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About
Mountain Biking in Nepal
Nepal's
diverse terrain is a mountain biker's dream adventure come true.
Mountain biking offers an environmentally sound way of exploring
this magnificent country, its landscape and living heritage. Because
this is a Spartan, laborious mode of travel, it is also considered
the way to travel by the 'purists'.
There
are plenty of dirt roads and trails in Nepal to meet every mountain
biker's wildest fantasy. Mountain biking is also recommended if
you wish to explore the urban centers such as Pokhara and Kathmandu,
plus the outskirts. Imagine, if you will, a ride through lush green
rice fields, through hamlets, up and down the hillside, along the
river bank, around temples, past the street roaming cattle, along
the highway, you name it. Through snow, monsoon downpour, wonderful
light effects, or fierce head winds, depending on place and season.
The adventurous souls may plan extended trips to such exotic locales
as Tibet, Namche Bazaar, and western Nepal. You could even do the
entire length of Nepal across the plains. What you can or cannot
do on mountain bike is limited only by your imagination.
It
was in the mid 1980s that Biking activity really took off in Kathmandu
in the mid 1980s. Enthusiasts flew with their bikes from East Asia
to Tibet to do a 2-week journey from there over the passes (17,000-ft)
to Nepal. This landmark event put Nepal squarely in mountain biker's
map. Thus Kathmandu today is considered a Mecca for mountain bicyclists,
drawing hundreds of enthusiasts from all corners of the world every
year.
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Bike
Routes
Some
of the regular routes that cover the valley are those which weave
in and out of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan.
Day
1: Kathmandu (24 km/ 3-4 hours): Start from the nerve center
of old Kathmandu, the Durbar Square, and wind your way up to holy
Swambhu, also known as the monkey temple. Then ride up and over
ring road, to say, kakani, and re-enter Kathmandu from the Northwest
corner through terraced farmland and hamlets abandoned by time.
Day 2: Bhaktapur (30 km/ 4-5 hours): Begin at Thimi, the
restored capital of Bhaktapur, and head up the tortuous road to
Changu Narayan Temple and return via farming villages. Then head
down to Pashupati along the bank of the Bagmati River, and finish
up at a Buddhist shrine, the Bodh-nath stupa.
Day 3: Patan (51 km/8-9 hours): Start in Patan, winding your
way through the maze of alleys with ornately-carved windows, taking
in historical sites such as the Golden Temple, Krishna Temple, and
Patan Durbar Square. Then head southeast past Ring Road to Panauti
along a difficult off-road trail. Then return to Kathmandu via a
paved road or the same trail. Alternatively, you could head off
to Dakshinkali or Godavari.
Other outlying places popular with the enthusiasts are Nagarjuna,
Nage Gompa, Tokha, Ichangu Narayan, Gomcha, Bungmati, Kakani, Dhulikhel
and Nagarkot.
Further mountain bike trips are those extending from:
- Dhulikhel
to Kodari (82 km), near the Tibetan border
- Naubise
to Royal Chitwan Park along the Rajpath through such scenic places
as the Palung Valley, Daman, and the not-so-scenic industrial
town of Hetauda in the plains
- Hetauda
to Muglang by way of Narayanghat
- Lakeside
Pokhara up and along the ridge to Sarangkot Point, and continuing
on to Naudanda from where you could take in the breathtaking close-up
view of the Himalayas and the Pokhara Valley
- Naudanda
to Pokhara through Lumle, Beni and Birethanti, or Naudaanda to
Pokhara (32 km) either via Sarangkot trail described in 2. or
the highway track, which starts with a tortuous 6 km descent into
Modi Khola valley.
There
are many more options if you are willing to take the time to find
out and blaze your own trail.
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Recommended
Bikes
The
15-18 gear mountain bikes are recommended if you wish to negotiate
tough terrain. If you're going to be doing the exploring within
the city limits itself, observing the hustle and bustle, going shopping,
etc, one-speed Indian bicycles will do nicely. Mountain bikes are
available for rent by the day or longer in many of the bicycle rental
outlets in and around Kathmandu or Pokhara. If you wish to be better
informed about the culture, rhythm of village life, cool spots to
visit, perhaps guided trips should be undertaken.
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