The sunrise is why people go to Nagarkot. The walk down the next morning is the better half of the trip. The Nagarkot to Dhulikhel hike drops about 600 m from the eastern rim of the Kathmandu Valley to an old Newar trading town in 4-7 hours, through pine forest and terraced farmland cut by new dirt roads. It needs no permit, and it gets people lost more often than a valley day walk should. Below are the four stages, and the forks where walkers go wrong.
How the Nagarkot to Dhulikhel hike works
The standard plan is two days and one night. Get to Nagarkot by mid-afternoon and sleep on the ridge so you are up for the sunrise; our sunrise viewpoints guide covers the view and the timing. After breakfast, be walking by eight. You reach Dhulikhel by mid-afternoon, in time for a late lunch and the bus to Kathmandu, or for a night there before walking on to Namobuddha.
It is the first walk we suggest in the hiking in Nepal guide for anyone with a spare day near Kathmandu. The effort is easy to moderate: little climbing, but a lot of downhill on steps and loose dirt, which your knees will notice.
Getting to Nagarkot and back from Dhulikhel
Nagarkot sits about 32 km east of Kathmandu. Wikivoyage puts a taxi at 1.5-2 hours and around NPR 2,000-3,000 one way. A tourist minibus leaves from Lainchaur, at the edge of Thamel, for about NPR 300-400 and two hours on the road, and public buses run via Bhaktapur for under NPR 100. Verify current fares. Many people spend the morning in Bhaktapur and take a taxi up the last 30-45 minutes. The Nagarkot guide covers where to sleep on the ridge.
Dhulikhel is about 30 km from Kathmandu on the Araniko Highway, so getting home is simple. Buses to Ratna Park in Kathmandu take about two hours and cost under NPR 100, or you can take a taxi.
The route at a glance
Times are based on Wikivoyage's 4-7 hour total and a detailed 2020 trip report by Full Time Explorer (about six hours of walking). Treat them as a guide.
| Stage | Route | Approx. time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nagarkot (about 2,175 m) south to the ridge top | 1.5-2 hours | Main road, then dirt roads up the tower hill; tea stop near the start |
| 2 | Ridge top down to Kashi Bhanjyang | 45 min-1 hour | Steep stone steps, where poles help; restaurant at the bottom |
| 3 | Kashi Bhanjyang to Rabi Bhanjyang | 1-1.5 hours | Farm roads and terraces; the hardest section to follow |
| 4 | Rabi Bhanjyang to Dhulikhel (about 1,550 m) | 1-1.5 hours | Signed turn at the temple, then a road through woods into town |
| Total | About 16-20 km | 4-7 hours with stops | About 625 m of net descent |
The walk, stage by stage
Stage 1: Nagarkot to the ridge top
Leave the village heading south on the main road. The route climbs first toward the view tower hill, your last look north at the Himalaya before the trail turns its back on the range. In 2020 the turn-off was a gravel road on the left a couple of hundred metres past a large resort, followed by a sharp left that feels like doubling back. Near the top, a small yellow sign pointed right onto a footpath. New roads get bulldozed every year, so check your map at junctions.
Stage 2: the steps down to Kashi Bhanjyang
The path wraps around the hill to a small concrete lookout with a tin roof. To its left, a long flight of stone steps drops steeply toward Kashi Bhanjyang. This is the stretch where trekking poles pay for themselves. At the bottom, a small restaurant by the road is the first proper food stop; with an eight o'clock start you'll reach it in the late morning.
Stage 3: Kashi Bhanjyang to Rabi Bhanjyang
From Kashi Bhanjyang a farm road contours around the hillside past fields that turn yellow with mustard in winter. Then comes the awkward part: a small trail heads left toward a hilltop, then drops down terraces on the far side. The Full Time Explorer writer found it hard to follow even with directions from villagers. Use the map, and ask anyone working in the fields. The road then runs downhill into Rabi Bhanjyang.
Stage 4: Rabi Bhanjyang to Dhulikhel
In Rabi Bhanjyang, turn right on the main road and then left at the temple, where a small sign points to Dhulikhel. The road climbs through woods for a while before it drops into town.
Which route to take
Take the ridge route described above. It is the version with written accounts behind it, and Dhulikhel is the right place to finish because the bus home and the Namobuddha path both start there. Some walkers drop west toward Nala and Banepa instead and ride the last stretch along the highway. That line is poorly documented; ask locally first.
Two other walks get mixed up with this one. The other classic descent from Nagarkot runs northwest to the temple at Changu Narayan in about 3-4 hours, finishing near Bhaktapur. And you can arrive on foot: the two-day route from Sundarijal over Chisapani ends in Nagarkot, though its first part lies inside Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, with an entry fee and a guide rule.
Day two of a Kathmandu Valley trek, walking from Chisapani into Nagarkot, the stage before this one (Adventures with Edward)Practicalities
- Water: carry two litres. Refills before Kashi Bhanjyang are not guaranteed.
- Food: places to eat are sparse on the route. Pack snacks and plan lunch at Kashi Bhanjyang or late in Dhulikhel.
- Map: in 2020 most of the route was missing from Google Maps. Download an offline OpenStreetMap-based app such as maps.me and start with a full battery.
- Guide: not required. If you want one, ask your Nagarkot hotel the evening before.
- Fees: none. Lonely Planet lists it as an easy walk with no permits or national park fees.
Getting lost in the Nagarkot forest
In August 2024, three tourists spent about ten hours lost in the forest around Nagarkot before they were rescued. It is a small forest by Himalayan standards, but a dense one, and the paths through it split and rejoin without signs.
Pine forest on the Nagarkot ridge: pleasant at nine in the morning, easy to get turned around in at dusk
The fixes are simple. Start early so you have hours of daylight in hand. Carry the offline map and check it at junctions, not after you feel lost. Tell your hotel which way you are going, and don't walk the forest sections alone after dark. The Tourist Police number is 1144.
Best time for the walk
October and November are the best months, with dry trails and the clearest mountain views from the top. March and April are good too, warmer and hazier. Winter mornings are cold on the ridge and usually very clear. Skip the monsoon from June to September if you can: the dirt roads turn to mud and the leeches come out.
Extending the walk to Namobuddha
Stay a night in Dhulikhel and you can continue the next morning to the monastery at Namobuddha, about three hours along a well-signed path. Our day trips from Kathmandu guide covers that leg, along with the medieval town of Panauti nearby.
