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Probably the most popular way down from Nagarkot goes via Changu Narayan to Bhaktapur, which can be reached in three or four hours on foot, or half that time on a mountain bike or motorcycle. The route follows the main road down to Phedi, where the road passes through a notch in the ridge (hikers can catch a bus to here). At Phedi, take the dirt road to the right and follow it generally along the wooded ridgeline to Changu Narayan. It's another 6km from Changu down to Bhaktapur. The descent to Sankhu , which starts by following the road past Nagarkot's northern lodges, is favoured by mountain-bikers. The road forks not far past the Nagarkot Farmhouse (off the map): the lefthand route is steep, rutted and good fun (vehicles rarely use it); the righthand one is smoother and longer, contouring around the Kattike Daada, the next ridge north of Nagarkot, to enter Sankhu from the north. A longer mini-trek to the Shivapuri Watershed initially follows the latter route, then bears to the right (north) on a separate road to Bhotechaur. This trek can be done in numerous permutations, in either direction and on foot or by bike. Most hikers spend a night in a local teahouse in Bhotechaur or at the nicer Banar Top Resort (book through Gauri Shankar Hotel : tel 411605; US$8-12) near the Jhule entry point to the watershed (Rs250 entry fee). From there it's another easy day's walk along a wood road to Sundarijal or Nagi Gompa, and an optional hard third day up to the summit of Shivapuri and back to Kathmandu via Budhanilkantha. It's not possible to ride a bike up to the summit, but cyclists can make it from Nagarkot to Nagi Gompa or further in a day, and to Kakani in two days. If you want to move on to Nala , continue south from the view tower, from where it's a stiff 700-metre descent along any of three different routes. The road that bears right around the tower is the easiest for biking, providing a good intermediate-level ride for 7km to the Nala-Bhaktapur road. Two other hiking trails, via the villages of Tukucha and Ghimiregaun, descend from a track heading left from the tower. From Nala you can travel west to Bhaktapur or south to Banepa and Dhulikhel. Yet another option is to descend eastwards to Hiuwapati , deep down in the valley of the Indrawati River. You can make this trip on either of two roads - one starting at the north end of the Nagarkot ridge, the other from near the bus stop - which join after only a couple of kilometres, or on the track that goes around the left (eastern) side of the view tower. If you walk, it'll take three to four hours and you should be able to catch a bus or some sort of vehicle from Hiuwapati to Panchkhal on the Arniko Highway, where there are connections to Dhulikhel and Kathmandu. On a bike it should be no trouble to reach Dhulikhel or return to Nagarkot via a different route in the same day. A decent map will make route-finding on any of these excursions much easier. The best by far are the 1:25,000 sheets published by HMG/FINNIDA, but Himalayan Map House's "Nagarkot" (1:25,000) and "Kathmandu Valley" (1:50,000) will suffice.
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