I’m crossing the bridge 160 metres above the narrow river in northern Nepal. Thinking of possible excuses to back out at the last possible minute I think back to the morning’s yellow dahl curry. Perfect, no one wants to know the gory details of that.
Upset tummy or not, today is a chance to tick off a bucket list item. Bungy jumping is a rite of passage.
Left: The in your face street art as you get off the bus. Right: The first glimpse of the jump
***If you want the practical info for bungy jumping in Nepal, scroll down past the story.
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That was more or less my thought process crossing the bridge. The bridge I’d soon be jumping off. I’m a pretty optimistic person but having the excuse of a dodgy curry without losing my man card calmed the mind.
The journey to The Last Resort jump site was rough. Leaving Kathmandu at 6 am the bus was small enough that even my 5′ 10″ body meant my knees were touching the seat in front. Not ideal when the roads are bumpy, your knee caps grinding away.
Having navigated the bridge, it’s time for the safety briefing. There must have been about 20 of us, listening to every word we were told. The chat went on for 10, 15 minutes max, my nerves increasingthe longer it dragged on.
Listening with intent at the briefing
I thought all I’d have to do was stand on the edge and jump.
Turns out for the best videos you need to jump up and out from the bridge. Not easy when you’re nearly 500 feet above a river. In addition, we have to pull the red strap attached to us on the third bounce before finally attaching a carabiner to the green loop. The we can ascent back up to the jump point. Oh and we need to keep an eye out with the ring coming with it, a slight weight to it could bruise our newly acquired bungy jumping ego.
This bungy thing was a whole lot harder.
Weigh in time: 63.4kg
65 kg of muscle…
Plus two for the harness gave me a total weight of 65kg. This put me in the 1st group to jump. Barely enough time to lock my valuables and a nervous pee.
As a visual learner discovering everyone had gone to the bridge while I was peeing was great. I’m at the back (10th) of the production line.
While waiting you can’t help but look down through the gaps in the bridge
I was impressed how little time it took before the first person jumped. The second toy off the production line jumping minutes later. It doesn’t matter how much you talk about being unafraid of heights, you never know how you’ll react until you tip toe over the edge of the jumping platform.
At the briefing we were told not to jump feet first for a few reasons:
- It doesn’t look great on video (#priorities)
- You might hit your head on the platform (ouch)
- When the bungy tension kicks in you get more of a whiplash reaction as the production line corrects your human error.
The view from the jump while waiting your turn
Despite the obvious downsides, the knees on some of the jumpers gave way. No doubt they’d be slighty gutted about their jumping prowess on replay.
On the bus earlier, there were few westerners so naturally, I had two new friends, Henry and Kate from the UK.
I’m guessing as a reassurance blanket we provided commentary to one another. We are highly critical of everyone’s jump. We noticed there were no real screams at the initial jump. It wasn’t until people got to the lowest point the occasional scream was heard as they realised the production line staff hadn’t failed them.
At some point one of The Last Resort members had put my harness on and strapped some extra cloth pieces around my legs.
Were my legs to skinny for the harness?!
exactly reassuring in times like these. It all was a blur I do recall my beard getting caught in the harness (it hurts).
Now close enough to jumping the dahl curry excuse wouldn’t fly anymore.
If you’re a new reader, I like cats a lot. I started channeling my inner cat. When the bungy cord breaks I’ll just land feet first plunging into the fast moving brown river below. No worries… (FWIW they have a great safety record).
It’s times like these you appreciate prayer flags
Henry’s jump (#7 on the line) was glorious. His knees bent as he launched from the platform. He was my new role model for the next 20 minutes. If a silly pom can do it, I can too. Every bit of reassurance was helping.
Next to jump was a shy Nepali girl in a bright pink top. She was the opposite of Henry, the only one thus far to not jump on the first countdown.
Shit, would that be me? She jumped in the end, feet first, it wasn’t pretty, but she had slight trouble with the carabiner too. I add a couple more worst case scenarios to my current states of nerves.
I’m not nervous at all…
It’s hard describing my time on the bridge. You watch everyone jump, maybe five minutes total per jump but somehow I’d had my final instructions ensuring I knew the bare minimum about red straps and green loops.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
That was Kate, a screamer.
I swear she started screaming before her feet left the platform. Would I be full of grace like Henry, a screamer like Kate or full of resistance like the girl in the pink top.
Kate came up, beaming her British smile of joy and adrenaline. Yay it’s going to be awesome.
I don’t recall much of the next 90 seconds until I start inching out onto the platform.
A human I’d never interacted before was now the most important person in my life. I’m not sure if he has to make any safety checks but he eases me towards the edge. Confident my toes were at the edge, he insists I edge further forward.
Bit by bit my toes creep forward. As I do, my upper body is leaning further back by as much.
I ‘m tempted to be impulsive and jump but not knowing if I had to wait until his countdown or not I refrainy. I could only hope he didn’t have to make any last adjustments.
“3…2…1, BUNGY.”
Surely you can’t back out now
A solid 6.5/10 imo
Jebus. I’m alive! No cat reflexes required 😀
My face distorts as I free fall towards earth but I’m proud of my jump, I definitely hadn’t dropped like a pin off the platform.
I notice the weight of the ropes as I rebounded back when the elastic takes hold, hoping it’s normal.
I’m trying to take in the view of the river as I look up and the sky as I look down. I then realise I’m not sure how many times I’ve bounced up and down.
Playing it safe, I waited until at least the fourth rebound to reach up and pull the red strap. The strap disconnects my legs somehow and I’m back to my usual upright orientation.
Back on solid ground, me, Henry and Kate admire our jumps that are replayed on the big screen. Kate gets laugh from my friends Stephen and Nadja who had just arrived for their jump.
It’s a long drive for three minutes of fun. But wow it was worth it. Despite sleeping plenty on the bus, the short burst of adrenaline seem to take all my energy as I managed to sleep most of the way back to Kathmandu.
Another rite of passage completed. 12/10 will do it again.
My Bungy Jumping In Nepal Video
How To Go Bungy Jumping In Nepal
When you arrive in Kathmandu, head to The Last Resort offices located here in Thamel. You can book 1 – 2 days in advance in most cases or book online.
Nepal Bungy Jumping Price
The second of three plates of food I devoured
The bungy jumping price is $99 (including transport to and from Kathmandu and a quality buffet lunch).
Click here for a full listing of prices and activities at The Last Resort.
Other Activities At The Last Resort
PLunge pool adventure resort
The Last Resort is an adventure haven! Beyond bungee jumping, you can do go canyoning, mountain biking, hiking, canyon swing and more.
Overnighting here could be fun!
If you decide to stay overnight, you can go and chill out in the plunge pool, take some short hikes around the area, lounge about on the sun chairs and share stories of your adrenaline pumping experiences with fellow guests.
How To Get To The Last Resort
You could figure out transport on your own to The Last Resort, but to make it easy, simply choose the package with transport to and from The Last Resort included. If you really don’t like uncomfortable bus rides you could take your own transport, but the bus just makes life easier.
The Last Chance To Convince You
Check out my buddy Nadja’s jump drone style.
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Disclaimer: I received a complimentary bungy jump from The Last Resort. As always, all opinions are my own.
Woah! That view before jumping, i would turn back. The place looks nice.
Haha it was pretty epic, you wouldn’t turn back. If you go, make sure some friends won’t let you not jump haha