| Foothills of Mt. Kanchenjunga:
Mountain
biking in the shade of the world’s 3rd highest peak
Introduction:
On this trip
we combine a mountain bike trip in eastern Nepal through the foothills of Kanchenjunga
with explorations of the valley crest of Kathmandu. From
Kathmandu, our flight takes you to the southeastern plains, to the busy town of
Biratnagar. We then board a smaller Twin-Otter flight to the isolated airstrip
of Sukhetar at Taplejung: the gateway to the 3rd highest mountain in the world,
Kanchenjunga. Sukhetar
is a high mountain village situated at the foothills of the huge Kanchenjunga
massif. From here, the following five days of adventure begin, we encounter thrilling
descents and challenging climbs, as we slowly descend to the Terai, the plains
of Nepal. This ride is a north to south traverse, and each of the passes rewards
us with magnificent panoramas that stretch from Everest to Kanchenjunga. As
the ride nears the border with India, with a gradual decrease in altitude, the
lush green forested valleys give way to more heavily cultivated areas, which in
this area means a sea of tea plantations. Throughout the tour, friendly people
with bright smiles will enliven your journey. This area is certainly less frequented
and unspoiled, with very few westerners passing through -let alone mountain bikers.
We cover 240kms on this spectacular ride which ranges from the awesome to the
adventurous, but this is only first half of your holiday. For
the second half of this ground-breaking trip, we return to Kathmandu and complete
a further five days of biking on the ridge top trails which encircle the valley's
rim. Only a short bike ride away from the hustle and bustle of city life, lies
a wonderful world of wooded slopes, small villages and hidden temples. The trail
follows a dirt road with the most spectacular backdrop imaginable. Within the
space of a day's ride, we will see views that include most of the main peaks of
the central Nepal Himalaya-from Mt. Makalu to the Annapurnas. | 
