Nepal's Kali Gandaki Gorge

[Viking01 183]

We will fly in Nepal and visit one of the deepest gorges in the world.

Our departure airport is Manang (VNMA), an important point on the Annapurna Trekking Circuit. Unfortunately, the airport hasn't seen any commercial flights since 2012 which causes trouble to the local population.

We follow a valley west and reach Jomsom (VNJS). Here we meet the Kali Gandaki River. The river forms a magnificent canyon or gorge, and we want to see this during the next part of the flight. The river then flows southward through a steep gorge known as the Kali Gandaki Gorge, or Andha Galchi, between the mountains Dhaulagiri, elevation 8,167 meters (26,795 ft) to the west, and Annapurna I, elevation 8,091 meters (26,545 ft) to the east. If one measures the depth of a canyon by the difference between the river height and the heights of the highest peaks on either side, this gorge is the world's deepest. The portion of the river directly between Dhaulagiri and Annapurna I, 7 kilometers (4 mi) downstream from Tukuche), is at an elevation of 2,520 meters (8,270 ft), which is 5,571 meters (18,278 ft) lower than Annapurna I. The river is older than the Himalayas. As tectonic activity forces the mountains higher, the river has cut through the uplift.

We land at Baglung (VNBL) and continue north and then east to reach Pokhara (VNPK). The town is a metropolitan city in central Nepal, which serves as the capital of Gandaki Province and the tourism capital of Nepal. It is the second most populous city of Nepal after Kathmandu. The city is on the shore of Phewa Lake and sits at an elevation of approximately 822 m. The Annapurna Range, with three out of the ten highest peaks in the world—Dhaulagiri, Annapurna I, and Manaslu—is within 15–35 mi (24–56 km) of the valley. Pokhara is considered the tourism capital of Nepal, being a base for trekkers undertaking the Annapurna Circuit through the Annapurna Conservation Area region of the Annapurna ranges in the Himalayas. The city is also home to many of the elite Gurkha soldiers, soldiers native to South Asia of Nepalese nationality recruited for the British Army, Nepalese Army, Indian Army, Gurkha Contingent Singapore, Gurkha Reserve Unit Brunei, UN peacekeeping forces, and in war zones around the world.

We leave the mountains and arrive at Bharatpur (VNBP). Bharatpur is one of the fastest-growing cities in Nepal and lies on the western bank of the Narayani River. It serves as a commercial center of the Chitwan district and the central region of Nepal.

Some more climbing is needed now as we head back to the mountains to reach Kathmandu's International Airport Tribhuvan (VNKT). The city is the capital and most populous city of Nepal with 845,767 inhabitants and approximately 4 million people in its urban agglomeration. It is located in the Kathmandu Valley, a large valley in the high plateaus in central Nepal, at an altitude of 1,400 meters (4,600 feet). Kathmandu is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world, founded in the 2nd century AD. Today, it is the seat of government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, established in 2008, and is part of Bagmati Province. Kathmandu is and has been for many years the center of Nepal's history, art, culture, and economy. It has a multi-ethnic population with a Hindu and Buddhist majority. Religious and cultural festivities form a major part of the lives of people residing in Kathmandu. Tourism is an important part of the economy in the city. In 2013, Kathmandu was ranked third among the top ten upcoming travel destinations in the world by TripAdvisor and ranked first in Asia. It is the largest metropolitan area located in the Himalayas.

Time permitting, we continue further back to the mountains and finish the flight at Langtang (VNLT). The village of Langtang was almost destroyed (1 building survived) by a massive avalanche caused by the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. The village suffered an estimated 310 deaths. Many Langtangpas returned to the valley in the following months, and a significant amount of reconstruction was completed within the first year after the earthquake. By early 2018, the centuries-old gompa at Kyanjin Gompa, which had also been destroyed in the earthquake, had been rebuilt. The Swiss-cheese factory at Kyanjin Gompa village was destroyed too, but has been rebuilt and since then become operational again.

The flight plans are available here. 

The flight has 234 miles and 5 landings. The Pilatus Porter seems to be the best choice for this flight.  We have field elevations of about 12000 feet and some runways are about 2000 feet long. Please fly what you like.

There are 4 add-ons available:

https://flightsim.to/file/54393/tribhuwan-international-airport-kathmandu-nepal

https://flightsim.to/file/59605/vnpk-pokhara-airport

https://flightsim.to/file/2359/jomsom-airport-vnjs-nepal

https://flightsim.to/file/41661/vnma-manang-airport-nepal

We try real weather. Please set your simulator for a 10:00 am local departure.

These flights are events posted at DigitalThemePark and use DTP's Teamspeak Channel for communication.

If you want to help others enjoy the multiplayer experience, don't forget to enter your aircraft details on the multiplayer spreadsheet (linked here). Please be kind enough to enter the title exactly as it stands in the title=”xxx” line of the aircraft.cfg file. Your courtesy will save others a lot of time and effort. Thanks!