Rapid names: Little Brother, Big Brother, Walk and Bake,
Good Morning Cobra, Walk in the Dark
One of the famous names of Himalayan Rivers, the Kali Gandaki, rises in Mustang, an enclave of Nepal poking into Tibet on the other side of the Himalayas. In Mustang, it is a flat and braided river, flowing in an arid open valley. Explorer Michel Peissel ran this stretch of the river in a small hovercraft in 1973 and at least two other groups have rafted and kayaked in this section.
At Kalopani, the river drops off the roof of the world and cuts one of the deepest gorges in the world between Dhaulagiri (height 8167 m) to the west and Annapurna (8091 m) to the east. This gorge is one of the ancient trading routes. The gradient eases and the river is runnable from upstream Beni.
After the confluence with Modi Khola, the river swings south through an area where until recently, tourists were almost unheard of. There are few villages actually on the river- most are located on the river terraces some hundreds of meters above. The Kali Gandaki is named after goddess Kali and is considered to be a particularly holy river, an auspicious place to be cremated and thus, every river confluence is dotted with cremation sites and burial mounds (if you are wondering what’s under all those piles of rocks, we recommend against exploring!). It is also a gold bearing river and there is a lot of chance that you will get to meet several small groups of gold workers who sluice and pan the gravel of the riverbed for minuscule amounts of the metal.
This is a rewarding trip for bird watchers as well and one might get the opportunity to see Mongoose, Monkeys, signs of Leopard and Otters.
A new dam, just below the confluence with the Andhi Khola, is currently nearing completion and most trips in the future are likely to start from here. The dam is planned to divert some 142 cubic down the tunnel to the powerhouse, and thus, there will be insufficient water to run the section below the dam. Even then, we have included a description of this middle stretch of the river for those who are able to do it.
What to Bring:
- Sleeping Bag
- Foam Sleeping mattress
- Personal toiletries, sun block lotion
- Light woolen sweater for camp wear
- Extra pair of shorts
- Trousers/shirts
- Flashlight or headlamps
- Open sandals (Tevas)
- Cash for drinks and snacks on the way
What’s Included:
- All meals during the rafting period
- Rafting permit, transportation by tourist or local bus depending upon the mode of transportation available at the put-in and take-out point of rafting, kitchen and camping equipments, experienced Captain.
- Cook and other staffs, group leader will be free if there are more than ten pax.
What’s Not Included:
- Mineral water, cold drinks and alcoholic beverages during the whole trip.
- Emergency evacuation, expenses of a personal nature, and member insurance.
