Reading Nepal’s wild landscapes.
Reading Nepal’s wild landscapes.
08–21 April 2028
Created to celebrate the relationships that have made &Beyond’s first 20 years in Asia so rich, this journey brings one of the company’s earliest guide-training stories full circle. In 2006, Harsha Jayaramaiah was among the first naturalists trained through &Beyond’s programme in Asia. He later became a Head Naturalist and Assistant Guide Trainer and now works with other &Beyond-trained guides to prepare and mentor a new generation of naturalists.
Nepal also has a formative place in &Beyond Asia’s wildlife story. Bardia is where members of the team developed their understanding of responsible tourism and guiding, while the partnership with the Red Panda Outpost and its neighbouring community has opened a new Himalayan wildlife experience.
With Harsha hosting throughout, the journey connects two very different landscapes and two elusive species. Each search becomes an invitation to understand the habitat, fieldcraft, local knowledge and patient observation that make the visible moment possible. Twenty years after Harsha’s own training with &Beyond, guests enter the landscapes where that knowledge can be generously shared.
Trackers and lodge naturalists bring detailed knowledge of current wildlife movement. Their observations shape each day and every route followed.
Harsha has spent more than 20 years guiding wildlife journeys and training naturalists. His interpretation reveals connections that might otherwise remain unseen.
Red pandas and tigers are part of much wider living systems. Tracks, alarm calls, birdlife, prey, vegetation and water all contribute to the story. Leave nothing unturned.
Move from Himalayan rhododendron forest to the grasslands, sal forest and waterways of the Terai, discovering how habitat shapes every wildlife encounter.
Harsha’s career began with training through &Beyond. Today, he mentors other nature guides, continuing a tradition of fieldcraft, generosity and responsible guiding.
Hosted by naturalist, guide and teacher of guides Harsha Jayaramaiah, you’ll explore Kathmandu’s living heritage before travelling east to Jaubari. Here, local trackers search the forest at dawn and shape each day around the signs and recent movements of elusive red pandas.
The journey then crosses Nepal to Bardia National Park, where 4×4 safaris, boat rides and guided walks reveal grasslands, sal forest and waterways that support tiger, rhinoceros, elephant, crocodilians and extraordinary birdlife.
Harsha was among the first naturalists trained through &Beyond’s guide-training programme in Asia. Drawing on more than 20 years of field experience, he works alongside local trackers and lodge naturalists to help you read each landscape through its tracks, calls, habitats and interconnected behaviour. Rather than reducing the journey to two sought-after sightings, he reveals the living systems surrounding them.
4 nights Kathmandu | 5 nights Jaubari | 4 nights Bardia
Stay: Dwarika’s Hotel
Highlights: Airport welcome, private transfer, time at leisure
Arrive at Tribhuvan International Airport, where an &Beyond representative will welcome you and arrange your private transfer to Dwarika’s Hotel.
Spend the remainder of the day at leisure, settling in before the journey begins across Nepal’s cultural and wildlife landscapes.
Stay: Dwarika’s Hotel
Highlights: Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Pottery Square, Pashupatinath Temple, Boudhanath Stupa
Explore Bhaktapur Durbar Square, where red-brick lanes, carved temples and artisan courtyards preserve the character of one of the Kathmandu Valley’s historic royal cities. Visit Pottery Square to see the region’s artisans in action before continuing to Pashupatinath Temple on the Bagmati River.
Conclude the day at Boudhanath Stupa, joining pilgrims moving around one of Asia’s largest Buddhist stupas beneath fluttering prayer flags.
Stay: Red Panda Outpost
Highlights: Flight to eastern Nepal, red panda tracking, forest trekking, bird hide, Himalayan views
Fly to Bhadrapur and travel through tea-growing country by road and 4×4 to the Red Panda Outpost near Jaubari.
Each day is shaped by trackers, who enter the forest before dawn in search of recent red panda activity. After tea, birding and breakfast, follow their findings by 4×4 and on foot, exploring rhododendron forest and different trails near Singalila National Park and a community-managed forest. Harsha works alongside the local team to interpret habitat, movement and the signs encountered during each search. Red pandas remain elusive and sightings cannot be guaranteed, making the trackers’ knowledge and the process of reading the forest central to the experience.
Stay: Dwarika’s Hotel
Highlights: Return to Kathmandu, Patan Durbar Square, Patan Museum, possible Kumari blessing
Return by road and air to Kathmandu before visiting Patan Durbar Square and the Patan Museum. Explore the former royal precinct and its exceptional collection of Newari architecture and sacred art.
Subject to time and availability, visit Patan’s Kumari, or Living Goddess, for a traditional blessing.
Stay: Tiger Tops Karnali Lodge
Highlights: Bardia National Park, 4×4 safari, boat ride, jungle walk, village and farm visits
Fly to Nepalgunj and travel through the western Terai to Tiger Tops Karnali Lodge, your base for exploring Bardia National Park.
Search for tiger and other wildlife on shared 4×4 safaris through grassland, sal forest and riverine habitat. A full-day safari includes a packed lunch and a visit to the gharial breeding centre at the park headquarters.
Harsha and the lodge naturalists connect each sighting and sign to the park’s wider ecological system. The order of activities remains flexible and is shaped by local conditions and wildlife movement.
Stay: Dwarika’s Hotel (day use)
Highlights: Farewell breakfast, private airport transfer, travel onward
Check out according to your international flight schedule and transfer privately to Tribhuvan International Airport for your onward journey.
Harsha Jayaramaiah is one of India’s leading freelance nature guides, trainers and educators, with more than 20 years of experience. His career began with urban wildlife rescue in Bengaluru before taking him into conservation education and lodge-based guiding. In 2005/06, Harsha was among the first naturalists trained through &Beyond’s guide-training programme in Asia. He later became a Head Naturalist and Assistant Guide Trainer and continues to lead journeys with &Beyond in Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Today, he also works alongside other &Beyond-trained guides to prepare and mentor a new generation of naturalists.
As host of this limited edition journey through Nepal, Harsha combines exceptional fieldcraft with warmth, humour and clarity, helping guests read tiger country as a living system of tracks, calls, habitats and interconnected behaviour.
Rates are per person sharing, based on double or twin occupancy, with 4–8 guests travelling.
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