Thankot Trip Planner: Build a Day Route
Pick the stops you want, and this page works out the driving distance, how long the day takes and the order that makes sense. Then print it and go.
Choose your stops
Six places within about six kilometres of the Thankot checkpoint. Most visitors manage three or four in a day alongside the cable car.
3
10.2 km
3 hr 45 min
5 hr 56 min
Distances are road kilometres from the Thankot checkpoint on the Tribhuvan Highway. Travel time assumes a private vehicle and adds roughly ninety minutes for the return trip from central Kathmandu. Add an hour in either direction if you are travelling by local bus.
Your route
Ordered by distance from the highway checkpoint, which is the sequence that backtracks least.
The pagoda in old Thankot bazaar, the settlement the town takes its name from, and the focus of the annual chariot festival.
On the day: Walk the lanes around the temple rather than stopping at the courtyard. The carved struts and the older brick-and-timber houses are the reason to come.
The gondola from the Thankot base station to the Chandragiri ridge at 2,551 m. The ride itself takes under ten minutes; the summit is where the time goes.
On the day: Go early. Queues at the base station build through the morning and are longest on Saturdays and public holidays. Clear Himalayan views are far more likely before mid-morning haze sets in.
The Shiva temple at the Chandragiri summit, reached on foot from the upper cable car station. The north-facing terrace is the viewpoint people come for.
On the day: Shoes come off at the shrine and the summit is noticeably colder and windier than the valley floor. Carry a layer even on a warm day in Kathmandu.
Read the full detail for each stop under attractions, or check how to get to Thankot first.
What Thankot actually looks like
Filter by subject. Each caption links to the page that explains what you are looking at.
The Himalayan skyline north of the Chandragiri ridge on a clear winter morning.
About the Chandragiri cable car
A gondola on the climb from the Thankot base station to the Chandragiri summit.
About the Chandragiri cable car
Bhaleshwor Mahadev at the summit, late afternoon light on the pagoda roof.
About Bhaleshwor Mahadev temple
The carved timber struts supporting the roof of the Mahalaxmi pagoda.
About the Mahalaxmi temple
The Mahalaxmi pagoda in old Thankot bazaar, built around 1690.
About the Mahalaxmi temple
Newar woodcarving on a temple window in the old settlement.
About the chronicles of Thankot
The deity carried through the bazaar during the Mahalaxmi Jatra.
About the Mahalaxmi Jatra
The chariot procession moving through the crowd on the festival day.
About the Mahalaxmi Jatra
Vermilion powder thrown over the procession during the jatra.
About the Mahalaxmi Jatra
Panche baja musicians leading the procession.
About the Mahalaxmi Jatra
Offerings at the pond during Matatirtha Aunsi.
About Matatirtha Aunsi
The stone bathing pond at Matatirtha on an ordinary weekday.
About Matatirtha pond
The shrine beside Indra Daha on the Dahachowk ridge.
About Indra Daha
Pine groves and lawns at Tribhuvan Memorial Park.
About Tribhuvan Memorial Park
The view tower above Dahachowk looking east over the valley.
The memorial to Kaji Kalu Pande at Dahachowk.
About the chronicles of Thankot
The western checkpoint that gave Thankot its role as the valley gate.
About the chronicles of Thankot
Terraced fields around the older part of the settlement.
Porters carrying a car over the pass, the practice that preceded the highway.
About the Thankot car porters
The Kathmandu Valley seen from the Chandragiri ridge at sunset.
Next steps
How to get to Thankot
Bus, taxi and rideshare options from Kathmandu, with fares and journey times.
All attractions
Opening hours, fees and what to expect at every site on this route.
Best time to visit
Month by month on weather, mountain visibility and crowds.
Festival calendar
Time your trip around the Mahalaxmi Jatra or Matatirtha Aunsi.
Map of the area
How the sites sit relative to the highway and the ridge.
Chronicles of Thankot
Why the western gate mattered, from Shonitapur to the Tribhuvan Highway.
Ready to fix a date?
Check the weather window and the festival calendar before you book anything.