Chandragiri Hills

Chandragiri is a popular municipality in Kathmandu district. Chandragiri Hill, Nepal, and its cable car are the primary attractions of the city. Situated on the southwest side of the Kathmandu Valley, Chandragiri Hill is 16 km from Central Kathmandu. It is 2551m above sea level. The valley is one of four hills, including Shivapuri (2732m), Phulchowki (2695m) and Nagarjun (2695m) (2095m). Nowadays, Chandragiri is being chosen to liberate the mind and brain from dust, smoke, and polluted urban environments. Due to the greenery, cool and serene surroundings, this place is everyone’s choice. After the operation of the cable car, a large number of people from Kathmandu visit Chandragiri daily for sightseeing.

Chandragiri has become an excellent place of entertainment for the people from Kathmandu and outlying districts in the valley. Also, Chandragiri has become an attractive destination for domestic and foreign tourism. Today, more than 1000 people visit this place daily. Chandragiri Hills Limited has leased 36 acres of land in Chandragiri Parbat from the government. Out of them, infrastructure has been developed in 5 bighas as per the need. The responsibility of forest protection of the remaining land is also given to Chandragiri Limited. The company has leased the site for 40 years.

Views from Chandragiri Hill

Chandragiri hill is a most preferable place to enjoy natural beauty of Nepal. Chandragiri, which is covered with dense forest, is also important from the point of view of human health. The cool and serene atmosphere here makes the mind happy. The weather here, which changes moment by moment, continues to give variety. The highest peak, Mount Everest, can be seen from the Chandragiri peak. From here, Mount Everest is in the northeast direction. Most of the mountains of Nepal can be seen from here. You can see the 180-degree view of most of the 8,000m above peaks in Nepal.

Chandragiri hill is also a suitable destination for observing sunrise and sunset. The view of sunrise from the Himalayas and sunset from the western hills is exciting from here. Kathmandu city can be seen from here. It is also an important tourist destination where you can see the mountains, greenery, and the capital city together.

What is in Chandragiri? 

Manual kindergartens for children’s entertainment, a well-equipped bar for holidays, a state-of-the-art 3D hall for conventions and a view tower restaurant have added charm to the beauty of Chandragiri hills. Many well-equipped boutique hotels have been built here, and many of them are under construction for those who want to spend the night here.

There are plans to add tourist infrastructure including an amusement park, horse riding and jeep flyer. The company has purchased 120 ropanis of land and built a base station. There is a well-organized parking lot, restaurant, coffee shop and physical infrastructure.

Chandragiri Cable Car 

It is possible to access Chandragiri by cable car vehicle or trekking. After Manakamana the second cable car was started in Nepal, Chandragiri. The journey is roughly 2.5 kilometres long and depending on the wind speed on the cable car, it takes between 9 to 14 minutes. The Kathmandu Valley, the scenery and the mountains from the cable car is an exciting and entertaining experience. The hill offers magnificent views of the Kathmandu valley and the Himalayan ranges from Annapurna to Everest. The trip from the Central Valley of Kathmandu is simply one day. Chandragiri Cable Car begins from Thankot and ends at Chandragiri hills.  There are 38 gondolas on the cableway system, capable of carrying 1000 people each hour.

To ride in cable cars, one needs to buy a ticket. The price of the cable car fluctuates as per the nation. The table below shows the prevailing rate of cable car:

Chandragiri Cable Car Discount

Chandragiri offers various kinds of discount offers depending upon their age, height, position, and health condition. The discount offer is shown in the table below:

Note: Children below 11 years old must be with the adults to ride in a cable car. 

Bhaleshwar Mahadev

There is a legend that when Mahadev carried the dead body of Goddess Sati who sacrificed herself in the Daksha Prajapati yajna, ‘Bhaleshwar’ Mahadev was born at the place where the forehead of Goddess Sati fell. As the Bhaleshwar Temple is located at the top station of Chandragiri Hills, it is equally important in the promotion of religious tourism. This temple is also called ‘Ichchapureshwar’ or ‘Ichchheshwar’ because Bhaleshwar Mahadev, who resides in this place, is popular as God who fulfills the desires of the devotees. Visiting this temple is believed to fulfill one’s wish and to live in Shivlok.

How to get there?

One must get to Thankot, a one-hour drive from the capital of Kathmandu, in order to access Chandragiri. Vehicles are available from Kathmandu to Thankot. The cable car station can be reached from the same vehicle. If you come from Koteshwar or Gongabu or Chabhiel, first, you can reach Kalanki and take another bus to Thankot. About 1.5 km to the left of the Thankot check post, you can find the Besh station. From there, 38 gondolas, or cable cars, built using state-of-the-art Austrian technology take you to Chandragiri’s top station in 13 minutes. The distance of the cable car is about 2.5 kilometres. After landing at the top station, one can walk a short distance to visit Bhaleshwar Mahadev.

-By: Kusum Kharel for Land Nepal