Treks From Nagarkot

There are several treks to and from Nagarkot. If you plan to walk one way it is a good idea to take a bus to Nagarkot and then walk down.

Nagarkot to Bhaktapur
It is easy to follow the trail down to Bhaktapur. At the end of the walk the trail meets the road into Bhaktapur. It takes two hours to walk down and around twice that to walk up. You enter the eastern side of Bhaktapur. The trail stopping at Changu Narayan Temple is a more interesting route.

Nagarkot to Changu Narayan Temple
Walking to Bhaktapur via the Changu Narayan Temple is a more interesting route than the direct route down. The trail goes along the ridge on the road to Bhaktapur and cuts off it at the hairpin bend. You can take a bus to this bend and then walk from there, which means you don’t have to do the hard (tedious) part of the walk while the trail runs along the road.

From the bend the trails climb up for about 25 minutes through a pine forest. It then follows the ridge gently down to the Changu Narayan Temple and there are some good views on the way. The route passes through some villages and then you reach the village of Changu. From the hairbend turn to the temple takes 1½ hr to 2 hr.

From Changu Narayan you can take the direct trail to Bhaktapur or the trail a little to the east. You can also go down to the Manohara River to the north and the take the road to Bodhnath and Kathmandu.

Nagarkot to Sundarijal
It takes one long day or two easy days to walk from Nagarkot to Sundarijal. The trail goes along the rim of the valley. From Sundarijal you can go to Gokarna and then to Bodhnath and Kathmandu. You have to ask direction often as the trail often goes in different directions. You can stay at teahouses along the way. Also some trekking companies organize trek within the valley.

This walk begins at the Mahakali Temple and goes northeast going first to the village of Kattike (about one hour) and then goes north to Jorsim Pauwa (another hour). It then goes through Bagdhara, which has some teahouses and then continues to Chowki Bagdhara (one hour). Continue pass Nagle to Bhotichaur, which has some teahouses where you can spend the night.

You then follow the path back towards Chowki Bhanjyang a short time and then take the fork near a porter’s rest place going uphill. You then go over the ridge and take the center of three trails to Chule. The trail runs along the edge of the valley for a while and then descends down to Mulkarkha and then passes the reservoir and then continues to Sundarijal. The last part of this trek is the beginning of the Helambu Trek.

Nagarkot to Banepa
Banepa is a little outside the valley and is the town just before Dhulikhel on the Arniko Highway which goes to the Tibet border. From Nagarkot you start the walk at the tower south of town and the south part of the ridge. Descent steeply east. It is not easy to follow an exact trail, but all the trail lead to Banepa. A few km north of Banepa you pass through the town of Nala, which has some interesting temple.

From Banepa you can take a bus back to Kathmandu or to Dhulikhel.

Nagarkot to Sankhu
Less people go this route. This village is a pleasant Newari town that can be seen from Nagarkot or the trail going to Changu Narayan. The trail goes along the ridge that goes down steeping to the northwest. It then meets the Helambu to Sankhu trial going pass some teahouses. Here you can ask direction how to get to the interesting temple of Vajra Jogini. You can walk to this temple and then descend to Sankhu.

There are buses every few hours to Kathmandu via Bodhnath.

Copyright ©2001 John Howley and Spiritual Guides