| The
best way to explore the Kathmandu Valley
is on a mountain bike. Nepal’s diverse
terrain is a mountain biker’s dream
adventure comes true. Mountain biking offers
an environmentally sound way of exploring
this magnificent country, its landscape
and living heritage. Because this is a Spartan,
laborious mode of travel, it is also considered
the way to travel by the ‘purists’.
There are plenty of dirt
roads and trails in Nepal to meet every
mountain biker’s wildest fantasy.
Mountain biking is specially recommended
if you wish to explore the urban centers
of Nepal such as Pokhara and Kathmandu as
well as the countryside. Imagine, if you
will, a ride through lush green rice fields,
through hamlets, up and down the hillside,
along the riverbank, around temples, past
the street-roaming cattle, along the suspension
bridge, along the highway, you name it.
Through snow, monsoon downpour, wonderful
light effects, or fierce head winds, depending
on place and season. The adventurous souls
may plan extended trips to such exotic locales
as Tibet, Namche Bazaar, and western Nepal.
You could even do the entire length of Nepal
across the plains.
It was in the mid 1980s
that Biking activity really took off in
Kathmandu in the mid 1980s. Enthusiasts
flew with their bikes from East Asia to
Tibet to do a two weeks journey from there
over the passes (17,000 ft) to Nepal. This
landmark event put Nepal squarely in mountain
biker’s map. Thus Kathmandu today
is considered a Mecca for mountain bicyclists,
drawing hundreds of enthusiasts from all
corners o the world every year. Some of
the regular routes that cover the valley
are those, which weave in and out of Kathmandu,
Bhaktapur and Patan.
Day 1
: Kathmandu 24 km / 3-4 hours)
Start from the nerve center of old Kathmandu,
the Durbar Square, and wind your way up
to holy Swayambhu, also known as the monkey
temple. Then ride up and over ring road
to say Kakani and re-enter Kathmandu from
the northwest corner through terraced farmland
and hamlets abandoned by time.
Day 2
: Bhaktapur (30 km / 4-5 hours) :
Begin at Thimi, the restored capital of
Bhaktapur, and head up the tortuous road
to Changu Narayan Temple and return via
farming villages. Then head down to Pashupati
along the bank of the Bagmati River and
finish up at a Buddhist shrine, the Boudhanath
stupa.
Day 3
: Patan (51 km / 8-9 hours) :
Start in Patan winding your way through
the maze of alleys with ornately-carved
windows, taking in historical sites such
as the Golden Temple, Krishna Temple and
Patan Durbar Square. Then head southeast
past Ring Road to Panauti along a difficult
off road trail. Then return to Kathmandu
via a paved road or the same trail. Alternatively,
you could head off to Dakshin Kali or Godavari.
Other outlying places popular
with the enthusiasts are Nagarjuna, Nage
Gompa, Tokha, Ichangu Narayan, Gomcha, Bungamati,
Kakani, Dhulikhel and Nagarkot.
Further
mountain bike trips are those extending
from :
a) Dhulikhel to Kodari (82 km), near the
Tibetan border.
b) Naubise to Royal Chitwan Park along the
Rajpath through such scenic places as the
Palung Valley, Daman and the not so scenic
industrial town of Hetauda in the plains.
c) Hetauda to Mugling by way of Narayanghat
d) Lakeside Pokhara up and along the ridge
to Sarangkot Point and continuing on to
Naudanda from where you could take in the
breathtaking close up view of the Himalayas
and the Pokhara Valley.
e) Naudanda to Pokhara through Lumle, Beni
and Birethanti or Naudanda to Pokhara (32
km) either via Sarangkot trial as described
in (d) or the highway track, which starts
with a tortuous 6 km descent into Modi Khola
valley.
We
also operate Mountain Bike tour
to Sikkim, Darjeeling and Tibet.
There are many more options if you
are willing to take the time to
find out. |
Please contact
us for Detail information, program and
price, or any further inquiries
|