I spent about a week and a half in Nagarkot, which is on the outskirts of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. You can see Kathmandu and it’s neighbouring city Bhaktapur from the mountaintops in Nagarkot, but it’s a world away. Before going to Nagarkot I was in Kathmandu trying to use Google to find the best next stop, but when it came to Nagarkot I couldn’t find much info that wasn’t related to trekking (actually it’s hard to find any information related to Nepal that isn’t related to trekking). So, now that I’ve been there, I wanted to share what you can do in Nagarkot that’s not trekking-related.
So, what can you do in Nagarkot? Not much, but that’s kind of the point. Nagarkot is a small village at the top of a mountain, and it’s likely one of the most relaxed places I’ve ever visited combined with some of the nicest people. My days primarily consisted of hanging out in my hotel, The End of the Universe, which is a group of cabins on the edge of the town. The staff there were amazing, several different people happened to be staying there for an extended time just like myself, and along with the staff we became friends. When the staff’s workload lightened at the end of each night, they more often than not started playing music, singing with the guests, and teaching us Nepali dance. I now know that to dance like a Nepali you just have to either pretend to unscrew lightbulbs or pretend to ride a motorcycle.
This video gives a good idea of what a night in the hotel was like more often than not, and you were always invited to join.
Around the town of Nagarkot you’re just going to want to spend your time relaxing, and maybe head out for a walk each day. I’m not an expert on trekking, but around Nagarkot I’d say it’s more like a nice walk than trekking. There are trails around the town that you can take which have been specifically built for tourists (though there were not many tourists there when I visited in the off-season), but there are also many many roads and trails that the locals use to get around, and these were always my favorite.
A quick video from one of these roads is posted below to give you an idea of what to expect.