Overview
This Kathmandu UNESCO heritage tour with a Dhulikhel hike joins the valley's royal squares and great shrines to a full day of walking through the hills. Day one covers Swayambhunath, Kathmandu Durbar Square and Pashupatinath. Day two takes in Patan and Bhaktapur before the drive up to Nagarkot at 2,175 m. On day three you walk from Nagarkot down through forest, farmland and villages to Dhulikhel, a Newar hill town at about 1,550 m, over five to six hours. Day four visits Panauti, a medieval Newar town with a temple from 1294, before the drive back to Kathmandu. It suits active travellers who want heritage and a proper day on foot.
The itinerary
- Morning at Swayambhunath, the hilltop stupa west of the city known as the Monkey Temple
- Kathmandu Durbar Square: the Hanuman Dhoka palace, the Kumari's house and the rebuilt Kasthamandap
- Afternoon at Pashupatinath on the Bagmati, watching from the east-bank terraces
- Stay for the evening aarati if you wish, then back to your Kathmandu hotel
- Patan Durbar Square, the stone Krishna Mandir and the Golden Temple
- Bhaktapur Durbar Square: the 55-Window Palace, the Golden Gate and the five-storey Nyatapola
- A pot of juju dhau, Bhaktapur's sweet curd, before leaving town
- Drive up to Nagarkot on the valley rim for sunset and an early night
- Sunrise from the Nagarkot ridge, weather allowing, then breakfast
- Walk of five to six hours with your guide through pine forest, terraced farmland and villages
- Mostly downhill overall, from 2,175 m at Nagarkot to about 1,550 m at Dhulikhel, with some steep descents
- Arrive in Dhulikhel for a rest, a walk in the old quarter and the night
- Morning mountain view from Dhulikhel on clear days
- Short drive to Panauti, an old Newar town on the former salt-trade route
- Walk to the Indreshwar Mahadev temple, first built in 1294, and the Tribeni riverside ghats
- Drive back to Kathmandu and drop-off at your hotel
Things to carry
- Walking shoes or light boots with good grip
- Trekking poles for the steeper descents
- Warm layer for the Nagarkot morning
- Sun hat, sunscreen and at least two litres of water capacity
- Clothing that covers shoulders and knees for temples
Good to know
Complete guide
This Kathmandu UNESCO heritage tour with a Dhulikhel hike is for travellers who want the valley's great heritage sites and a real day on foot. Two days of royal squares and shrines lead to a night on the Nagarkot ridge, a hill walk down to Dhulikhel and a final morning in the old town of Panauti.
What the Kathmandu UNESCO heritage tour with a Dhulikhel hike covers
The Kathmandu Valley has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1979 as seven monument zones. This tour visits five: Swayambhunath, Kathmandu Durbar Square and Pashupatinath on day one, and Patan and Bhaktapur on day two. The other two, Boudhanath and Changu Narayan, are not part of this plan. We say that plainly so you know what you are booking. If seeing every site matters to you, our two-day 7 UNESCO sites tour with a night in Bhaktapur covers all of them, or we can add the missing two to this trip.
Day three is the hike from Nagarkot to Dhulikhel, and day four is Panauti and the drive home.
The heritage days
You start at Swayambhunath, the hilltop stupa west of the city known as the Monkey Temple. Kathmandu Durbar Square holds the old Hanuman Dhoka palace and the house of the Kumari, the living goddess. At Pashupatinath the main temple is open only to Hindus, so you watch the ghats and the evening aarati from the east bank of the Bagmati. Day two crosses to Patan, the city of craftsmen, with the stone Krishna Mandir from 1637, then on to Bhaktapur, the best preserved of the royal cities, with the 55-Window Palace, the Golden Gate and the five-storey Nyatapola from 1702. The afternoon ends on the ridge at Nagarkot.
The hike from Nagarkot to Dhulikhel, honestly
Nagarkot sits at 2,175 m (7,136 ft) on the valley's eastern rim, and on a clear morning looks out over ranges from Annapurna and Manaslu to Langtang and the Everest range. After sunrise and breakfast you walk to Dhulikhel, a Newar hill town at about 1,550 m (5,085 ft). The route runs about 16 km and takes five to six hours of walking, through pine forest, terraced fields and small villages, on a mix of dirt roads, stone paths and forest trail.
It is a moderate day. The overall direction is downhill, but that is where the effort comes in: some descents are steep and loose, and knees notice them. Trekking poles help. The route is not well marked and online maps miss many of the paths, which is one reason we always walk it with a guide. If anyone in your group would rather not walk, our driver takes them to Dhulikhel to meet you there.
Dhulikhel and Panauti
Dhulikhel is about 30 km south-east of Kathmandu. Its old quarter has brick houses with carved wooden windows, and on clear days it looks across to Langtang and Ganesh Himal. On day four you drive a short way to Panauti, a Newar town at about 1,442 m (4,731 ft) that grew on the salt-trade route between Tibet and India. Its Indreshwar Mahadev temple was first built in 1294, and the historic core has been on UNESCO's tentative list since 1996. If you enjoy these hills, our Dhulikhel and Namobuddha tour explores the Buddhist hilltop nearby.
Who it suits and when to go
This tour suits active travellers, couples and families with teenagers who are happy to walk for most of a day. It is less suitable for anyone with knee problems or who prefers a purely sightseeing trip; for them, a heritage tour with a drive to Dhulikhel works better. Late September to November is the best time, with dry paths and clear views. The monsoon from roughly June to September turns the trail muddy, and spring can be hazy. We arrange your guide, private car and hotels; your visa and flights to Kathmandu are your own arrangements.
