Chandragiri Hiking Trail

The trail starts from the Thankot side, above the cable car base station, and climbs the northern face of the hill.

1. Thankot to the forest edge, about 45 minutes. Farm tracks and lanes past houses and terraced fields, gaining height steadily. This is the section where the route is least obvious; ask for the Chandragiri path and locals will point you at it.
2. The forest, 1 to 2 hours. The trail enters pine and rhododendron and steepens. Long flights of stone steps alternate with dirt path. This is the hardest part and it is relentless rather than dangerous.
3. The upper ridge, 30 to 45 minutes. The gradient eases, the trees thin and the cable car line appears overhead. The path joins the developed area near the top station.
4. The summit. Bhaleshwor Mahadev temple, the viewing terraces and the restaurants are all within a few minutes of each other.

The trail is used daily by local walkers and pilgrims and is not a wilderness route. It is also not signposted in English throughout, so a downloaded offline map is worth having.

Moderately hard. The distance is short but the climb is sustained, and the stone steps in the middle section are punishing on the calves. Anyone who walks regularly will manage it in three hours with stops. Someone who does not will manage it in four and feel it the next day.

There is no exposure, no scrambling and no navigation difficulty beyond the first section through the farmland. The main risks are heat in the lower section on a spring afternoon, dehydration, and slipping on wet stone steps in the monsoon.

Coming down on foot takes around two hours and is harder on the knees than the ascent was on the lungs. Poles help. So does the cable car.

• Two litres of water each. There is nothing reliable to buy between the bottom and the top.
• Shoes with grip. Trainers are fine in dry weather; the stone steps are slick when wet.
• A warm layer and a windproof. The ridge is roughly 8C to 10C colder than Thankot and the wind on top is constant.
• Sun protection. The lower half is exposed and the sun at altitude is strong even in winter.
• Cash for the cable car down, the temple offering and tea at the top.
• Snacks. The restaurants at the top are resort-priced and may be busy.
• A headtorch if you are starting before dawn to catch the light.

October to March is the season. The air is clearest from late October to February, which is also when the northern horizon is worth the climb. Winter mornings are cold at the bottom and colder at the top, but the walking is comfortable and the sky is reliable.

April and May are hot on the lower section and hazy above. Start at first light or not at all.

June to September is monsoon. The forest is beautiful and empty, the steps are slippery, leeches are active and the view from the top is usually cloud. Some people love it. Go with the expectation of a green wall rather than a mountain range.

Whatever the month, start early. Being on the ridge by mid-morning gives the best chance of a clear horizon and leaves a wide margin before the cable car stops running around 7pm.

A one-way downhill cable car ticket is roughly half the return fare, which puts it in the region of NPR 450 to 500 for a Nepali adult and around USD 13 for a foreign national. Confirm at the counter; fares are revised.

Alternatives if you want to keep walking: the descent on the same trail takes about two hours, and longer routes drop off the far side of the ridge towards Chitlang, which turns the day into a full point-to-point walk requiring transport at the other end. That is a bigger undertaking and needs planning beyond the scope of a day out from Kathmandu.

If you want a shorter hill day at less altitude, the ridge walk from Dahachowk to Indra Daha and the Kalu Pande memorial park is a gentler alternative on the same side of the valley.

The trailhead is in Thankot, above the cable car base station, about 12 km west of central Kathmandu.

• By bus or micro: westbound from Kalanki towards Thankot or Naubise, fare well under NPR 50. Get down at Thankot and walk up towards the base station.
• By taxi: ask to be dropped at the Chandragiri cable car base station. From there the path continues uphill on the left of the station complex; ask a local to confirm the start.
• Coming back: the cable car deposits you at the base station, from which the last buses back towards Kalanki run into the evening. Confirm the last service if you are cutting it fine.

Route options and fares in more detail are on the getting to Thankot page.