Nagarkot to Kattike Trek

Further beyond Kathmandu, the landscape starts to rise, revealing views of the snowy mountains of the Himalayas on rare, clear days. Just 32 km from the capital, Nagarkot built a nice reputation for short treks and famous panoramic mountain views. The winding steep road leading to the village is as narrow as a one-way street and climbing it by local bus made my heart stop at every turn. When meeting another vehicle, one had to break and reverse whilst scraping the mountain edge. 

At 2500m in altitude on top of a ridge, the town can get quite chilly which was perfect for testing our new gear bought for higher altitude treks. Nagarkot has numerous guesthouses that take advantage of the views and we did spot many tour buses which make the climb for the benefit of Chinese tourists and their cameras.

The road leading to Nagarkot

Our first trek was a 15 kilometres circuit around the valley of rich fields, vegetable farms, goats and locals in traditional clothing. We traversed the small villages of Bakhrigaun, through Bisambar, then Kattike in a pleasant loop. It was very picturesque and the cool yet sunny weather reminded me of autumn in Canada. Without official maps, we had to rely on asking locals for directions. They were always happy to point us in the right direction, after deciphering our accents, and we followed the dirt paths without major hiccups

 

Scattered farm houses 

Following the trail!

After a long day, we stopped in a local restaurant and sampled the tastiest rice pudding made with dried fruits, cardamom and cloves. We were to come back every single day for this delicious dish!