Khaptad trekking lies in the western part of Nepal which is remote and far from the capital city of Kathmandu. Khaptad trekking falls in Khaptad national park covering the area of 225 km2 which is famous for its amazing “Patans” which means “grasslands” in Nepalese.
Khaptad national park was named after the late “Khaptad Swami” who was a renowned spiritual saint and meditated here since the 1940s. So, this is also the place of interest for Hindu pilgrimage and for spiritual vibes seekers as this place has several historical temples and “Tribeni” (river confluence of three rivers) where people from all over come together and celebrated during the Janai Purnima (full moon) on the months of August.
Besides being a religious site for pilgrims, Khaptad is also a beautiful region for trekking which has untouched nature, several grasslands, forests, and lakes as well as stunning mountain views of the mount Api Himalayan range and Saipal Himalayan range.
This least visited region of Khaptad is also known as a habitat for animals like Himalayan black bears, wild boars, barking deer, goral, langur monkey, and wild dog as well as 135 species of flowers and 266 species of birds.
Getting to the trailhead of Khaptad trekking.
There are two options you can start your journey by taking a flight or ride to Nepalgunj and Dhangadi.
Taking a bus ride is an arduous journey so, the best option is taking a flight to Nepalgunj as there are several daily flights operated from Kathmandu especially from the morning on and it only takes about 50 minutes to reach.
Taking flight to Dhangadi is not so preferable as there are only a few flights that are operated from Kathmandu to Dhangadhi and that is later in the day and it is longer flights which take about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
After landing at Nepalgunj airport it is about an 8 hours bus ride(unless you choose a private vehicle) to Silgadhi of Doti district from where we can start the trekking journey to Khaptad.
Khaptad trekking permits and fees.
For Khaptad trekking it requires two types of permits in which the first one is the “Khaptad national park entrance fee” which costs 3000 Nepalese rupees per head and the second one is called “TIMS CARD” (trekking information management system) which costs $10 USD per head for organized trekkers and $20 USD per head for independent trekkers.
