Nagarjuna Hill Nature Walk
An Easy 3-Hour Kathmandu Valley Nature Walk
Nagarjuna Hill, covered by protected forest, is rich in fauna and flora, and you may spot leopards, wild boar, deer, and many birds. The Park is dense, with a mid-hill forest at 1,000 to 1,800 meters above sea level.
Nagarjuna Hill is one of the nearest hiking points in Kathmandu Valley, in the Shivapuri-Nagarjuna National Park. The Park was established in 1976 and gazetted as the ninth National Park of Nepal in 2002. Nagarjuna Hill, covered with protected forest, is rich in fauna and flora, and one may spot leopards, wild boar, deer, and many birds. The Park is dense, with a mid-hill forest at 1,000 to 1,800 meters above sea level. It consists of the subtropical broadleaf forests of evergreen species in the lower parts and upper subtropical forest with Chir pine, wild Himalayan cherry, oak and laurel families mixed with rhododendron species. The Park area, with 129 mushrooms and 2,122 floral species, is the watershed for most evergreen springs that feed the densely populated Kathmandu Valley.
The hiking starting point is just 3 kilometers away from the center of Thamel, Kathmandu. This beautiful day excursion takes 3 hours of easy hiking from the check-in point entrance at Balaju. Nagarjuna is a special place for local Buddhist communities, and it is fabled far and wide in Tibet and Bhutan. The mountain Nagarjuna is named after one of the most prominent Buddhist philosophers, Nagarjuna, founder of the Madhyamika school of Mahayana Buddhism and head of Nalanda University. The Newari people of the Kathmandu Valley know the hill as Jamacho, and the Sherpas and Tibetans know it as Langda Lungda. This sacred hill is also known as Vindhya Hill, the tallest hill. The mountain top has a Buddhist monastery and a Stupa. The site is a must-visit for anyone in Kathmandu, especially Buddhist pilgrims and nature lovers. The belief is that if you cannot reach Nagarjuna Hill, there is a stupa at Bhagwan Bahal, in the heart of Thamel, and visiting it is like visiting Nagarjuna Hill. From the top of Nagarjuna, you get an excellent view of Kathmandu, Swayambunath Stupa, and the mountain scenery of Langtang, Jugal, and Ganesh.
