As the Kathmandu valley is ringed by the beautiful hills, there are really good and gentle-to-moderate hiking trails. The beautiful hill stations such like Nagarkot, Dhulikhel, Chandra Giri, Nagarjun, Kakani, Daman, Fhulchoki are the most popular hiking destinations and you can enjoy with the excellent mountain views from many of these spots. It means you can see the beautiful mountain views while trekking around Kathmandu valley without trekking right in the mountains.
Trekking in Kathmandu valley is possible anytime of the year but we still do not recommend you to travel during the monsoon period which is between June and August. Trekking around Kathmandu valley during the monsoon season is not interesting as we can hardly see the mountains and the walking trails will be muddy. We can trek in Kathmandu valley anytime during the spring, autumn and the winter season. But again for the best Mountain View, the winter is a good time to trek around Kathmandu valley.
It is possible to trek around Kathmandu valley without a guide but hiring a local guide from registered Trekking Company is always recommended. Having a guide for Kathmandu valley trek helps you to get to know more about culture, tradition of the places you are visiting. Your guide also brings you some interesting places that are out of the regular hiking route. Hiring a guide means providing job to a local so it is a giving back to the community you are visiting. It helps for the local economy. So hiring a guide is always recommended.
There are many gentle-to-moderate hiking opportunities in Kathmandu valley. Day hike and multi day hikes are equally popular in Kathmandu valley. Changunarayan to Nagarkot hike, Champadevi Hike, Chandra Giri Hike are the popular day hiking trip and we highly recommend one of the mentioned hikes for those looking for day hiking around Kathmandu valley. If you have more time to give for hiking around Kathmandu, we highly suggest Chisapani to Dhulikhel via Nagarkot 3 days hike, Balthali to Namobuddha monastery 2 days hike, Kulekhani to Pharping via Chitlang and Chandra Giri 4 days walk. We can spend 7 to 8 days easily hiking around Kathmandu valley but if you have 3 to 4 days, that is enough to experience the best of hiking around Kathmandu valley.
We don’t need to organize any permits for hiking around Kathmandu but we may have to pay for the entry tickets. We can pay those entry tickets locally when we are there in person. We don’t have to organize it in advance.
Getaway Nepal Adventure (P.) Ltd
Thamel Kathmandu, Nepal
TripAdvisor