Fiscal Nepal
First Business News Portal in English from Nepal
KATHMANDU: The 24th edition of the Himalayan Whitewater Challenge 2026 and the 50th International Whitewater Rafting and Kayaking Festival is set to take place from Falgun 14 to 16, 2082 (February 26–28, 2026), with participation from 170 athletes, organizers announced on Friday.
The event is being organized by the Nepal Association of Rafting Agencies, a leading body representing Nepal’s rafting and river tourism operators. According to NARA President Kamal Bahadur Thakuri, 30 international and 140 national athletes will compete in this year’s competition.
The three-day festival will feature competitions in three disciplines — two in kayaking and one in rafting. More than 100 kayakers are expected to compete in the race category on the first day. The second day will host knockout sessions, while the final day will feature raft races.
Organizers estimate an overall attendance of 400 to 600 people, including athletes, volunteers, technical officials, and spectators. The event is expected to draw both domestic and international adventure sports enthusiasts, reinforcing Nepal’s positioning as a premier destination for whitewater rafting and kayaking tourism.
Whitewater rafting in Nepal dates back to the 1960s. In 1964, a French expedition navigated the Trishuli River, marking one of the earliest recorded commercial rafting expeditions in the country. A year later, in 1965, a team led by Sir Edmund Hillary rafted the Sun Koshi River, an expedition widely regarded as a milestone in Nepal’s river-based adventure history. Commercial rafting operations formally began in 1975 under the Himalayan River Exploration initiative.
NARA itself was established in 2046 BS (1990 AD), playing a key role in institutionalizing and regulating Nepal’s river tourism industry.
The festival is being organized in collaboration with the Nepal Tourism Board. Speaking at a press conference, Senior Director Hikmat Singh Ayer of the Nepal Tourism Board said the board has consistently partnered in whitewater tourism initiatives for years and aims to further establish river-based adventure sports as a strong tourism identity of Nepal.
He emphasized that alongside Mount Everest and the Himalayan peaks, activities such as rafting, kayaking, and canoeing must be promoted aggressively in the international tourism market. He also stressed the importance of parallel efforts in river conservation to ensure sustainable development of adventure tourism.
The Himalayan Whitewater Challenge is considered one of South Asia’s longest-running river sports competitions and plays a strategic role in promoting Nepal’s adventure tourism sector, which remains a vital pillar of the country’s tourism economy.
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