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Kathmandu Valley & Tea Garden Tour-7 days

Tea Garden of Kanyam Tea State

Workers plucking tea leaves

Bouddhanath Stupa

Trip Introduction

The 7-day Kathmandu Valley & Tea Garden Tour combines a tour of Kathmandu's architectural and historical grandeur with the natural wonders of the tea gardens in the eastern hills of Nepal. The Kathmandu Valley, historically as an important travel point for the traders and travelers from Tibet, Nepal, and other South Asian Region, blends different culture and lifestyle practiced in the region in its own way. The mountains encircling the valley surround three medieval cities - Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur with a considerably high number of places recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. Similarly, the tea garden hills of Ilam are famous for their natural sceneries. Ilam is also known as the Queen of the Hills in the area. After making a sightteeing tour of four UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Kathmandu, we fly to the flatland of Bhadrapur, the gateway to Eastern Nepal. Then we drive to Ilam and discover the wonders of green tea gardens there. The tour concludes with a visit to the two medieval towns in the Kathamandu Valley, Bhaktapur and Patan.

As the name suggests, the 7-day Kathmandu Valley & Tea Garden Tour has been designed to combine the cultural grandeur of the Kathmandu Valley with the natural splendors of the tea hills in the Eastern Nepal. If you wish to make a tour of all World Heritage Sites of Nepal including Lumbini & Mt. Everest Mountain flight, we suggest you to try our itinerary Nepal Heritage Tour with Mt. Everest - 10 Days. For those wishing for making a two-week holidays tour, our Nepal Holidays Tour-14 Days would be most suitable. However, if you've arrived in Kathmandu for a short business trip or are in transit and wish to make a tour of Kathmandu in just 3 days, you may try our Kathmandu Transit Tour - 3 days. Some of our other tour packages that you may find interesting include: Nepal Village Home-stay Tour - 10 Days, Kathmandu Pokhara River & Wildlife Tour -10 Days, Buddhist Cultural Tour - 8 Days. For a complete list of our tour packages for Nepal please click here.

Important Note and Optional Activities
Your safety is of paramount concern whilst traveling with Himalayan Glacier Trekking. Please note that your leader has the authority to amend or cancel any part of the itinerary if it is deemed necessary due to safety concerns. Every effort will be made to keep to the above itinerary; however, as this is adventure travel in remote mountain region, we cannot guarantee it! Weather conditions, health condition of a member, unexpected natural disasters, etc., can all contribute to changes in the itinerary. The leader will try to ensure that the trip runs according to plan, but please be prepared to be flexible if required.

Day to Day Itinerary

Day 01: Arrival & Overnight in Kathmandu
Upon your arrival in the Kathmandu airport (TIA) you will be greeted by a representative from Himalayan Glacier Trekking. After completing your custom formalities (Visa, etc) pick up your luggage and look for our representative with a Himalayan Glacier Trekking display board at the arrival gate. You will be then transferred to Hotel Shanker or a similar category hotel. After check in, you can take a rest, hang around in the city, visit our office - it all depends upon your interests and condition. In the evening we will organize a "Welcome Dinner" at an excellent traditional Nepalese Restaurant where you will enjoy a Nepalese cultural program as well as a fine meal. Included meal: Dinner (D)

Day 02: KTM Sightseeing Tour: Kathmandu Durbar Square, Swayambhu, Pashupatinath, Boudhanath
Today after breakfast we start a guided tour to four of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Kathmandu valley: Kathmandu Durbar Square, Pashupatinath, Swayambhu, and Boudhnath.
Kathmandu Durbar Square holds the palaces of the medieval Kings who ruled over the then Kathmandu Kingdom. Swayambhu meaning the "the self-existent" is one of the oldest Buddhist Stupas in the world. The stupa is also famous for being on the hilltop and is popular among the foreigners as the Monkey Temple owing to the large number of monkey population residing in the area. The Pashupatinath along with the Aryaghat or Funeral Site near the Bagmati River is one of the worldâ��s most sacred places of worship for the Hindus. The Buddhists shrine of Bouddha Nath is one of the largest stupas in the world, and one of the holiest Buddhist pilgrimage and tourist destinations in Kathmandu. Included meal: (B)

Day 03: Day 03: Fly to Bhadrapur Jhapa & Drive to Ilam
Today we fly Kathmandu to Bhadrapur, Jhapa of Easternmost Nepal, about 700 kilometers from Kathmandu. The flight from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur takes for about 45 minutes. From Bhadrapur Airport, it's about 75 kilometers to Ilam, a 3 hour's drive into the mountains. For the Westerners living in the megacities, the landscape of the Nepal Terai might looks like coming straight out of The Jungle Book. Within a journey of 75 kilometers, we drive from flatland of Bhadrapur to the hills of Ilam. Ilam is also known as the Queen of Hills for it is fully covered by hills with temperate climate, low green hills and fertile lands. Overnight at Ilam. (B)

Day 04: Full Day Ilam & Kanyam Tea Gardens
We make a full-day sightseeing tour of Ilam and Kanyam today including the tea gardens. The sunrise views over the vast - sloping hills of the tea estates offer simply a mesmerizing landscape. The area has been used for tea plantation for more than 100 years, since the British Raj began Tea plantation across the border in the Darjeeling area of India. Kanyam and Fikkal have large tea estates. There are also tea factories for processing the raw tea leaves into various tea products. We also make a village walk around Ilam Bazar and Maipokhari, which is on the northern outskirts of Ilam Bazar. Visit the old tea processing center at Kanyam. Overnight at Ilam. (B)

Day 05: Drive back to Bhadrapur, Fly back to Kathmandu
We retrace our route to back to Bhadrapur. This time the drive is mostly downward into the flatland. From Bhadrapur we fly back to Kathmandu again. Alternatively, you may also be interested to visit Darjeeling of India side across the border. Nepal's border with India lies about 15 kilometers east of Bhadrapur. Bhadrapur is only one and a half hour drive from the Bagdogra airport and Siliguri. The Siliguri town is the gateway to Darjeeling, Sikkim, and the north-eastern Indian states. Overnight Kathmandu. (B)

Day 06: Sightseeing Tour: Patan & Bhaktapur
Your Nepal Tour concludes with a visit to two more UNESCO World Heritage Site cities adjacent to Kathmandu: Patan & Bhaktapur. Patan is also known as The City of Fine Arts. Patan Durbar Square is one of the places in the Kathmandu Valley where the medieval arts and architecture still remain in its original state. The Durbar Square is full of ancient places, temples and shrines, noted for their exquisite carvings, mostly the Hindu and Buddhist monuments. Similarly, the medieval town of Bhaktapur, or the Town of the Devotees, preserves medieval arts, architecture, culture, and lifestyle to this date. One is sure to feel like travelling back into the past while walking along the Bhaktapur thoroughfares, squares and streets. Overnight at Kathmandu. (B)

Day 07: Fly Home, Transfer to Airport
The 7-day Kathmandu Valley & Tea Garden Tour comes to an end today. There is nothing to do but trade emails with travel companions and organize the photos. If you have more time you can do some shopping or walking around in the streets of your hotel. A representative from Himalayan Glacier Trekking will take you to the airport approximately 3 hours before the scheduled flight. We hope you enjoyed the tour with us, and are sure youâ��ll be back making another trip somewhere in the Himalaya again. (B)

Trip Cost

Number of People	Price in US$ per person
1 person	$1970
2-4 person	$1380
Above 5	$1225

Trip Cost Includes

All airport/hotel transfers
Welcome and farewell dinner
Private car with driver
Domestic flights to Bhadrapur and back ( $312 round trip.)
4 nights in 4-star hotel in Kathmandu ( Hotel Shanker or similar standard) and in 2 star hotel in Ilam 2 nights (All on B.B basis)
An experienced English-speaking tour guide including his salary, insurance, equipment, food and lodging
T-shirt, City map
Heritage sites entrance fees
All government and local taxes

Trip Cost Does Not Include

Nepal Visa fee (bring accurate USD cash and two passport photographs)
Airport departure tax($ 2.5 = Rs. 170 per person per flight)
International airfare to and from Kathmandu
Excess baggage charges
All meals except breakfast
Extra night accommodation if needed
Travel and rescue insurance
Personal expenses (phone calls, internet, laundry, bar bills, battery recharge, extra porters, bottle or boiled water etc.)

Accommodations

All accommodations for Kathmandu valley and Tea Garden tour are on twin sharing basis included in the trip cost and are chosen based on standard of hygiene, standard of service and food, location, etc. There are two styles of accommodations during our tour. You will spend four nights in a 4-star hotel, Hotel Shanker or similar category hotel in Kathmandu; Hotel Shikhar or similar in Ilam. Mostly the buffet style breakfast will be provided in the Kathmandu hotel and some time we can provide the set breakfast outside Kathmandu hotels. If you are a solo traveler, you will share a room with someone else of same sex of your group. If you prefer a single room, you may indicate your preference and get single rooms on request by paying single supplement USD 400.

Meals

Mostly the buffet style breakfast will be provided in the Kathmandu hotel and some time we can provide the set breakfast outside Kathmandu hotels.

Departure Dates

We will organize this trip on the dates requested by you. Please contact us for your customized departure date.

Additional Information

Our website contains as much information as possible about this trip. However, if you wish to discuss any aspect of this trip or your suitability for it please contact us by email. If you want to talk to us directly feel free to call us at: US telephone: 704-200-7512 Asia telephone: 00977-98510-55684

Trip Facts