Overview
This Namobuddha and Nagarkot tour is a quiet three-day escape into the hills east of Kathmandu, built around two nights away from the city rather than a list of sights. Day one drives out through Dhulikhel, the old Newar hill town, to Namobuddha at about 1,750 m, one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Nepal, where you stay the night near the Thrangu Tashi Yangtse monastery. Day two crosses the hills to Nagarkot at 2,175 m for sunset and a second night. On day three you watch sunrise over the Himalaya and drive back to Kathmandu. It suits travellers who want rest, fresh air, monastery life and mountain views more than a heavy sightseeing schedule.
The itinerary
- Leave Kathmandu east along the Araniko Highway towards Banepa and Dhulikhel
- Stop in Dhulikhel's old quarter for Newar houses with carved windows and a first view of the hills
- Continue to Namobuddha and walk up to the stupa of the prince and the tigress
- Visit the Thrangu Tashi Yangtse monastery for the evening prayers and stay the night nearby
- Optional early morning puja with the monks, then breakfast with a view over the Kavre hills
- Short walk around the hilltop shrines and prayer wheels before leaving
- Drive back across the hills to Nagarkot on the eastern rim of the Kathmandu Valley
- Free afternoon on the ridge, sunset and an unhurried evening
- Early start for sunrise over the Himalaya, from Langtang to the Everest range on clear days
- Breakfast with the view while the valley below fills with light
- Drive down through the Bhaktapur side of the valley
- Drop-off at your Kathmandu hotel with the rest of the day free
Things to carry
- Warm jacket for cold mornings and evenings on the hilltops
- Modest clothing for the monastery and prayer halls
- Slip-on shoes, as you remove them in shrines
- Torch or headlamp for early starts
- Refillable water bottle and sunscreen
Good to know
Complete guide
This Namobuddha and Nagarkot tour is the slow way to see the hills east of Kathmandu. Instead of a packed day of sights, you spend one night beside a Tibetan Buddhist monastery and one night on the valley rim, with time to sit, walk and watch the light change on the mountains.
What the Namobuddha and Nagarkot tour covers
The route makes a loop. On day one you drive east from Kathmandu along the Araniko Highway, stop in Dhulikhel and carry on to Namobuddha for the night. On day two you cross back to Nagarkot on the eastern rim of the Kathmandu Valley. On day three you catch sunrise and drive back to the city. There are no long walks and no crowded squares, which is the point. The drives are short enough that you arrive each day with the afternoon still ahead of you.
If you only have a weekend, our two-day Dhulikhel and Namobuddha tour covers the first half of this route in one overnight. This three-day version adds the second night at Nagarkot and more unhurried time at the monastery.
Dhulikhel and Namobuddha
Dhulikhel is a Newar hill town at about 1,550 m (5,085 ft), 30 km south-east of Kathmandu. Its old quarter has brick houses with finely carved wooden windows, and on a clear day the town looks across to Langtang and Ganesh Himal. We stop here on the way out, for a walk and a cup of tea.
Namobuddha sits at about 1,750 m (5,740 ft) on a hilltop in Kavrepalanchok district. The story told here is that a prince, in an earlier life of the Buddha, fed his own body to a starving tigress and her cubs, and the stupa below the monastery marks the place. Above it, the Thrangu Tashi Yangtse monastery, founded by Thrangu Rinpoche in 1978, houses a sizeable community of monks, and its main temple opened in 2008. Staying the night, in the monastery guest house or a small resort nearby, is what makes the visit: you hear the evening prayers, and in the morning you can join the monks' early puja.
Be realistic about comfort. A monastery guest house is simple, the hilltop is cold at night outside the warmer months, and the rhythm of the place follows the monks rather than a hotel. For most guests that is exactly the appeal. If you would rather have more comfort, we book a resort on a neighbouring hill and drive you up for the prayers.
Nagarkot and the sunrise
Nagarkot is a ridge-top village at 2,175 m (7,136 ft) in Bhaktapur district. On a clear morning it looks out over a long line of Himalayan ranges, including Annapurna, Manaslu, Ganesh, Langtang, Jugal and the Everest range. Clouds and haze decide the view on any given day, so we treat it as something to hope for rather than promise. The ridge is quiet in the evening once day visitors leave, and the afternoon is yours to walk, read or rest.
For a shorter taste of the ridge, the overnight Nagarkot and Bhaktapur tour pairs one night at Nagarkot with Bhaktapur's old royal square.
Who it suits, when to go and practical notes
This trip suits couples, older travellers, people who have already seen Kathmandu's main sights and anyone who wants a restful break with a spiritual side. It is not a heritage-heavy tour, so if you want the Durbar Squares and big stupas, look at our Kathmandu Valley heritage tours instead or ask us to combine them. Late September to November brings the clearest skies; winter mornings are clear but cold on both hilltops, the monsoon from roughly June to September brings cloud and rain, and spring can be hazy. Dress modestly at the monastery and bring warm layers for both nights. We arrange your guide, private car and rooms in Nepal. Your visa and flights to Kathmandu are your own arrangements, and once you land, we take it from there.
