Delhi to Kathmandu: India and Nepal Discovery Holiday

Our Clients’ Reviews

Here at Exodus we thrive on feedback from our customers. It's the only way we can ensure our trips continue to be the best they can be. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of the trip you're interested in, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers. Any feedback collected (Good or bad) from Exodus clients is posted straight onto our website - totally unedited. Read more...

Average Review Rating: from 67 reviews.

Peter Underwood

DELHI TO KATHMANDU

Written October 2010
As with many exodus trips, this was about experiencing as much of the countries you are visiting as possible in the time available. It was a bit tiring at times but my only regret is not having more time to see and experience the wonders of India and Nepal.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Every day brought a new inspirational moment, or two, or three. The majestic forts, palaces, temples and mosques are as impressive as their reputation. Wandering through the jungle in Chitwan and watching the dawn light strike the himalayan mountains were also experiences not to be missed but it will be the moments of everyday life that will stick with me - watching the evening service on the banks of the ganges, cooking food in a sikh temple, talking in front of a class in a village school, or just sipping chai by the side of a road and watching the world go by.
What did you think of your group leader?
Avtar was superb and really made the trip special. His mission to show us the real country meant that we experienced so much more than was set out on the itinerary - all of his surprises and 'random' stops were well worth it. He made sure we had everything we needed, from rehydration salts for those of us with delhi belly to 'behind the curtain' rum and cokes to get the evenings off to a flying start. His stories could sometimes last forever but he made up for it with his bollywood dancing.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
1) Try to get your Nepalese visa before you travel, it just saves time at the border crossing.
2) If in doubt, get more Indian rupees than you think you’ll need. If you still have any left they are reasonably easy to change into Nepalese rupees once you cross the border

3) Take neutral coloured clothing (green, brown) for the national park, bright colours scare off the wildlife
Is there anything else you would like to add?
The India part of the trip is very busy with not much sleep but worth all the early mornings. Nepal is a bit more sedate but make the most of your free time to wander around the towns and villages.
Jayne Greenwood

DELHI TO KATHMANDU

Written April 2010
This was the most amazing adventure from start to finish and would highly recommend it.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Best man made highlight -Tah Mahal, very moving!
Best natural highlight- sunrise over Annapurna, amazing.
What did you think of your group leader?
Where do you begin? Avtar set out to give us as many experiences as he could possibly fit into the already packed schedule. We went 'off schedule' many times but the experiences were so fantastic including riding a camel cart down a dual carriageway and teaching a lesson in a village school.
Avtar loves his country with a passion and he set out to share his knowledge and understanding with us, I learnt so much and am so grateful to him.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
If you are thinking about it, do it!
Wait until you get there to buy insect repellent. Although mosquitos were not too much of a problem, Avtar got us some local insect repellent and it was much milder than DEET products but very effective and a fraction of the price of the products we buy at home.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
We were almost at the end of the holiday when the ash cloud problem hit and were stranded in Kathmandu for a week. I can only sing the praises of Exodus who worked extremely hard in difficult circumstances to keep us informed (twice daily updates) and they looked after us so well. We were taken on tours to make the enforced stay more enjoyable and then took us out of Kathmandu to a hill resort when our hotel was full. This was a great experience and a guided walk was arranged which was good fun. Exodus staff were all brilliant, thanks so much.
Tim Martin

DELHI TO KATHMANDU

Written December 2009
This is not just an ordinary "holiday"...! It was my first trip with Exodus, and what an amazing one to start off with! We saw and experienced so many different sights and places, many totally spontaneous experiences that just unfold along the way...We were lucky to have a great group and a fantastic leader.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
It is impossible to sum the trip up with one inspirational moment, as there were so many!

The Taj Mahal visit was amazing... you almost expect to be underwhelmed when visiting such an iconic landmark... however it was totally amazing. It is as big as (or even bigger) than you might expect. The trips to see the Ganges in Varanasi at night and at dawn were also amazing.

At the other end of the scale, some of the spontaneous events really made the trip too..

When Avtar (our group leader) pulled over a small collection of camel carts to allow us all a ride on the back, we all wondered quite what we had let ourselves in for on the trip...

However that was just the afternoon of the first full day ... by the end of the day we had stopped at and joined in with the dancing of a Wedding Procession (including the Groom riding on an elephant) which happened to be making its way along the road when we were on our way to a Palace for dinner. and then on the way back from the Palace we were welcomed into another Wedding where we had photos taken with the Bride and Groom. Did I mention that we had already visited Delhi's largest Sikh temple and driven the five or so hours from Delhi to Jaipur that day....?!

Other spontaneous events included visits to a couple of villages in India (one where we were invited by the Mayoress to enjoy chai with the villagers) oh and we may have delayed some of the village children from getting to school on time... after the impromptu photo sessions had ended. Many of the villagers enjoyed us taking more photos when they knew they could see themselves on the camera screen afterwards! Also we led an impromptu English lesson at a school in Nepal!

Kathmandu was amazing, we could have done with a bit longer there... what we did see while we were there really gave us all a taste for the City.

What I have mentioned is really only the tip of the iceberg though... there were so many other highlights!
What did you think of your group leader?
Avtar Singh worked very hard to give us a fantastic insight into the two countries. His local knowledge and obvious love for his job really came across.

The spontaneous happenings (mentioned above) speak for themselves.. It seemed that Avtar never slept, he was constantly looking for ways to enhance our experience in both countries.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
It is worth bearing in mind is that the focus is well and truly on experiencing as much as possible of the places visited. This means that there will be long coach journeys (with plenty of photo stops). The days are often quite long and start pretty early; by the end of the week having a wake-up call after 6AM was a huge luxury, although you do get into the routine after a while!

Also it goes without saying that you should keep your anti-bacterial gel very close to hand (and use it frequently!). Quite a few of the other people in the group did experience Delhi Belly in one form or another...I was lucky to get away with very mild symptoms for one day. Avtar was never too far away with the rehydration salts though!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Having had this great taster of Asia, I would like to return to both countries to see more in the future. The only problem is choosing which Exodus trip to do next!

This trip was an amazing sequence of Lifetime Experiences, and I cannot recommend it enough to anyone even slightly interested in visiting this incredible part of the world.
David Priorjones

DELHI TO KATHMANDU

Written November 2009
This trip was a fantastic experience. The itinerary was great, fast moving with nearly every moment registering as a highlight! This was our first trip to India and Nepal as well as our first holiday with Exodus - we had high expectations but this trip exceeded them all.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
There were loads of fantastic moments on the trip including:
Seeing the Taj Mahal at dawn - reading the brochure I thought this would be OK - a typical touristy thing to do - but it was amazing! The Taj is simply stunning, the most breathtaking man made monument I have ever seen. Getting up at 4.30 was worth it to see dawn and experience the atmosphere without hordes of people.
Spending time in the pink city, Jaipur, and being shown round by Mr Singh - a fantastic, entertaining local guide; City Palace, Amber Fort and the Observatory are all well worth seeing. Dinner in the garden restaurant was outstanding.
Crossing the border into Nepal - this is where having a local guide and Exodus to manage everything really, really helps - I could not imagine how stressful it would be trying to navigate the border crossing alone!
Bathing with elephants in Chitwan National Park - there is something about this activity that conjures up feelings of pure joy from deep within you - try it - just don't loose your wedding ring in the process like I did! (Great story though!)
Seeing the Annapurna mountain range at dawn (another early start). These mountains blew me away.
Dinner in a local restaurant garden with fireworks in Varanasi for Divali - a superb evening! Varanasi itself is one big highlight if you want to be immersed in Indian culture/chaos!
There are lots more...go on this trip!
What did you think of your group leader?
Krishna - our group leader was excellent. He was good fun, knowledgeable, entertaining and well organised. Nothing was too difficult and the extra's he brought to the trip were great including ensuring we sampled the local rum and encouraging us to dance at every opportunity!
The local guides were good too - Mr Singh in Jaipur was by far the best. Really good fun!
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
If you are considering this trip then go! However, do ensure you read the trip notes before booking. It is fast paced but not rushed. If you like "Adventure" holidays then the pace will be no problem but the unprepared on our group did find it tiring.
The pace slows down slightly when you get to Nepal in readiness for the onslaught of Kathmandu!
This is a fantastic trip!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
This is our first trip with Exodus and they are brilliant. I'm sure we will be travelling with Exodus again at some point. We met many who have done loads of trips with Exodus and keep coming back so I don't think our experience was out of the ordinary.
Paul Wright

DELHI TO KATHMANDU

Written April 2009
As a first trip with Exodus I couldn't have asked for more. A well balanced itinerary combining culture, wildlife and sightseeing.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
There were many highlights on this trip. The evening ceremony at Varanasi was amazing as was the sunrise on the Ganges the next day. The variety of wildlife everywhere was superb even outside of the excellent Chitwan safari park. I really enjoyed the antics of the Macaque monkeys which seemed to be everywhere.
The friendliness of the people of Nepal and India really helped and knowing just one word can get a smile from anyone: Namaste!
What did you think of your group leader?
Ajay was superb throughout. Several members of the group got ill including my partner and he arranged medication and extensions on rooms for people to recover. My partner lost her passport photos for the Nepal visa and he arranged a friend to get some photos done, including a hair-raising motorbike ride for her to get them. His stories kept us entertained throughout and his enthusiasm for his country made the holiday even more enjoyable.
We hope that Ajay is available the next time we come to India.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
We had an unpleasant experience in Kathmandu with a rickshaw driver. We hadn't agreed a price with him before jumping on and after 5 minutes we realised the driver wasn't fit for the job. We actually could have walked faster. When we told him to stop so we could get off he told us he wanted 40 US dollars because of how hard it had been to cycle. We refused then he demanded 1000 nepalese rupees. We gave him 200 to avoid any bother and walked off safe in the knowledge he couldn't catch us even on the bike.
So I guess the moral is to agree a price first.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I thoroughly recommend this holiday to anyone who is considering it. The travelling between some of the cities can be long, but there's so much to see out of the window that it never bothered me. We was unlucky to have poor visibility in Pokhara, so we couldn't see the mountains at all. Overall, it was still the best all round holiday for me so far.
Thank you Ajay and Exodus
graham whitby

DELHI TO KATHMANDU

Written March 2009
A fantastic holiday. A very full and varied trip. Full of interest from start to finish.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Thoroughly enjoyed Chitwan. I didn't think it would be so much fun.
What did you think of your group leader?
Rajiv was excellent. Couldn't wish for better. Very well informed, very patient and with a great sense of humour. A real bonus.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
You wont be disappointed.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I did this trip with exodus back in 1982. You travelled on the back of a lorry then and it was the most exciting holiday I had ever been on. I am glad Exodus are still doing the trip and it is still just as exciting.

Thanks again Exodus
Katharine Thomas

DELHI TO KATHMANDU

Written February 2009
A fantastically full and varied taste of India and Nepal which way exceeded my already high expectations for this trip. I was constantly impressed by how the itinerary and leader presented such an amazingly broad experience of the area.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Walking under the fluttering prayer flags in the blue blue sky at the beautiful Bodnath stupa filled me with a deep and powerful peace.
Seeing a tiger from the back of a trumpeting elephant in Chitwan was breathtakingly exciting.
Putting a candle into the Ganges in a dawn boat ride in Varanassi awe inspiringly moving.
Taking the overnight train to from Agra to Varanassi was a fantastic experience, especially the station toilet(!)
What did you think of your group leader?
Rajiv was great. He held the group together with a calm authority. He was full of fun and facts and gave so much added extra which contributed greatly to the general atmosphere of the trip.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Don't worry about the long journeys involved. I nearly didn't go for this holiday because of them. I can honestly say that I did not find a moment of them difficult. They gave a fine chance to look at the endlessly fascinating people and landscapes and also a refuge from the sometimes overwhelming attention of local interest!
The advice to get as much sleep as possible on the way out is good because jet lag and the immediate vitality of India is quite a shock to the system.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
If you are slightly interested in experiencing the delights of northern India and the beauty of Nepal book now!!

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