Chisapani, a small hill station which is located on the northern outskirts of Kathmandu valley, Bagmati Zone, Nepal. It is situated at an elevation of 1350 m above Kathmandu. it is a small village which is full of beauty and adventure. This place is famous for hiking for a day i.e. 1-day hiking.
Chisapani offers you a stunning view of mountains and mountain ranges, tranquil forest, a beautiful village, mesmerizing view of the sunrise and sunset. We can also explore Buddhist culture as there is a Tamang village.
Hiking:
The hike to Chisapni begins from Sundarijal, Kathmandu. Sundarijal is a small village on the southeast side of Kathmandu valley which is home to a lot of waterfalls. We can go to Sundarijal from Kathmandu, the old buspark, and start hiking.
Permit:
To hike from Sundarijal to Chisapni we need to get the permit from Sundarijal which isShivapuriNagarjun National Park permit.
Duration:
Total time to reach Chisapani from Sundarijal is 4-5 hours and from Kathmandu to Sundarijal by bus is 1 hour. So the total duration to reachChisapani from Kathmandu is 5-6 hours.
Distance:
The total distance from Kathmandu to Chisapani is 22 km and the distance we hike is 9.8 km.
Best time to hike:
We can trek all around the year and in every season but still,the spring season is the best time to hike.
Itinerary:
The hike can be as short as 1 day and we can extend it to 3 days and more. We can hike and return by road on the same day, we can also stay a night and return hiking till Sakhu on the next day, we also can hike to Nagarkot and Buddhanilkantha and extend the hike for three days. It is also the entry point for the Langtang valley trek. A sample of itinerary for 2 day hike is given below:
Day 1: Travel from Kathmandu to sundarijal and hike to Chisapani
Day 2: Hike from Chisapani to Sakhu and return to Kathmandu from Sankhu by road
Explore:
As we travel passing through Sundarijal we can explore lots of mesmerizing waterfalls. We walk through the rhododendron forest, ShivapuriNagarjun National Park we can explore the dense forest and different flora and fauna there. As we pass through the Tamang village we can explore Buddhist culture too. This trek is a perfect way of exploring natural and cultural beauty.
As we reach Chisapani we can see a close view of different mountains and mountain ranges likeLangtangmountain, DorjeLakhpa, and Gaurisankhar mountain range. We can see the mind-blowing view of the sunset during the evening and a perfect view of sunrise in the morning from the height of chisapani.
We can see terrace farming, crop fields, the lifestyle of the local people residing there. If we have more days we can also explore nagarkot which is also known as the mountain viewpoint and the Budhanilkantha temple, one of the heritage-listed on UNESCO.
So if you have a limited time and less money, Chisapani is the best place to explore which is nearest to the city, where you can find peace and enjoy the stunning view of mountains and explore nature as well as culture.
=Article written by: Kusum Kharel for Land Nepal
