Rafting in Nepal

Annual monsoon water sweeps the rivers and keeps them clean every year. This means that camping on riverside beaches in Nepal has a different environmental impact from camping by the rivers in North America or other countries. We suggest the following guidelines as good practice.

1. Try to limit the size of your group as excessively large group will geometrically compound your impact on the riverside environment.
2. Leave your camping beach cleaner than it was when you arrived – good raft guide always organizes a “sweep” of the beach before departure.
3. Paper and cardboard waste should be burnt. We suggest that you keep your own small plastic bag for burnable waste, cartons, old Band-Aids, tissues, cigarette butts and other wastes. Burn the contents on when directed by your guides; note that cooking fires may be considered holy, so always ask first.
4. All non-biological items, like tins and bottles should be washed and carried out off the river (unless local people request these as useful containers). It is environmentally unacceptable to burry these items as the next monsoon will sweep them down the river and expose them on another beach causing bad effects.
5. Vegetable wastage, such as onion skins and potato peelings should be buried well away from the campsite below monsoon high water level.
6. Food scraps, washing up water, etc should be disposed of in the main current of the river (not an eddy). Greasy washing up water should be filtered by kitchen paper and the paper burnt later.
7. Toilet pits should be dug well away from the camp and below the monsoon high water level. Used toilet paper is normally put in a bag to be burned later.
8. Fire
   1. One of the major ecological problems in Nepal is deforestation. The Himalayan Tourist Code says that you should make no open fires. However, on the large rivers the monsoon sweeps down huge quantities of driftwood that gets deposited on the beaches. We think that it is acceptable to use driftwood for small campfires and particularly for burning garbage and only if villages are not around as the villagers will gather this for firewood.
   2. Use gas or kerosene stoves. Never buy firewood for cooking or for campfire.
9. Health Guidelines
   Wash your hands before each meal. In the course of the day, you will have picked up a few bugs.
   Consider all water to be infected and not safe for drinking unless you boil it. Bottled or canned drinks and tea are generally safe. Check the seal on the bottle. Ice and ice cream can be made from infected water so are better to be avoided.
   Vegetable and fruits should be either cooked or peeled. Salad type vegetables can be washed and soaked in an iodine solution but avoid green leafy vegetables such as lettuce or spinach that have a large surface area to collect germs and are difficult to wash. It is probably best to think of all green salads and ice cream as dangerous treats.
   Eat freshly cooked hot simple food. Avoid reheated food.
   Be wary of meat unless it is fresh and well cooked but its better to be vegetarian.
   Try to eat off and eat in clean utensils.
   Wear shoes especially near villages or on popular beaches. Hook worm and scabies are caught by barefooted people.
   Clean all open cuts with iodine at the end of each day.
   Drink plenty so that your urine is always clear.