Nagarkot

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With Alex away for the weekend on a school trip to Chitwan, I thought it would be a good idea to get out and bike up a hill where I would (I hoped) to be able to see some mountains. A friend and I decided to bike to the top of Nagarkot. We met up early, as the best views are generally in the mornings before the clouds set in. We started on the Araniko Highway (A nice new highway that links Kathmandu with China via Tibet) But due to the dust and the unrelenting traffic, it was nicer to slip onto the back road that runs parallel to the Araniko Highway and passes through Thimi. After Thimi was Bhaktapur and then the climb. It's 10 miles from the bottom to the top, and though its not the steepest hill in the world it's just long and unrelenting. We kept on riding through the town of Nagarkot and up to the top. Nagarkot Viewing tower is one of the highest points on western side of the basin at 2195m. This claimed to have good views of the Langtang mountain range but by the time that we had got to the top the only views we got were of the Kathmandu basin. These views were incredible but not what we had hoped for!

At the viewing tower we stopped for some food. I am beginning to learn that Nepali hospitality is always excellent but the contents of their kitchens' can be a rather a miss match affair. We rather ambitiously hopped for a hot lunch of dhal baht and at 1030am didn't think this was too unreasonable. After asking the waiter he sort of panicked, ran away to come back a minute later with the response "it's not now". After going through the standard Nepali menu choices (momos and chow mein) and getting no luck with any of them, we resorted to asking him what he could cook to which he responded: "noodles?" Not sure to the exact meaning of this, we naively said yes. He then proceeded to pick up 2 packets of instant noodles and asked "2 packets ok?". But after that the food got better, as mid morning it was evidently snack time at the top of Nagarkot. He also had in the back of his little shop some cold potato salad, Pakoras (like an onion bhaji but filled with other vegetable fillings) and Nepali doughnuts. From a rather dubious beginning we managed to eat a feast at the top and it was hard getting on our bikes after our food.

The trip down took a fraction of the time that it took getting to the top. I think it took 3 and a half from Bhaktapur to the top, and 30mins from the top back to Bhaktapur. The way down we followed a new route down that had only just been opened and the road was very nice! Its not a route that I would want to take going up due to the steepness and sharp climb that it entails, but coming down was quick and excellarating.

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