River Rafting in Nepal?

I thought it might be fun to do a river-rafting trip too … probably not enough time, may be too late in the season, likely costs too much, but worth considering.

Here are rafting company possibilities, hacked down from dozens I checked out. Hard to know which are reputable. Cheryl’s been sending out queries for me. And when Greg gets back from the Magpie, maybe I’ll see if he has ideas. I’ve asterisked the ones that seem best.

• *http://www.driftnepal.com.np or http://www.nepalvisitors.com/driftnepal
  The company recommended by our new-agey Upper-Klamath guide.
• http://www.mountainriverrafting.com
• http://www.udnepal.com
  One Lonely Planet reader says it’s got a good reputation but is expensive. Another hated them.
• *http://www.raftnepal.com
• http://www.plannepal.com/rafting/index.php
  Recommended by a friend of Cheryl’s in Nepal, but they have little detail on their site about rafting; they’re more an all-purpose adventure travel agent, methinks.
• http://www.nepalraft.com
  They seem pretty funky but they’re the only site that lists prices.

All companies seem to agree on which are the rivers to raft. What they don’t agree on is the ranking of each. Is it really a Class 3, or should I believe the people who say it’s 5? There are some clues in the rivers’ names: Kali Gandaki is, of course, named after the goddess of destruction. And the translation of Marsyangdi is “Raging River.” I’m looking for one that means “The Amazing but Not Seriously Life-Threatening River.” Of the ten commercially runnable rivers in Nepal, I’ve narrowed my choices to three: Kali Gandaki, Bhote Koshi and Marsyangdi.

[map adapted from Nepal Visitors Web site]