number of foreign visitors. After every steep climb we are rewarded with spectacular Himalayan views. The famous peaks of Everest, Makalu and Kanchenjunga welcome you each morning when you wake up and open your tent. Children play excitedly along the trail as we pass and snow-capped Himalayan giants surround us. During the trek we reach heights of 3000 meters, before descending though a variety of thick forests and lush valleys till we reach Dobhan, where we meet the thundering Tamur River. Here we have our first camp by the river

At Dobhan three tributaries of the Tamur join their forces, combining the racing rivers of the high mountains to the north. Constrained by steep valley walls, it becomes Nepal’s sixth largest river and the start of one of the world’s remotest whitewater river expeditions. We inflate the rafts and load all our gear, and after a thorough safety briefing and paddle talk we jump straight into the action! With our safety kayakers in position, we run straight into the first series of class 4 rapids, only 200mtrs from the start! The team is pushed to get their team work together quickly and just as well because the first 20 kilometers of the Tamur is basically one long rapid! Whitewater rafts these days are amazingly versatile and stable crafts, and in the care of one our expert raft guides it is possible to run challenging lines safely and confidently. We pride ourselves on this fact as we can get a team of people working together to negotiate the amazing amount of white water that the Tamur offers! From Dobhan we have 120 kilometers of white knuckle white water with over 100 class 3 and 4+ rapids. The Tamur offers some of the most challenging white water Nepal has to offer, combined with some white-capped mountain views and great campsites. Evenings are spent around the campfire, drinking hot-spiced rum and getting to know the people on the trip. Food is communally prepared so client participation is always welcomed as it is the social part of the camp prepping the veggies so us guides can cook and turn out any number of sumptuous meals. Guides are generally chefs that happen to raft too! In the middle section the river opens up and there are beautiful white sandy beaches to camp on and enjoy the sunsets. On the second to last day the river turns back to the west. This is a phenomenal day of white water, with over 50 rapids throughout the day. With a couple of scouts (we will have a look before proceeding) we encounter monster rapids like Ashram and Double f#%k and just before our camp on the tributary of the Sun Kosi we deal with the rapid Bad Below! When the village kids see rafts approaching they are all keen to get a great view of the spectacle coming and the chance of seeing any carnage with flipped rafts or swimmers! Then we float through a very narrow gorge to our camp spot on the confluence of the Sun Kosi! This is were we can recount what has happened over the last week and talk about future trips. On the last river day we strap on the gear loosely and float towards Chatra, our take out point. On the way we stop at one of Nepal’s oldest Hindu temples, Baraha Chhetra. Legend has it that once a demon god inhabited this area and troubled the villagers, holy men and pilgrims. Hearing of this, Lord Vishnu, preserver of the universe, took the form of a pig and slayed the demon in battle. Just a little further downstream lays India and all its semi functional chaos. Where we explore the surrounding temple grounds and maybe be get to meet a holy man or chat with some beautiful coloured Sari clothed women, while they are doing their daily homages. Then we jump back in the rafts and float through one more wave train and then the mountains and the hills just disappear as we enter the flats of Nepal Terai. After stripping down the rafts and loading the bus, we venture into the town of Chatra to our favorite Dahl Bhat shop and tuck into a great meal and a few cold beers and drinks before we either head to the airport for our 40 min flight back to Kathmandu or take the bus overland, arriving mid morning the next day.