Nepal - Nagarkot

Nagarkot is known to offer one of the best mountain views around the edge of the Kathmandu Valley. Tourists usually stay a night in one of the lodges and wakes up early in the morning to catch the beautiful sunrise over the Himalaya.


I was invited by my host family to visit Nagarkot as Mr. Basnet served as a high-ranking officer in the local army base.

I stayed in a room with superb mountain views at one of the best hotel (Hotel View Point) for a mere Rs1000 (~ US$15) - all thanks to Mr. Basnet! And to top it off, I had dinner and breakfast included in the negotiated deal! To think that the room rate at that time without any meals was a whopping US$80+ per night!

During my two days, one night stay, I was ferried around the town by motorbike - driven by subordinates of Mr. Basnet. And I also noticed that whenever Mr. Basnet passes by any guard post, he'll be greeted with a salute from the guard on duty. I was impressed....

I could see the sun rise from outside my hotel room. Guests were furiously clicking away at their shutters trying to capture 'THE" moment. It was just a pity that the sky was rather hazy or it would have been more beatiful with the distant Himalaya as the backdrop.

I had my favourite porridge for breakfast before heading off to the Lookout Tower some 4km from the village. The sky did not clear and instead, I had a lot of fun posing for photos with the Basnet family. There were also two "entrepreneurial" young men tying bunches of Rhododendron which they picked along the way for sale to the tourists.

The pace of life literally came to a standstill for me during my stay at Nagarkot. It is not everyday that I had the time and the mood to admire the beautiful flowers and to also play with the ladybugs. :)


This trip was nothing but simply pleasure for me! It was also a good getaway from the hot and polluted air in Kathmandu.

Note: In order not to be disappointed, the best months to visit are from late-October to early-March where the sky would have cleared up.