The classic panorama of the Himalayas and the beautiful sunrises are what motivates people to make the short trip to the village of Nagarkot from Kathmandu.

 

The first tourists are supposed to have been a troop of Punjabi mercenaries recruited to defend the Valley against Prithvi Narayan’s troops. Stationed at the now-vanished ridgetop fort (kot literally means fort), they quickly succumbed to the ‘mountain air’ and proved drunkenly incapable when the Gurkha invaders finally arrived.

Although most guesthouses have good views of their own, you can get much better ones (maybe even with a glimpse of Everest) from the view tower at the highest southern point of the ridge. It takes an hour to reach the view tower from most guesthouses.

It is possible to cycle up to the village from Kathmandu as the road is good and usually fairly quiet. However, most people choose to drive up and either walk back or drive back the next day. In high season, two or three tourist buses depart each afternoon at around 1pm from Kantipath in Kathmandu and return the following morning, costing around Rs100 each way. A taxi from Kathmandu will cost around UK£6.

 

Not many of our tours actually go to Nagarkot, but if you have some spare time in Kathmandu a trip here can be done in an afternoon, or overnight.