ITINERARY

DAY 1 Kathmandu

Namaste, welcome to Kathmandu!

Steeped in legends, folklore, myths, and mysteries, Kathmandu is a microcosm of Nepal on the whole. Cradled in the valley, this largest city in the Himalayas with ancient roots that are reflected in its narrow winding lanes, alleys, markets, temples, and bazaars in the center of Nepal’s history, culture, social, economic, and political. Located along the ancient trading routes, the architecture, faiths, and cultures in the valley are a beautiful fusion of both Hindu and Buddhist traditions.

Activities Included Today:

– Introduction to the different Ethnic Groups of Nepal through their traditional and distinct Music.

– Visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site – Boudhanath Stupa. Learn about the history of the stupa, and what stupas are all about and represent.

– Introduction to Tibetan Monastery and the Tibetan School of Buddhism.

Vegan Meals Included Today: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

VegVoyages was right on target! We saw Nepal in a way we would have tried doing on our own, but if we had done it on our own, it would have taken a minimum of three months to have the experiences we had with VegVoyages in two weeks. They had done the legwork of finding the off-the-beaten-path places and building trust with key Nepalis in order for us to get an authentic look at a beautiful country and an even more beautiful people. I still don’t consider myself a big fan of tours, but VegVoyages felt so NOT like a tour, we will definitely be doing another one soon. – Carla Moschetti

DAY 2 Kathmandu

Set along ancient trading routes between China, Tibet, India, and further afield, Nepal was never colonized by European powers (unlike its neighbors). People of all faiths and backgrounds have lived side by side peacefully in this small nation. Ruled by different kingdoms over the years – much of whom came from outside of the valley, bringing with them their own traditions and customs adding to the valley’s earliest inhabitants, the Newar people, who still to this day make up the second-largest ethnic group in the valley – and still to this day their cultural influences are seen in much of the valley’s architecture, customs, festivals, and cuisines.

Activities Included Today:

– Visit the oldest temple in the valley, Changu Narayan Temple. It is the perfect place to learn about Nepal’s architecture from a Hindu point of view, the Vastu Shastra.

– Explore the Ancient City of Bhaktapur Back Alleys and witness the best example of living Newar architecture and urban life.

– Join local vegans and activists for delicious vegan dinner and cultural exchange, and learn about animal rights, conservation, and veganism in Kathmandu and in Nepal.

Vegan Meals Included Today: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

DAY 3 Baglung Bazaar

After two days in the valley, we’ll set out by bus, air, bus, and foot again as we’ll traverse one of the area’s most scenic (albeit work in progress) roads – home to epic vistas, roaring rapids, lush green mountainsides, and small villages as we make our way well-off-the-beaten-path to Baglung Bazaar. Keep in mind as we traverse the back-roads and “highways” of the Himalayas that these epic peaks and mountains are home to the third-largest deposits of ice and snow in the world after the Antarctica and Arctic, including over 15,000 glaciers! This means the Himalayas provide a major source of the world’s fresh water (and now power) feeding three major water networks including the Indus, Yangtze and the Ganga-Brahmaputra which feed the major rivers and lifelines of Asia including the Ganges, Indus, Yarlung, Yangtze, Yellow, Mekong, and Nujiang Rivers.

After visiting one of the country’s biggest suspension bridge and learning about the vital role these bridges play in Nepali life, we’ll arrive in Baglung Bazaar. Overlooking the Kaligandaki River – which is a tributary of the Ganges – Asia’s most sacred river, Baglung has been a trading outpost and rest stop since the 16th century (and some say earlier, but historical records mention it since the 1500s) for pilgrims from India and traders seeking to barter grains from the southern areas of the region with salt from Tibet. As the sun sets over Baglung, we’ll be guests of the town’s most sacred temple for their aarthi (Hindu religious ceremony) ritual before settling down in the evening at a local family’s home for a delicious vegan dinner of local delights.

Activities Included Today:

– Visit Kusma Suspension Bridge (tallest spanning suspension bridge in Nepal – over 384 feet high, spanning over 1,128 feet long).

– Cultural Culinary Experience, introduction to Eating Etiquette of Nepal where we’ll learn how to eat a meal properly following local eating customs and etiquette.

– Explore the town streets and narrow lanes of Baglung Bazaar.

Vegan Meals Included Today: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

DAY 4 Bakunde Village

We’ll continue off-the-beaten-track in the Himalayas as we board jeeps and head out on the local “jeep & tractor trail” up into the mountains to the village of Bakunde. With breathtaking Himalayan peak views, small farms, and traditional houses, we’ll be guests of the village as the local community shares with us their way of life in the Himalayan mountainsides.

Stunning is putting it lightly, serene majestic views everywhere you look, small fields of farm-fresh organic veggies, trickling streams of mountain spring water, fresh mountain air, and forests, this will be our home for the next two days.

Activities Included Today:

– Vipassana Meditation Session.

– Traditional greeting to Bakunde.

– Lunch with the village community in Bakunde.

– Traditional Homestay.

– Sunset Hike to the mountain peak.

– Interactive program with music and dance hosted by the village Women (Mother’s) Association.

Vegan Meals Included Today: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

DAY 5 Bakunde Village

Bhakunde village is a mixture of different ethnic groups – but primarily Magar – an indigenous community and one of the oldest known tribes in Nepal. Their mother tongue is Tibetan-Burman language, though many speak Nepali as their first language now. Known traditionally as good craftspeople, agriculturalists, and soldiers (many make up the ranks of the famous Gurkha regiments in both the British and Indian armies). Magars make up just over 7% of Nepal’s population. There are both Hindu and Buddhist Magars, and in both cases, many of their traditional indigenous beliefs have influenced their rituals and ceremonies, which was a combination of Animism, Shamanism, and Ancestor Worship. Magars are also known for their enjoyment of their local folk music, songs, and dance.

Activities Included Today:

– Bakunde Village Introduction.

– Traditional Farming Introduction and pick up veggies from the field for our dinner tonight.

– Visit a local blacksmith home.

– Guest of an ex-Gurkha soldier and his family (the Gurkhas have formed part of the British army since 1815. They are known as fearsome fighters).

– Guest at a local school, and join the students in interactive activities.

– Join in the community for a Traditional Music and Dance.

– Dinner with the local community.

Vegan Meals Included Today: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

DAY 6 Nagdada Village

Today we’ll also be guests at a local deaf school. It started with 24 deaf children in 2007 and currently, there are 222 deaf students including 17 hearing children who study in Nepali Sign Language based on the concept of Inclusive nature. These children have been admitted from 40 different districts of Nepal right from the East to the Far West of Nepal including from the neighboring country India.

After the school, and after days well off the beaten track and living on the mountainside, our home today is at the Nagdada village, located at an altitude of 1,600 meters above sea level, complete with a breathtaking view of the Himalaya’s famous Fishtail, the Machapuchare mountain. Its double summit resembles the tail of a fish, hence the name meaning “fish’s tail”. It is revered by the local population as particularly sacred to the god Shiva and hence is off-limits to climbing. Tonight, under the starlit sky, campfire, and silhouette of the Himalayas, we will have our Cultural Q & A.

Activity Included Today:

– Campfire snacks and drinks

– Be guest at Baglung Deaf School, and participate in an interactive Nepalese sign language lesson.

– Cultural Q & A

Vegan Meals Included Today: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

DAY 7 Bandipur

Waking up to the smell of the fresh mountain air in Nagdada, we’ll begin the day with a mentally refreshing Vipassana Meditation and Yoga Session with Sureshji overlooking the mighty Himalaya Annapurna Range off on the horizon. Taught by The Buddha over two and half millennia ago, this form of meditation is believed to have helped the Buddha on his path to enlightenment, and it plays an important role in the practice of Buddhism, especially Theravada Buddhism. “Buddha” literally means “one who is awake, enlightened one, awakened one, a knower”, and Vipassana Meditation helps to help awaken our minds, and today it is practiced the world over by both Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. During our Sessions with Sureshji will also learn some simple ancient Yoga techniques – as it has been practiced in the Himalayas, which are a perfect compliment with morning mediation. After meditation and a tasty vegan mountain meal, we’ll make our way through the lower Himalayas along deep gorges, rushing river valleys, and lush hillsides to the charming Newar trading settlement of Bandipur!

Activities Included Today:

– Vipassana Meditation.

– Cooking Class, learn to make the veganized version of the traditional Newar dishes.

– Newari Language Lesson.

Vegan Meals Included Today: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

With Veg Voyages we know we’ll see and experience far more than with an average tour company, and not only are we never disappointed, they always exceed expectations. Nepal was our third trip with Veg Voyages and once again it was an amazing trip. From the sights of Kathmandu to far, far off the beaten path in the mountains, Zac and Yusi took good care of us and created an experience we’ll remember for the rest of our lives. As usual, there was amazing food at every stop along the way, and we had fun experiences you don’t get with other tour companies – like visiting a school for the deaf and having towns turn out to greet us with music and dancing in the streets – literally!

– Bruce Gipe

DAY 8 Bandipur

One of the focuses of the community in Bandipur is to keep alive, preserve, and in some cases like the Newari language – to bring back, the culture, customs, traditions, and way of life that has historically held the community together here over generations. With all the outside influences from the internet, from abroad, and particularly from the west, the local community here has set out to help the younger generation to be proud of who they are and where they come from, and in the values of their traditionally community-based living. This morning and into the early afternoon, we’ll join our pal Ashutosh and friends in some community-based programs as they share with us their way of life, culture, traditions, language, and of course, more of their delicious cuisine in the Himalaya foothills.

Activities Included Today:

– Vipassana Meditation.

– Guest at the community center and learn first hand from the students and those on the forefront of the Newari traditions and cultures preservation program.

– Learn and play a traditional local game.

– Explore the town streets and narrow lanes of Baglung Bazaar.

Vegan Meals Included Today: Breakfast, and Lunch.

DAY 9 Chitwan

Located in the Terai region of Nepal – the lowland fertile area stretching from southern Nepal into northern India made up of forests, grasslands, savannah, and swamps. It is the indigenous home of the Tharu people – who are known for their agrarian way of life including farming rice (among other crops) and foraging the forest for vegetables, herbs, medicinal plants, and wild fruits. Though considered Hindus, Tharu indigenous beliefs, which relate to their environment, forest and nature, are an important part of their daily life and are reflected in their ceremonies, rituals, traditions, and customs.

This area is also home to Chitwan National Park. Declared as a National Park in 1973, and in 1984, it was designated by UNESCO as a Natural World Heritage Site. Home to over 68 species of mammals including the endangered one-horned rhinoceros, Bengal tigers, leopards, bears, and elephants among many others. Spread out over 367 square miles, Chitwan is also home to over 544 species of birds, 56 species of amphibians, and reptiles including the endangered Gharial Crocodiles and 126 species of fish. A recent study also points out that over a third of Nepal’s tigers are in Chitwan.

Activity Included Today:

– Surya Namaskar Yoga (Sunrise Yoga Session).

– Introduction to Tharu Ethnic Group, and be a guest at Tharu Village.

– Introduction to Tharu cuisine & eating etiquette.

– Jungle walks into the surrounding riverside plains and forests. (21⁄2 hours)

Vegan Meal Included Today: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

DAY 10 Chitwan

In Nepali, “Terai” means a “low lying land, marshy lowlands” – which in the case the low land areas lying at the foot of the Himalayas. The Terai areas occupy approximately 17% of the total land area of Nepal and lie at elevations between 60 to 610 meters above sea level. Because of the very fertile soil of this region, once it was “open” for settlement in the 1950s and ’60s, mass amounts of land became used for agriculture. By the 1960s unfortunately, there were less than 100 Rhinos left in Nepal. By 1973, designated protected areas – which would be known as the Chitwan National Park was set up to help the conservation efforts of the jungle areas, and the animals living in it, which include the Rhinos and the elusive Tigers. Today thankfully due to some effective conservation action initiated in the country, the Rhinoceros population in Nepal is now estimated at 645 plus. This is still, however, a very delicate number for a species, but it is a positive sign that conservation and protection efforts when done as a collaborative effort between local communities and the government enforcing anti-poaching efforts do pay off and can work!

Activity Included Today:

– River Boat Ride through the park.

– Jungle Hike in the national park.

– Jeeps Safari in the national park.

– Tharu traditional music and dance.

Vegan Meal Included Today: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

DAY 11 & 12 Lumbini

Today we journey west across the Terai to the Buddhist pilgrimage town of Lumbini. Known as the birthplace of Lord Buddha, it is believed this is where Queen Mayadevi over 21⁄2 millennia ago gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama in 563 B. C. Here, we’ll be staying at a serene retreat within the peaceful grounds and protected gardens of Lumbini. A short walk from the World Peace Pagoda, we’ll be staying at the edge of the wetlands of the Lumbini Crane Bird Sanctuary – a great spot for bird watching, and just short distance for Buddha’s birthplace.

Anthropologists, theologists & historians alike look at the 6th to 5th centuries BC as one of the most important periods in the history of world religions as it was during this time religious teachings seemed to transition almost concurrently, albeit for a relatively brief period, from religious rituals and ceremonies to teachings of codes of morality and ways of living amongst each other. It was as if a wave of new thought transitioned, more or less quite beautifully, into compassionate teachings had all of sudden hit humanity all at once. Examples from this pivotal window of time include the teachings of Confucius and Lao Tse, which would form the basis of Confucianism & Taoism respectively, the teachings of Mahavira, which set much of the basis of the principles of the Jainism, the teachings of Jeremiah that are said to have “proclaimed the doctrine of individual responsibility to the nation of the Jews”, the teachings of the Persian prophet Zarathustra – who is credited for setting the foundations of Zoroastrian principles which include the famous Threefold Path of Asha’s motto: “Good thoughts, good words, good deeds.”, and then of course – sometime around 528 BCE with the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama.

After a sunrise nature birding hike into the surrounding grasslands and forest, we’ll have breakfast and then set out west across the Terai to Lumbini – where we’ll learn about the history, heritage and evolving cultures of Buddhism, the fourth largest religion in the world which has not only played a major role in Nepal’s history but impacted cultures, customs, histories, peoples and events from India, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and China, to Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Burma, Vietnam, Cambodia, Korea, Japan and many more – to name just a few.

Activity Included Today:

– Visit monasteries and archaeological remains associated with the birth of Buddha.

– Guests of the Mahayana section of the temple grounds, a representative temple for the Mahayana faith.

– Introduction to Mahayana Buddhism.

– Guests of the Theravada section of the temple grounds, a representative temple for the Theravada faith.

– Introduction to Theravada Buddhism.

– Visit the Khmer Temple section.

– Visit Maya Devi Temple and Ashok Pillar Birthplace marker.

-Participate in a Traditional Blessing Ceremony by local monks.

Vegan Meal Included Today: Breakfast x2, Lunch x2, Dinner x2

DAY 13 Lumbini – Kathmandu

After a hearty eclectic vegan breakfast, we’ll make our way to the airport to catch our flight back to Kathmandu. Upon arrival in Kathmandu, you’ll have free time in the late afternoon to explore the lively vibrant streets of this ancient Himalayan capital on your own, catch up on your souvenir list, relax with a traditional massage, or walk around the town. In the evening, we’ll meet up for our farewell dinner party where we’ll enjoy a colorful evening of local folk music, refreshing drinks, and a fantastic vegan feast for our last dinner together in Nepal!.

Activity Included Today:

– Morning Vipassana Meditation.

– Flight to Kathmandu.

– Farewell Party with drinks.

Vegan Meals Included Today: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

DAY 14 Kathmandu (Departure Day)

It is a departure day. After our delicious vegan breakfast, it is time to say goodbye to your fellow travelers and Nepal. Check out time from the hotel is at 11 AM, before and/or after check out time, any time you are ready to head out to the airport to catch your flight back home, our team will be there to assist you and bring you to the airport. Thank you very much for joining us and we hope to see you again soon!

Activities Included Today:

– Airport Transfer.

Vegan Meals Included Today: Breakfast.