Dhulikhel Helicopter and Chitwan Safari Tour
Experience the Best of Nepal
Culture, Mountains, and Safari in 7 Days
The Dhulikhel Helicopter and Chitwan Safari Tour is a 7-day tour starting and finishing in Kathmandu. We run it as a private trip on your own dates, or as a small group departure.
Tharu, the indigenous people of the Terai, with stick dances and longhouse architecture. Tharu thali, river fish, and lodge buffets.
This is a cultural trip, not a trek. Expect vehicle transfers, guided site visits and short walks of an hour or two, with the option to add a longer hike where the itinerary allows. Low, provided you follow your naturalist on foot. Heat and humidity from April onward are the real discomfort.
Best time to go. October to March is the reliable window. February to April gives the best sightings as the grass is cut back and animals come to water.
Permits and getting there. National park entry permits and activity fees for jeep safari, canoe and guided walks, all included. Chitwan is a 5 to 6 hour drive or a 25-minute flight from Kathmandu to Bharatpur. Bardiya is a flight to Nepalgunj plus a drive.
Where you sleep. Jungle lodges and resorts in Sauraha or inside the buffer zone.
Why book with us. Trekking Team is a family company in Gongabu, Kathmandu, running trips since 1991 under TAAN licence 1106. About ten thousand people have travelled with us and we hold more than 630 TripAdvisor reviews. Every departure runs with a government-licensed guide, permits arranged before you arrive, insured and equipped staff, and a fixed price. If the dates or the route do not suit you, write to us and we will rebuild the itinerary around what you want.
Trip Summary
Duration
Difficulty
Max Elevation
Start point
End point
Daily Activity
Group Size
Best Season
Trip Outline
- Day 1Arrival in Kathmandu
- Day 2Kathmandu Sightseeing, Heli Ride to Dhulikhel
- Day 3Dhulikhel Village Walk
- Day 4Early Heli Ride back to Kathmandu Airport, Fly to Chitwan
- Day 5Jungle Activities: Jeep Safari, Elephant Ride, Jungle Walk, Tharu Village Walk
- Day 6Fly to Kathmandu, Visit Pashupatinath and Bouddhanath
- Day 7Final Departure
Included
- All transfers in the itinerary, by private vehicle or domestic flight as listed
- National park entry permits and all activity fees
- Licensed naturalist guide for every activity inside the park
- Jeep safari, guided jungle walk with two armed naturalists, and a canoe or float trip
- Lodge accommodation on a full board basis, twin share
- Tharu village visit and cultural programme
- All government taxes, VAT and company service charges
Not Included
- International flights and the Nepal visa fee
- Travel insurance, which we require you to hold
- Drinks, laundry and items of a personal nature
- Elephant-back safari, which we do not book on welfare grounds
- Additional activities beyond those listed
- Tips for your naturalist, driver and lodge staff
- Anything not listed under what is included
Get started on your journey
Detailed itinerary
Arrival in Kathmandu
You will be met in the arrivals hall at Tribhuvan International Airport and driven to your hotel, usually 30 to 45 minutes depending on traffic. Nepal issues visas on arrival: fill in the form at the electronic kiosks before the payment desk, and bring a passport photograph and cash in a major currency to speed it up.
Once you have settled in, your guide will come to the hotel for a full briefing: the day by day plan, the gear check, what the weather is doing, and any questions you have been saving up. This is also when we collect passport details for permits if we do not already have them.
Kathmandu sits at about 1,400 m so there is no altitude concern tonight. If you arrive early enough, the walk from Thamel down to the Durbar Square area is a good first hour in the city.
Altitude: 1,350 m | Overnight: 3-5 Stars | Meals: Breakfast
Travel duration
Elevation
Meal
Accommodation
Kathmandu Sightseeing, Heli Ride to Dhulikhel
Explore the cultural and historical sites of Kathmandu, including Kathmandu Durbar Square, Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple), and Boudhanath Stupa. In the afternoon, enjoy a scenic helicopter ride to Dhulikhel. Overnight at a hotel in Dhulikhel.
Kathmandu Durbar Square is the old royal complex of the Malla kings and later the Shah dynasty, a dense cluster of pagoda temples, courtyards and palace wings built between the twelfth and eighteenth centuries. The Kumari Ghar here houses Nepal's living goddess, a young girl selected from the Newar Shakya community who appears at her carved window most afternoons. Much of the square was damaged in the 2015 earthquake and the restoration work, done with traditional joinery and reused timber, is itself worth watching.
Swayambhunath sits on a hill west of the city, reached by 365 stone steps through a forest full of rhesus macaques, which is where the nickname Monkey Temple comes from. The stupa is one of the oldest religious sites in the valley, with the Buddha's eyes painted on all four sides of the harmika and a spire of thirteen gilded rings. The terrace gives the best single view over Kathmandu, and it is at its best in the early morning when the kora is busy with local worshippers.
Boudhanath is one of the largest stupas in the world and the centre of Tibetan Buddhist life in Nepal, particularly since 1959 when refugees settled around it. The white dome is 36 m across, ringed by prayer wheels, and surrounded by more than fifty gompas belonging to different lineages. Walk the kora clockwise at dusk with the local crowd and the monks coming out of evening puja: it is the single most atmospheric hour in Kathmandu.
Dhulikhel is an old Newar trading town on the road east, at about 1,550 m, with a genuine medieval quarter that almost nobody visits and a wide Himalayan panorama from the ridge above it. It is quieter and more lived-in than Nagarkot, and the short walk up to the Kali shrine at sunrise is one of the better easy mornings near Kathmandu.
Altitude: 1,550 m | Overnight: Hotel | Meals: Breakfast
Travel duration
Elevation
Meal
Accommodation
Dhulikhel Village Walk
Embark on a peaceful village walk around Dhulikhel, experiencing the local culture and enjoying the panoramic views of the Himalayas. Return to the hotel and relax. Overnight at a hotel in Dhulikhel.
Dhulikhel is an old Newar trading town on the road east, at about 1,550 m, with a genuine medieval quarter that almost nobody visits and a wide Himalayan panorama from the ridge above it. It is quieter and more lived-in than Nagarkot, and the short walk up to the Kali shrine at sunrise is one of the better easy mornings near Kathmandu.
Altitude: 1,550 m | Travel: 2 to 3 hours | Overnight: Hotel | Meals: Breakfast
Travel duration
Elevation
Meal
Accommodation
Early Heli Ride back to Kathmandu Airport, Fly to Chitwan
Take an early morning helicopter ride back to Kathmandu Airport. From there, catch a flight to Chitwan. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel and enjoy the rest of the day at leisure. Overnight at a lodge in Chitwan.
Chitwan National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Terai lowlands and one of the best places in Asia to see greater one-horned rhinoceros, which number over six hundred here. Jeep safaris, guided walks with an armed naturalist, canoe trips on the Rapti and an elephant breeding centre fill the days. Bengal tigers are present and occasionally seen; leopard, sloth bear, gharial crocodile and more than five hundred bird species are all resident.
Altitude: 415 m | Overnight: Lodge | Meals: Breakfast
Travel duration
Elevation
Meal
Accommodation
Jungle Activities: Jeep Safari, Elephant Ride, Jungle Walk, Tharu Village Walk
Spend the day engaging in various jungle activities in Chitwan National Park, including a jeep safari, elephant ride, jungle walk, and a visit to a Tharu village to learn about the local culture. Overnight at a lodge in Chitwan.
Chitwan National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Terai lowlands and one of the best places in Asia to see greater one-horned rhinoceros, which number over six hundred here. Jeep safaris, guided walks with an armed naturalist, canoe trips on the Rapti and an elephant breeding centre fill the days. Bengal tigers are present and occasionally seen; leopard, sloth bear, gharial crocodile and more than five hundred bird species are all resident.
Altitude: 415 m | Overnight: Lodge | Meals: Breakfast
Travel duration
Elevation
Meal
Accommodation
Fly to Kathmandu, Visit Pashupatinath and Bouddhanath
Fly back to Kathmandu in the morning. Visit the sacred Pashupatinath Temple and the impressive Boudhanath Stupa. Enjoy the evening exploring Thamel. Overnight at a hotel in Kathmandu.
Pashupatinath is the most important Hindu temple in Nepal and one of the great Shiva shrines of the subcontinent, a UNESCO site on the banks of the Bagmati. Non-Hindus cannot enter the main temple but the far bank gives an open view across the ghats, where open-air cremations take place through the day. It is confronting the first time and it is also completely ordinary here, a public part of life rather than something hidden. Sadhus in ochre sit along the terraces, and the evening aarti draws a crowd.
Boudhanath is one of the largest stupas in the world and the centre of Tibetan Buddhist life in Nepal, particularly since 1959 when refugees settled around it. The white dome is 36 m across, ringed by prayer wheels, and surrounded by more than fifty gompas belonging to different lineages. Walk the kora clockwise at dusk with the local crowd and the monks coming out of evening puja: it is the single most atmospheric hour in Kathmandu.
Altitude: 1,350 m | Overnight: 3-5 Stars | Meals: Breakfast
Travel duration
Elevation
Meal
Accommodation
Final Departure
Transfer to the airport about three hours before your international flight. If you have a late departure we will hold a day room or arrange a final few hours in the city rather than leave you sitting in the terminal.
If you would rather not go home yet, this is the easy point to extend: a few days in Pokhara, a wildlife stay in Chitwan or Bardiya, a short Bhutan add-on, or a rest week somewhere quiet. Tell us before you travel and we will build it in at cost rather than as a late upgrade.
Altitude: 1,350 m | Meals: Breakfast
Travel duration
Elevation
Meal
Accommodation
Getting ready
No special training is needed. Comfortable shoes for uneven cobbles and stone steps at the heritage sites, and a light layer for early mornings, will cover it.
Permits and paperwork
National park entry permits and activity fees for jeep safari, canoe and guided walks, all included.
Nepal issues visas on arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport: 15, 30 or 90 days, payable in cash in most major currencies or by card. Bring two passport photographs and make sure your passport has at least six months validity.
Money, tipping and costs on the ground
Nepali rupees are the only currency accepted on the trail. Draw cash in Kathmandu or Pokhara before you leave; ATMs have a per-transaction limit of around NPR 35,000 and charge a fee, and above the roadhead there are no machines and no card terminals.
Budget for drinks, souvenirs and any meals not listed in the itinerary.
Tipping is customary and genuinely matters to the crew, but it is not compulsory and never demanded. As a guide to the guide: around USD 8 to 12 per day for your trekking guide and USD 6 to 8 for each porter, pooled by the group and handed over at the end.
Staying in touch
Wi-Fi at the lodges, mobile coverage throughout.
Ncell and Nepal Telecom tourist SIM cards are sold at Kathmandu airport and take about ten minutes. Bring your passport.
Health and safety
No vaccinations are legally required for Nepal, but hepatitis A, typhoid and tetanus are sensible and a rabies course is worth discussing if you are travelling for a long time. Check with a travel clinic six to eight weeks before you fly.
Drink bottled or treated water and be sensible about street food in the first few days.
Our guides carry a comprehensive first aid kit. We hold a 24-hour operations line in Kathmandu throughout your trip, and we run rescue coordination ourselves rather than handing it to a third party.
Booking and cancellation
A deposit confirms your dates and the balance is due before departure. If your plans change we will move your booking to another date rather than treat it as a cancellation wherever the ground operators allow it.
Written quotes are fixed. We do not add fuel or permit surcharges after you have booked, and if a government fee rises between your booking and your departure we absorb it.
Questions before you commit are welcome and never rushed. Write to us with what you actually want and we will tell you plainly whether this trip is the right one, including when the answer is that a different route would suit you better.
Ready to start your journey?
Start planning your dream trip today. Enquire now for more information or customize this trip to tailor it to your needs and make it truly unforgettable.