Kathmandu Valley Rim Trek

The first day begins early as you leave your hotel by private vehicle along with your guide fromHiking in Himalaya. It’s about 1 ½ hours northwest of Kathmandu to our starting point, the village of Kakani. The road winds up the switchbacks, past waterfalls and scenic views. From on top of Kakani will reveal the panorama of the beautiful Himalayas. The trek begins here at this lovely little village. We will enter parts of Shivapuri National Park, which is an amazing wilderness that’s so close to Nepal’s capital city. Today will be a short day as we make our way to the village of Surachaur where we will enjoy a local homestay. Trekking time is around 3 hours.

Our journey today will take us to the tiny little village of Sikre with its wonderful views of the Langtang Range. Sikre is the closest Gurung Village to Kathmandu. The Gurung people were the backbone of the Gurkha soldiers of the British Army whose units earned more Victoria Crosses than any other British Army unit. Today’s journey will take us through the jungles of Shivapuri National Park where there will be great views of the Himalayas to the north. Shivapuri is a rugged park with plenty of wildlife including Himalayan bear and leopards. We will leave the park, passing more wildflowers and waterfalls along the way. We start to enter quaint little villages that rarely see foreign travelers.

Sikre is a farming community, and you will find no village that has nicer hospitality. Following the 2015 earthquake, the people here would not allow trucks to unload food and badly needed supplies until the villagers could prepare and serve tea! Even though it had been a month since the earthquake and the people were sifting dirt for rice in the rubble, the hospitality of these wonderful Gurung people never wavered. You will enjoy a wonderful night of hospitality. Trekking time is 5 – 6 hours. 

Option: Many people are so impressed with Sikre that they choose to spend another night. If you do, you can day some day hikes to neighboring villages plus explore local farms. Of course, you will have a chance to sample local roxy (locally distilled wine) that sometimes the locals love to serve you in bottomless cups.

Today’s destination is near the village of Haibung near Chisapani, which was the traditional starting point for treks into the High Himalayas. Chisapani offers more great views of the Himalayas to the north while cold water flows in abundance in the area (the name chisapani is Nepali for cold water.) Haiburg is also a Gurung village and we will enjoy additional hospitality there. On the way, we pass by schools, farms and small villages as we continue to gain in elevation. We are outside of Shivapuri National Park, but still very close. This day is a great day to observe the traditional ways of doing Nepali agriculture on terraced farms. We will stay tonight in a local homestay. Trekking time is around six hours.

Our destination is one of the most popular places in all of the Kathmandu Valley. Here in Bhaktapur District, Nagarkot is considered to be the most beautiful point on the Valley Rim to see awesome sunsets and sunrises over the mighty Himalayas. From on top of Nagarkot Hill you can see all the way from Mt. Everest in the east to the Annapurna Mountains in the west as well as all of the snowcapped peaks in between. The first half of the journey will take us back into Shivapuri National Park as we wander through its jungles. Around lunch time, we descend into a valley and pass through some larger villages before starting the climb upwards to Nagarkot. We arrive to check into our hotel. There are many hotels of various qualities on Nagarkot Hill, and we will pick one that is of three star quality. Here we will enjoy first watching a sunset over the Himalayas. After that, enjoy a good meal and a hot bath before turning in for the night. Trekking time is around 6 – 7 hours, so we will want to get an early start so we can enjoy the sunset at Nagarkot.

The morning begins early as we rise before the sun to make our way to the lookout point to observe a beautiful sunrise over the Himalayas. Sunrises are always so special as you stand there watching the mighty peaks turn from grey to orange and finally a brilliant white as the effulgent sun rises supremely in the eastern Himalayan skies.Following sunrise comes breakfast, and then we’re off to our next place – the city of Dhulikhel. Dhulikhel is toward the southeast and stands on a high hill that is known for its amazing views of the mountains. The old part of the city is really a Newari village with narrow flagstone streets and a beautiful temple complex. Outside of Dhulikhel is a hidden temple in a deep, narrow valley that is definitely worth visiting. In Dhulikhel we will stay at a three star quality hotel for the night. Trekking time from Nagarkot Hill to Dhulikhel is around six hours and will feature incredible views along the way.

Our trek today takes us to the luxurious setting of Balthali Mountain Resort. Located on a high hill on the southeastern edge of the Kathmandu Valley, you won’t believe that you are so near Kathmandu when you gaze on the green valley below with its beautiful little villages and farmland. Balthali Resort is known for its eco-tourism as its owners work to empower the local people in responsible tourism for community development. From its hilltop location, it is in the shadow of the Mahabharat Range. The resort is also known for magnificent sunrises, and you can see Mt. Everest in the east from here. Balthali Mountain Resort is small, but filled with full amenities. It has great food, Wi-Fi, spacious rooms with attached bath and modern day facilities. The trek to Balthali Mountain Resort is also quite pleasant as we can look eastward toward the highest peaks in the world, including Mt. Everest. Trekking time is around 4 hours, which will give you plenty of time to enjoy all that Balthali Mountain Resort has to offer.

Today is our final day of trekking. We leave Balthali Mountain Resort and make our way now to the southern part of the Kathmandu Valley to the village of Godawari. This area is very popular with birders as there are an amazing variety of birds here at the base of Mt. Fulchoki. Godawari is known for the Godavari Botanical Gardens which covers many acres with beautiful variety of plants and flowers. The trek takes around 7 – 8 hours. At Godawari, we will find our private vehicle waiting for us to return us to our hotel in Kathmandu.