Destination:Nepal
Trip Grade:Easy/Mild (*)
Meals:Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner
Transportation:Public Vehicle
Tour Routes:Kathmandu - Gorkha Bazaar - Namjung Village - Manakamana - Kathmandu
Accommodation Type:Home Stay
Show AllNamjung Village lies in Gorkha District which is 165 km west from Kathmandu and 19 km from Gorkha Bazaar. Gorkha is the famous historical place located in the beautiful hilly slope. This is the origination of Shah dynasty. King Prithivi Narayan Shah, the Founder of modern Nepal unified Nepal that began from Gorkha. It has popular Hindu Goddess temple Kalika and the birth palace of King Prithivi Narayan on the hill top.
There are many cillages in Gorkha which are deserving for stunning Mountain View, terraced landscape, lush green hills, short hiking and typical village life style to know. Namjung, the village inhabited by many ethnic groups like Brahmin, Chettries, Newar, Gurung, Magar,and many other castes together in harmony. Your visit to Namjung can be for many purposes like: learning village life, doing hiking to nearest mountains, for some community help for the marginalized group or for some volunteering work like helping farmers, teaching in government schools and so on.
Ganesh Himal to the east from the top of hill can be clearly seen in the good weather. The BudhiGandaki River and the Benshi Valley view like Kyamuntar, Salyantar, Durbungtar are fascinating. There is mega hydro project, of 650 MW is going to be constructed very soon.
Namjung is extended from 500 masl to 2500 masl. If you would like the place to explore which is non-touristy and full of nature and culturally rich, then you could visit Namjung and around. Himkala Adventure always like to offer you such services with newness with our professional licensed holder tour, trekking guides.The tour to this village can be operated as per your time constraints like 3 days, 5 days including famous Hindu temple Manakamana Temple as well.
Day 01:Arrival in Kathmandu Airport (1350 m), Transfer to hotel. O/N at Hotel
Day 02:Free Walking Tour in local area, around Thamel and to Monkey Temple. O/N at Hotel
Day 03:Drive from Kathmandu to Gorkha, Namjung. O/N at Home Stay
Day 04:Early hiking for sunrise and exploring around the Namjung Village, Lunch and interacting villagers. O/N at home Stay
Day 05:Trek from Namjung to Manakamana Temple or to Gorkha Bazaar and explore around. O/N at Hotel
Day 06:Drive back to Kathmandu, 5-6 hrs. O/N at Hotel
Day 07:Departure to airport
Himkala Adventure would like to answer all the queries about Namjung Village Tour for all curious travelers/trekkers in the world. As you are entirely from different geographical location, you could better to know everything about the treks from the beginning i.e. airport pick up till your departure like airport picks up, drops off, accommodation in city, in the trek, guide and porters, safety for the trekking, food and accommodation and some other things that you might face on the way. Hope our endeavor listing these questions answers will help you self informed.
This is simply the outlines of the services we offer but it may differ as per your requirement, number of trekkers. What we go through our conversation, we will manage the means of transportation, hotels in the city, accommodation in the trekking, numbers of porters etc. This is general idea about Namjung Village Tour before your trip and you become clearer about the trek. Please feel free to contact us to get more information about the trekking in the Himalayas of Nepal.
1) What physical fitness do I need to book this trip?
Every trekking in the Himalayas of Nepal requires the certain level of physical and mental fitness. So, we advise you to be in good physical shape and able to feel comfortable while hiking up and down 7 to 12 miles per day on a trail carrying a day pack of about 10 pounds. Three things could make you confident enough for any trek you would like to do: aerobic, strength and mental.
Aerobic conditioning is important primarily because you will be trekking in thinner air, up to 40% less than at sea level. With good aerobic conditioning, you will be able to better metabolize whatever oxygen is available to you. You should plan on doing at least one hour of aerobic 3 /4 times per week for 1 month or more before your arrival in Nepal. Walking, jogging, cycling, hiking on valley floor to ridge line ascents with day back are some of the excellent forms of exercise, so long as you are strengthening leg muscles and building stamina. Speed is not the essence; stamina, confidence and continuity are. Do as much uphill as possible. If you live in flat area, go to the stadium and use the steps with your pack.
2) Do I really need to use guide to Namjung Village Tour?
You really do not need Guide for Namjung Village Tour. In case you need, we can organize a tour with guide from Himkala Adventure and the advantage, you can have with Guide is you get more knowledge about local culture and you could have easy access to interact with the local people.
3) How do I find Himkala Adventure for my pick up at the airport?
Our representative from Himkala Adventure will display a small board (placard) of company or your name outside the airport terminal. You will be driven to the hotel by our tourist vehicle.
4) What sort of accommodation do I get in Kathmandu?
Normally we provide standard rooms with twin sharing accommodations at three star or similar category hotels in Kathmandu including breakfast. Accommodation in these cities can be upgraded as per your request. But some of our packages are sold without accommodation in the city.
5) How are home stay facilities during Namjung Village Tour?
Home Stays in Namjung Village Tour area are professional though they are simple but with neat and clean lodging offering fine views and plain but fresh and hygienic food in homely atmosphere. Most of the Home Stays are well facilitated but you can have better chance to understand the typical way of living and their cultural practices from close view, being with family.
6) What sort of accommodation do I get in trekking?
Home Stays provide twin sharing single and double rooms and occasionally a dormitory which is basically clean with a mattress and a quilt or blanket. Our company provides the sleeping bag if needed but we always recommend having your own sleeping equipments. You have to share the room with your group member or sometimes with unknown traveler. The toilet is always outside the room with basic facilities.
7) What sort of foods, water and drinks can I expect in trekking?
The foods in the Himalayas Hilly regions are very simple. There are mostly the family members themselves to cook and serve the meal. They are simply trained but experienced because they have been offering such services for many years in this busy route. The food is hygienic, fresh and delicious. We recommend you to drink mineral water or the boiled or using water purification pills or drops.
Most of the foods are cooked in the kitchen of tea houses. They serve you with different varieties of delicious Nepali and continental dishes. The most popular Nepali food is daal bhat (rice and lentils) with some mixed vegetable curry. Garlic soup is popular as it helps you with acclimatization. You could better be vegetarian in the mountains. All hotels in cities and guesthouses in trekking serve the vegetarian food. You can find all common types of drinks like hot chocolates, coffee, tea, hot lemon with honey, ginger tea, soft drinks etc. you will have your breakfast and dinner at the lodges where you will be staying and lunch somewhere on the way to your next destination.
8) What mode of transportation do I use?
We will provide the private transportation for Airport/Hotel/Airport pick up and drop and sightseeing in Kathmandu Valley. We use transportation as based on our cost inclusion section. The transportation varies depending on your requirements at the time of booking the trip.
9) What is the best season for this trekking?
The best season for Namjung Village Tour is spring (March to May) and autumn (September to December). These are the perfect time of the year for the breathtaking views of Himalayas with clear and sunny days. But the weather in the mountains is unpredictable.
10) What is the weather and temperature like during the trekking?
The climate in Nepal varies from place to place which can be categorized in different four main seasons. The main seasons in Nepal are spring (March to May), summer (June to August), autumn (September to November) & winter (December to February). The best season to travel in Nepal is autumn (September, October & November) & spring (March, April & May). Weather in the mountains is unpredictable. But the day temperature in Namjung Village Tour is comfortable.
11) Who will be guiding me during this trip?
We provide the professional government license holder English speaking trekking guides for our entire trekking trip. We can also provide French, Spanish, Japanese, German or Italian speaking guides as per your preference with extra payment but not guaranteed. All guides will be Nepali people who are carefully selected on the basis of their appropriate experience, leadership skills and personality. They are all trained from Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management, certified and approved by the Tourism Department of Nepal government. We provide a different city tour guide to guide you in UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Kathmandu. They are the professional license holder guide specialized in culture, history, geography, iconography, archeology and religion with good command over English. Tour guides are specialized in city tour and trekking guides are more in the hiking and trekking in the Himalayas.
12) What sort of experience do your guides have?
Our entire city tour guides have bachelors to Master Degree academic education along with many months tour guiding training from Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management, Rabi Bhawan, Kathmandu, Nepal. They are fluent in spoken languages and informative about the sites in many aspects. They are quite experienced and dedicated to their job and responsibilities.
Our entire trekking guides have minimum Intermediate to Master Degree academic education with trekking guide training from Nepal Academy of Tourism and Hotel Management, Rabi Bhawan, Kathmandu, Nepal. Many of them are from villages. As they are local, they know more about the routes, necessary precaution to be taken and so on. They have spent many years exploring many parts of the country. They are trained in first aid and able to handle any situation easily. They speak good English and make you know about the places you visit.
13) May I charge my electronic devices during Namjung Village Tour?
Most of the places in your Home Stays have charging facilities. You can charge your devices by paying some extra money. It’s good if you bring TWO or THREE pin travel adapter and put your gadgets at warm place at night.
14) How much additional money is required for this trip?
It’s a very personal question as expenses depend on habit. Normally, in Kathmandu you can allocate about USD 10 to 15 per person per lunch or dinner. USD 10 to USD 15 per person per day will be sufficient to buy bottles of water, chocolates, pay for a hot shower during the trekking. Other personal expenses will be your own calculation.
15) What is the social and environmental responsibility of Himkala Adventure for this trip?
The situation of environment in Nepal is in considerable stage due to so many factors caused by global warming, human activities, and adverse effects of natural incidents. Nepal is in between two giant countries like China and Nepal. The ozone layer is depleting and the atmosphere is getting heated. So, its direct effect is to the Himalayas that the snow is melting day by day and the sea level is rising. It is due to population growth, people are clearing the forest and the soil is being eroded. As a part of society, and our trekking related activities are directly concerned with the social and environmental things. We are very conscious not litter in the open spaces, to manage garbage properly and make local people aware in this campaign. We are working together with other companies and taking these issues seriously.
16) What is the minimum number requirement for this trip?
We operate individual trip to the group joining trips for Namjung Village Tour. If you want to do any private trip we are ready to organize for solo traveler as well with some additional charges.
17) Are there communication or internet services during Namjung Village Tour?
All our guides carry the local mobile phone. You can use his mobile phone to make any local or international call from trekking trails by paying him directly. You can even pass him number to be connected with your family or friends. We highly recommend taking local SIM card for call and internet services during trekking. Local SIM cards are easily available in many stores and at airport as well. You need to provide two copies of your photographs and your passport copy to get local SIM CARDS of NCELL & NTC (only these two companies provide telephone services in Nepal.
18) May I get chances for shower during Namjung Village Tour?
Most of the home stays provides hot shower with some extra cost. In few places, bucket water will be provided for the shower.
19) May I add extra days in trekking?
Yes. You can customize the trek as you would want. We are flexible while preparing the itinerary and you could lengthen or shorten it as per your requirement.
20) What happens in case of emergency?
Himkala Adventure has prepared for any emergency situation and knows how to handle it. Our guides are trained in first aid and can deal with most of the basic ailments that occur during the trek. Every client should have his own insurance before coming to Nepal for the case of emergency.
21) Do I need to have insurance for this trip?
We request you to have a travel-insurance policy to cover theft, loss, medical problem & emergency helicopter evacuation from high altitude places before coming Nepal. Choose a policy to cover your emergency high altitude helicopter evacuation with all medical insurances for trekking in high altitude in the Himalayas of Nepal. Your travel insurance is always needed before going in any high altitude trekking. Please check your travel insurance policy which doesn’t exclude mountaineering or alpinism. Although you will not be engaging in these activities in your trekking, you might have problem convincing the insurance company of this fact. Rescue insurance need to cover an emergency helicopter evacuation or a charted flight from remote mountain trails of Nepal as well as international medical evacuation. A helicopter evacuation might cost US$ 2500 to US$10000 depending on the places. So that travel insurance to cover all above is must to travel in the high Himalayas of Nepal.
22) What type of shoes should I wear during Namjung Village Tour?
You could better have comfortable tennis shoes or snickers for the Namjung Village Tour. Shoes and boots are best to buy before arriving in Nepal. We advise you to wear your new shoes for sometime before trek so that you could feel well habituated on the newer trail for your feet.
23) Can I use credit cards in Namjung Village Tour?
No, you can use only in the cities like Kathmandu. So, it is better you to make change in Kathmandu. When you are out of city, all you need is cash, better to have small notes. Please change the currency in local Nepali rupees before you go to the mountains.
24) Do I need to tip my guide and porter? How much would that be?
Tipping is not mandatory, neither it is right to ask by anyone but it is a way of showing gratitude after taking service. The level of tip also shows how satisfy you are from the team that you had been during your tour/trek.However, we recommend you to spend minimum 10% of your total trip cost for tipping entire local staffs, the ratio of tipping guide and porter will be given to you at the pre-trip meeting in Kathmandu before starting the trek.
Cost:
The cost of trip varies according to the number in the group, the category of the Hotel, mode of the transportation and any kind of changes (if there is). So, if you would let us know all of these above mentioned things, then we could quote you the exact price.
Essential Documents:
You are requested to send the following documents after you confirm or book the trip with Himkala Adventure:
A copy of your passport and travel/health insurance documents with contact details, three passport size photos.
It is advised to maintain a separate photocopy of all important documents including traveler’s cheques, bank/ATM card, contact numbers, international flight tickets, and emergency contact numbers.
Weather:
The main trekking season in Nepal is from October to December and March to May but Namjung Village Tour can be done throughout the year. It is the village northeast from Beshishahar.
Nepal Strikes:
There is much more progress in the political scenario in Nepal and we assure you that travelling in Nepal is safe. But there may be Bandha (wide transport strikes) at a very short notice. The shuttle bus is in operation by Nepal Tourism Board and the Nepal Tourist Police in conjunction with the Himalayan Rescue Association from domestic and international terminal to the various hotels in Kathmandu. The service costs 300 rupees per person.
Itinerary Disclaimer:
Himkala has thoughtfully designed all the itineraries but our itineraries are updated for the betterment on the basis of our past travelers’ comments and our own research. In case you find changes in the itinerary you printed and the upgraded one does not affect your trip. Please note that some changes may occur in our itineraries due to bad weather and common seasonal changes to timetables and transport routes.
Physical Rating:
Your trip will be meaningful if you could find yourself fit and fine. You will be walking up to 2,197 m from the sea level.So, we advise you to undertake regular physical exercise, jogging, hiking, riding, ascending and descending the long stairs etc.
Group Size:
Himkala Adventure organizes solo to group travelers. Our group trips are designed for sharing accommodation and there is no single supplement. Single travelers share with the same gender from twin to multi-share in an accommodation. You are requested to have mutual understanding in between the fellow travelers who have joined from the different parts of the world. Please remember that you have great responsibilities in the group. If you are requested to be at a particular place at a certain time, make sure that you have been there at a time. It is much more pleasing sharing experiences and traveling together.
Accommodation and Meals:
Accommodation and Foods in the Hilly region of Nepal cannot be compared with any developed countries in the world. We know that you might not have experienced such things before but you should take it easy. Accommodations at local lodges are simple but clean and comfortable. The food is plain. Toilets and washing facilities are shared and rudimentary.
Money Matters:
Please note that most establishments in Asia will not accept foreign currency notes that are old, torn or faded and they can be very difficult to exchange or extra fees added when exchanging at banks. Please ensure that you have new, clean notes.
The official currency of Nepal is the Nepali Rupee (NPR). ATMs can be found only in major cities of Nepal like Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan, Bhaktapur etc. The government of Nepal has banned the import, export and use of 500 and 1000 Indian rupee notes in Nepal. You make sure that you won’t carry these notes upon arrival in Nepal, otherwise they are confiscated and you may be fined.
Please make sure that the foreign currency notes that you have are new and clean notes because old, torn or faded foreign currency notes in Nepal are very difficult to exchange or extra fees added when exchanging at banks.
While travelers cheques have security advantages exchanging them can be a lengthy process, commissions can be high (up to 10%) and they can be difficult to change in rural areas, on weekends and public holidays. If you choose to bring travelers’ cheques, make sure they are a major brand and major currency.
Tipping:
Tipping is not mandatory. It is not anyone’s right asking for tips but if you are happy with the service, you could tip the staffs. It is entirely a personal preference. Tipping could be significant to them who took take great care of you in your traveling period. Himkala recommends that you could tip any intended recipient by any member of the group than collected and passed on by the group leader.
Note: Please do not tip with coins or dirty and ripped notes. This is culturally taken as an insult.
Local Dress in Nepal:
Nudity is a sensitive issue in Nepal. Women should avoid wearing shorts and sleeveless tops in public places where this might be seen as inappropriate. Remove shoes before entering certain holy places. Non-Hindus are not permitted in some temples.
Feedback:
Your feedback will be the great guidance to meet our target and to bring improvement in our service. What and how have you experienced with Himkala Adventure and our staff? Please write, we will read it carefully. One cannot see his/her shortcomings that are lying with them. Someone should point it out. We are always eager to hear from you.