8-Day Nepal Golden Triangle Tour with Chitwan Safari and Nagarkot

• Head from Tribhuvan International Airport with your tour guide to your hotel.

• Head for a visit to Pashupatinath, an important centre of Hindu culture in Nepal, where holy sadhus pray.

• Marvel at the extensive Hindu temple precinct, with its sprawling collection of temples, ashrams, images, and inscriptions raised over the centuries along the banks of the sacred Bagmati River.

• Continue to Bouddhanath, the holiest shrine for Buddhist culture in Nepal, with its large stupa. This is the place where devout Buddhists come on pilgrimage.

• Visit Patan, also known as Lalitpur. The city of beauty is separated from Kathmandu only by the Bagmati River and is the second-largest town in the valley.

• Visit Patan's central Durbar Square, packed with temples. It is an architectural focal point with a far greater concentration of temples per square meter than in Kathmandu.

• Also visit the Tibetan refugee centre, home to most of the valley's Tibetan population.

• Go to Swayambhunath, where the golden spire of the 5th-century Swayambhu Stupa, adorned with a colourful fluttering of prayer flags, crowns a hill overlooking the Kathmandu Valley and offers fantastic views over the city of Kathmandu.

• Drive to Chitwan, 180 km from Kathmandu, on a journey of about 5 hours.

• Upon arrival in Chitwan, get briefed about the Chitwan jungle safari program.

• In the evening, see the Tharu cultural dance program for approximately one hour.

• At 8 pm, head for dinner.

• Enjoy jungle observation at Chitwan National Park, with the highlight being an elephant safari in the jungles.

• Indulge in other activities such as canoeing, dugout canoe rides, nature walking, and bird watching.

• Experience walking through the forests with naturalists and watch the native folk dances of the Terais.

Stay overnight at the hotel.

• Drive to Pokhara, a 4-hour journey from Chitwan.

• From Pokhara town (2,352 feet), view the 25,000+ peaks of the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges rising a scant 20 miles away.

• Spend the night at the hotel.

• Go on an excursion to Sarangkot, the most popular tourist destination, where you can enjoy great views of the Pokhara Valley and magnificent mountain scenery.

• From Sarangkot, in the northern direction, see Dhaulagiri in the far west. The Annapurna range is visible on the same side when the weather is clear. In the southern direction, the village overlooks the city of Pokhara and its lake on the north-western outskirts of the city.

• Visit Bindabasini Temple, one of the oldest temples in Pokhara, which was once part of the Kaski Kingdom. The main deity of the temple, Goddess Durga, was brought from India.

• Make a journey through the old bazaar, combined with a visit to the temple.

• Go sightseeing at Devi's Fall, also known as Patale Chango, an incredible waterfall lying 2 km southwest of Pokhara.

• Visit Gupteshwor Cave, just opposite the falls. This cave is popular for the different natural forms made from limestone deposits.

• Spend the night at the hotel.

• Drive back to Kathmandu and then continue on to Nagarkot, situated 32 kilometres east of Kathmandu at an altitude of 2,175 meters. The drive takes about 1.5 hours from Kathmandu.

• Take in the panoramic view of the major peaks, including Mt. Everest, which can be seen from here.

• Stay the night.

• Drive straight to the international airport, approximately 1.5 hours from Nagarkot, to board your onward flight.