The last Resort is located near the Tibet border and is about a 3 hour drive from Kathmandu. Approaching the base the first thing you notice is the bridge. The length of the bungy is 160 metres and from my perspective It looked much higher than this. Crossing the bridge for the first time was a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Looking straight down you can see the mighty Bhote Kosi. .There was a mixture of responses from people crossing ranging from "I can't believe i'm doing this" to "Holy F***, no F****** way". For us though we wouldn't be jumping that day, we had opted for an overnight stay and to do some canyoning.
After sorting ourselves out and dumping our bags in the tent (more about this later), we got our wet suits on and headed to the waterfalls. These were only a 10 minute walk away through the local Nepalese village and with our guide giving us advice on what to do. Canyoning is a mix of abseiling and sliding down streams, I've done some abseiling in the past, but never down a waterfall. Feeling confident though I headed down the waterfall and immediately slipped on the rocks. Not the best start, although I could only improve from here. Next you slip and slide towards the next descent. Whilst this was cool, it was all about the abseiling. After the shaky start I found my feet and began abseiling successfully down, and in the next five descents there were no incidents. The descents are pretty impressive, with the final one being 45 metres, a cracking finish to the canyoning. Abseiling down with dense forest surrounding you is great and at the end you are further rewarded by ending at the river. My first canyoning experience was incredible, definitely something to do in the future. If you abseil down there is only one way to get to the top, a 15 minute walk through the forest. Even walking on an empty stomach didn't bother me in this environment.
There was nothing to do now, but sit back, enjoy the beautiful surroundings, and relax. The tent was another highlight, not a simple pop up two man tent, this was a luxury safari tent with a full double bed inside. Doing the overnight stay gives you time to chill out and enjoy your surroundings. A delicious buffet was cooked for breakfast, lunch and evenings. everything is taken care here, so all you have to do is enjoy whatever activities you want.
The next day and the daunting jump. Breakfast was a tense affair for all those jumping, with awkward chat and few bites of toast. The briefing for the jump consisted of the jump master giving a brief, taking our weights and issuing the immortal phrase " waddle like a penguin, fly like an eagle". I remember being more excited then scared, but a little fear is a good thing and adds to the experience. When my time came, I was 100% determined to do it and love every second of it. I did the penguin waddle up to the edge of the platform and then came the countdown 1 2 3. Free falling is incredible and something I think all prospective traveler should consider. Plummeting towards the Bhote Kosi river, my adrenaline levels were at their peak. It is hard to convey the experience of bungy jumping, my advice go out and do a bungy.
A video of the bungy is shown once you get back to the base. I was immensely proud that I had done a full dive and not some weird belly flopping thing. One of the guys even complimented me on my form. Not sure it was that good, but the compliment was nice all the same. Two spectacular days of adrenaline sports, luxurious living with friendly people was the cherry on the cake in Nepal. On the minibus back to Kathmandu, thoughts turned to other ventures in Nepal and we couldn't wait to explore more of this fantastic country.
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