Nagarjung Day Hike

My second day hike in Kathmandu area in 3 months, as I come here for business and cannot participate in longer treks. In January, I did the Nagarkot Sunrise and hike to Changu Narayan, which was enjoyable and quite easy-going. This time, I was looking for something a bit more challenging. There was little info (and no reviews to go on) for this hike to the top of Nagarjun, but the company had very good reviews for other longer treks, so I figured it was worth a try. The Managing Director came to our hotel to meet with us the evening before our hike, which was quite reassuring and our guide (Sangar) arrived promptly at the agreed pickup time of 8am. The hike itself proved to be quite a challenge (particularly as we are coming out of a lengthy Canadian winter!). There are a total of 2,650 steps on the hike with a fairly significant grade throughout the hike. The start features a climb of 1.7km which took some time as I needed to warm up my legs. In the early part of our climb, we saw a number of monkeys, but little aside from birds for the remainder, which was a little disappointing given that we had been told to keep noise to a minimum. I should also mention that virtually all of the hike is within trees, so there is no scenery to speak of except at the halfway point where there is a view of the Kathmandu and at the top, where there is a lookout tower (more stairs!) to see the Kathmandu valley. Our journey to the top was about 3 hours, we spent about an hour visiting the small Buddhist temple and hanging out / resting, and then spent about 2 hours on the descent (including a stop to eat our provided box lunches at the midpoint). I am happy to have done this trip. It was the challenge that I was looking for to help kickstart my hiking season, but it will not be for everyone as it involves a *lot* of stairs and very little of the views that Nepal is famous for. This trip is definitely not for anybody with weak knees, as the downhill walk will provide a lot of trouble — the 2,650 stairs are made from blocks of rock and as such feature irregular rises. That said, I would recommend this hike for those looking to test their stamina or to build their strength for other treks. The trail can be done in running shoes in dry weather, but I chose to wear my hiking boots and would strongly recommend hikers do so if there has been any rainfall. I also wish that I had brought my trekking poles — particularly for the downhill portion. As to the company, I highly recommend them and would encourage others to engage them — they are willing to tailor your hike to whatever you prefer. Our guIde was very good and added to our day by explaining local culture.