Kathmandu Valley Rim on Wheels
Kathmandu Valley is a bowl encircled by a ring of hills, behind which, to the North, are the high Himalayas. This mountain bike tour begins in the centre of Kathmandu, soon leading on to undulating jeep and single tracks. The route passes through Buddhanilkantha, famed for its fifth century statue of Lord Vishnu reclining on the coil of the snake king, and then upwards through the Shivapuri National Park Reserve, and on to Chisopani from where may be enjoyed some of the best mountain views within the valley region. Other amazing panoramic viewpoints of the tour, include Nagarkot, Dhulikel and Daman, where the sunset and sunrise experiences are unsurpassable. The very varied off road, single track and rough trails of this tour are a unique and energizing experience for any rider, and include hair raising downhill runs which require extreme concentration and awareness of technical biking skills. Opportunities are included for making offerings at temples along the way to ensure safe passage! This biking trail passes through many of the World Heritage Sites in the valley, including Changu Narayan, an important Hindu temple with a fifth century stone tablet which is said to be the earliest known inscription discovered in the Kathmandu Valley. This temple is just outside the well preserved medieval city of Bhaktapur, after visiting which the trail moves on and through Khokana, the valley centre for mustard oil, which is still made using medieval methods of hand production with wooden oil presses. A visit to the important Buddhist monastery of Namo Buddha is included in the itinerary. This is a very important pilgrimage place as it is believed to be where the Buddha offered himself to a tigress as food for her hungry cub. Towards the end of the tour the route passes through the Tistung and Palung Valley where most of Kathmandu's vegetables are grown. The tour ends on the main highway at Naubise, from where there is transport back to Kathmandu, or from where it is also possible to ride if sufficient energy remains!
Itinerary at a glance
Day 1: Arrive in Kathmandu and transfer to hotel
Day 2: Morning tour briefing. Afternoon free to explore the fascinating city of Kathmandu.
Day 3: Cycle 53km to Shivapuri Reserve via Raniban. Overnight in resort.
Day 4: Cycle 40km to Chisopani. Overnight in lodge.
Day 5: Cycle 35km to Nagarkot. Overnight in hotel. .
Day 6: Explore the trails around Nagarkot and either take a rest day, or choose a short ride, ending at the medieval town of Bhaktapur for lunch, with time to explore before vehicle transfer back up the hill to Nagarkot; or ride back there if you prefer. Overnight in hotel.
Day 7: Cycle 65km to Dhulikhel. Overnight in resort.
Day 8: Cycle 37km to Lakhure Bhanjyang via Namo Buddha (one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites) and the medieval town of Panauti. Overnight adventure tented camp.
Day 9: Cycle 40km to Dakshhin Kali via Bungmati, another medieval town. Overnight in hotel.
Day 10:Cycle 35km to Kulekhani. Overnight camping.
Day 11:Cycle uphill to Daman. Overnight in hotel.
Day 12:Cycle 68km back to Naubise and transport back to Kathmandu. Overnight in hotel.
Day 13:Leisure day in Kathmandu
Day 14:Transfer to Airport for Departure
Date & Price
All ACCESS-HIMALAYA adventure travel trips are small group departures and therefore places can fill quickly. To avoid disappointment, we suggest you book your trip as soon as possible.
Availability Explained
- A AVAILABLE - Trip date is available and open for bookings. Go for it!
- G GUARANTEED - Trip is reached minimum numbers and this is 'Guaranteed to Run'
- L LIMITED - Trip is 'Guaranteed to Run' and there are a very limited number of available places remaining. Immediate booking is recommended.
- C CLOSED - Trip has reached maximum numbers and it is unavailable. Please Contact Us to enquire about other trip departure dates or booking this trip as a private departure
Trip Info (Tour/Trek Styles) Explained
- PG Private Group: This style of trip is organized for specific groups of people (families, friends,school and college students, colleagues, business associates etc.), and is closed to outsiders. If you are interested in this particular trip departure date then please get in touch with us.
- OA Open to All: This trip departure is open to all. However, if you are interested in this particular trip departure date but want your own private group, then please get in touch with us.
- LT Lodge Based Trip/Trek: This trip/trek is lodge (teahouse) based. All accommodation, including food, is provided in local lodges. Occasionally however, where a large group is concerned we may choose to send our own cook along, as well, to take care of your food hygiene and to cook some special additional items.We provide all necessary documentation, including permits, and arrange all internal transport. We provide trekking guide, assistant guide(s) and porters/animals for transport of your gear. You merely carry a daysack with essentials, including water.
- CT Camping Based Trip/Trek: This trip/trek is camping (tent) based. We will provide one 3-man tent for every two people, also single tents, where requested, on payment of supplementary costs. All food and drinks are provided by our experienced cook and his kitchen team. We provide all necessary documentation, including permits, and arrange all internal transport. We provide trekking guide, assistant guide(s), cook, kitchen crew, food and drink, and porters/animals for transport of your gear. You merely carry a daysack with essentials, including water.
- GAP Guide, Accommodation & Porter only: In this trip neither food nor transportation is included. Clients are responsible for food and local transportation, and our responsibility is to provide insured guide, insured porter, and all necessary permits. All additional costs are the responsibility of the clients, including charges incurred as a result of delays or cancellation of services beyond our control. Clients pay for their own accommodation. Any additional costs are the responsibility of the clients, We can arrange hotels and international airport transfer, on request.
- SG Self Guided/Budget Trip: This trip is specially designed for low-budget travellers who prefer fairly basic facilities with reduced services. It is a pre-requisite that a porter is hired for any self-guided trip, which is an ideal set-up for those who enjoy independent travel with minimum cost. We have added support to minimise the hard work of planning and costing, and we will be available to help in the unlikely event of an emergency. We will arrange all documentation (including permits), before you arrive in Nepal, so that you are free to get on with your adventure, relying only on your porter to help you on your way. All additional costs are the responsibility of the clients, including charges incurred as a result of delays or cancellation of services beyond our control. Hotel accommodation, local transportation and international airport transfers may be arranged, on request.
If our fixed departure dates are not convenient for you or your group, we can also arrange private departures on all of our small group tours. Private group departures will follow the same itineraries as our usual small group tours, or itineraries may be tailormade to suit your own convenient tour date/budgets.
Itineraries may be tailor-made to suit your dates. So if you can’t find a date to suit you or if you want to have your very own tour just with your friends or family then we can help you.
Customised Private Groups:
For most of our usual tours, or itineraries, where there is a group numbering 2 or more, we can customise and organise private group trip(s) where we design the itinerary and activities exclusively for you, according to your requirements and budgets, such as Honeymoon, Anniversary, Family, Scouts, School, College, Fundraising or Charity trips. Find out more about our private group tours.
To enquire about booking a private departure of this tour or about organising your own private group tour, please fill in the form below and we will get back to you shortly with details.
