Upside down in Seti River

 

We are hooked! At least Anette is, and all she thinks about is when to go river kayaking next time. When this is written she has been three times to Seti River and is just waiting for the water level and the temperature to rise again.

 

Nepal is the perfect place to learn how to do basic river kayaking. Eh, well, we have not tried it in any other countries yet, but people say so. The reason for this is that the water is quite warn which is a great advantage when you are new and have to practice the roll a lot! The rivers of Nepal also have many different levels and there is a great variety of difficulty.

As we really wanted to learn the skill of river kayaking we signed up for a kayak school soon after we arrived Pokhara. Pokhara is a good starting point because the distance to Seti River, which is the most used new beginner river, is short, but it’s not problem to go from Kathmandu either. 

Our kayaks ready for take off!

There are many different kayaking agencies. We used Rapidrunner and were very satisfied with them. Paddle Nepal is another agency with a good reputation. Some of the companies have one day with practicing roll on Phewa Tal first, but we went directly to the river and thought that was better. 

Leyla ready for the river

The kayak school normally takes 4 days and the agency provides transport, food, instructors, tents for camping, and of course all equipment needed for the kayaking. The only thing you need to bring is one set of clothes for kayaking (shorts, t-shirt, clothes you are okay with getting wet in) and one set of dry clothes for the evening. In the winter you should bring long wool underwear for kayaking. Generally, bring as small backpacks as possible. You don’t really need much as you will be on the river almost the whole time. We were three persons on the trip, and had one instructor each + one person rafting with all the food, luggage and equipment.

The starting point was Damuli, Madi river, and the ending point was about 60 km further down the river on the road between Mugling and Narayangarh. You are actually kayaking on three different rivers – Madi, Seti and Trisuli river, but you are mainly on the second one. On the way we were taught how to cross the river upstream and downstream, what to do when tipping the boat under, how to become comfortable under the water, and the roll. On the second day we stayed at the same place just practicing the roll and other techniques. After the first day of practicing the roll all of us were able to do the roll on still water. However, we did capside a lot in the rapids and were not able to do the roll then. So a lot of more practise is needed! This part of Seti River is at level 2+/-3 the last day, but you start with easier rapids in the beginning, so that you are prepared for the more difficult to come.

Bikash, one of the safety kayakers, is playing around in his kayak.

The next step after the kayak school could be to do the same trip in only two days, as we did. You can also go with instructors, but since you already have learned the basics, it won’t be necessary to spend much time down the river. 

 

In the rapids

Don´t forget to bring riddles and magic tricks for the evening camp fire!

On our second kayak trip we had lunch and dinner on tea houses by the river.