Culture Trip / Kathmandu Valley / Nepal

Namobuddha Monastery Hike

5±1 hrs

Moderate

USD 76

Perched on the eastern horizon of Kathmandu valley lies mystical and peaceful Namobuddha Monastery, complemented by a backdrop of the mighty Himalayas and pristine trails through secluded backcountry.

Overview

5±1 hrs Total Duration

15.2 Km Total Distance

Namobuddha Trip Start Point

Balthali Trip Finish Point

Moderate Difficulty Level

Highlights

	The revered Namobuddha Monastery, one of the largest in Kathmandu valley and likely the most photogenic
	Panorama of mountains seen from the ridge and monastery of Namobuddha
	Peaceful farm walks through 6km of pleasant, gradual downhill from Namobuddha to Balthali
	Views of rugged hilly landscapes of Phulchowki and her foothills seen on the way down to Eklekhet
	Pristine villages with old Nepali houses, and traditional lifestyle
	Plenty of Buddhist temples and Buddhist chhortens along the way
	Walking over suspension bridge in the deep ravines of Eklekhet
	Finishing at a resort in Balthali with quite a Nepali postcard scenery of farms, houses, forests and mountains

Group Size	Price per person
1 to 3	Inquire
4 to 7	USD 76
8 and above	USD 65

Scroll to price details

Itinerary

Pickup schedule will be updated on Friday 8:00pm (the night before hike). Please check back then.

9:15am	Drive to trailhead, briefing and start hiking About 1 hour drive from Ring Road (Koteswor) to trailhead
Approx 12:00pm	Lunch break at 6.5km mark
Approx 3:45pm	Finish hiking, brief stop for loo and refreshments
Approx 4:15pm	Drive back to city About 1.5 hours drive from finish to Ring Road (Koteswor)

Prices

Group Size	Price per person
1 to 3	Inquire
4 to 7	USD 76
8 and above	USD 65

Includes

	Transportation Pick up from pre-determined locations to trailhead Drop off from finish point back to the city
	Food Sandwich (chicken and veg options) Trail mix (peanuts, cashews, almonds, chocolate and sour patches) Cookies from Lemon Tree Bakery Potato chips and cheese balls Hydration (water and electrolytes)
	Crew Lead guide (with first aid kit) Assistant guide, support guide and sweeper (all with first aid kit)
	Misc Government taxes Admin, arrangement, trail designing and services

Excludes

Soda, tea/coffee and alcoholic beverages (Please bring small change)
Additional food
Travel Insurance
Tips/gratuities for hike guides (10 to 15% of trip price is recommended)
Taxi cost if you need to cut the hike short for any reason

Important Details

Health & Safety

You will be accompanied by experienced and knowledgeable tour guide equipped with a first aid kit. Always follow their instructions and stick to designated paths.

While Nepal is generally very safe, there is still a possibility of pickpocketing in touristy areas. Pack your passport, flight tickets, phone, wallet, camera equipment, cash, and all your valuables in your day pack or waist belt. Please don’t bring or carry expensive items like jewelry etc or a large sum of cash while traveling for security reasons.

Water safety is very crucial as one can easily contract waterborne diseases. Drinking tap water is not advised and we recommend drinking boiled/ filtered or bottled water only.

Logistics

Vehicle We provide reserved private vehicles to drive you around for pick-ups and drop-offs as per the itinerary. The vehicle type (car, jeep, van, etc) will be allocated depending on the number of people and terrain.

Food

Meals are left out from price includes to give you full flexibility, depending on your appetite and preference. The hotels and restaurants are hygienic, and have a good selection of food and drink options. For vegetarians and vegans, or if you have any other dietary requirements, please let us know at the time of booking so we can make arrangements.

It is recommended to bring snacks (like chocolates, dry fruits, etc) and energy bars to munch on during the tour.

Water Carrying your own water bottle/hydration pack is mandatory. It is always best to have a bottle (1.5-2 liters) during the tour. You can refill your bottle with boiled or bottled drinking water available at lunch spots and hotels. We highly discourage buying plastic water bottles for environmental reasons.

Toilets While you will find Western-style toilets in hotels and proper restaurants, squat toilets are common in public places and near heritage sites. Toilets may not have running water at all times, resulting in an unpleasant smell. Make sure to bring your own toiletries. Females are advised to carry their sanitary napkins.

Connectivity & Wifi For cellular service, a reliable and hassle-free option is to purchase an international calling plan from your home cell service provider. Another alternative is to buy a local SIM card. NCell and Nepal Telecom are common carriers, both of which offer good network coverage in major cities and towns. Wi-Fi is generally available in most hotels and restaurants, and it’s usually quite fast.

Crew

Tour Guide One lead licensed tour guide and assistant guides (depending on the group size) will accompany you on the trip. All our tour guides speak fluent English, and are highly experienced with an in-depth knowledge of local culture.

Driver You will be accompanied by a driver most of the time. For multi-day trips, vehicle and driver may vary from day to day.

Money

Extra costs to expect Possible expenses, other than meals, could be drinks, tipping, and shopping. Please make sure you have read the Price section thoroughly so you know what you might need to pay for while traveling.

Currency You are advised to carry the local currency (Nepali rupees) as all the service providers transact in rupees.

ATMS and Credit cards In cities, you will find ATMs in numerous locations. Additionally, most hotels, restaurants, and big shops accept credit cards, with an additional fee (usually around 3-5%) applied on top. However, outside of cities and in smaller shops and eateries, cash is the preferred payment method, and ATMs are limited.

Tipping A service charge with tips is included by most hotels and eateries in their bills. For the crew, you are welcome to give some gratuities if you like their service. A good reference is around USD 15-20 per day for the guides and USD 10-15 per day for the drivers, as a group. Feel free to tip higher if you love their service.

Checklist

What to pack

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Sign Up

1. Drop us a line

Send us a message using any of the methods below. Please also mention:

Full name
Pickup location (see Pickups in Itinerary section)
Allergies, if any
Choice of sandwich (chicken or veg)
For group registrations, please mention names and details of each member in the same message, specifying if anyone is 17 y/o or under.

2. Clear Payments

Deadline to pay: Friday 5pm (one day before hike). To confirm your spot, please clear all payments. For online app payments, please clearly mention names of all hikers you’re paying for (family members, friends, etc).

Fonepay app for vonKathmandu’s bank account:

payment_QR_vonKathmandu

On remarks/notes: Please clearly mention who you are paying for and what distances

See Prices section for cancellation and refund policies

3. Show up on time

That’s about it. Please show up on time with the required hiking gear. We don’t want to keep anyone waiting. The Itinerary section details all timings, including pickups and contact for the same. See you on the trails!

Hiking and trekking with vonKathmandu has been the highlight of my life since moving to Nepal. The trek I went on with this company was an amazing experience and I can’t say enough about how wonderful everything was planned.

Cameron Monti

VonKathmandu provides a personal touch. They want you to have a wonderful time because they are passionate about the mountains and trekking themselves.

Tom Pellens

They really went above and beyond to ensure we had an epic journey, from making sure we had all our needs met, to celebrating special occasions, to making sure we had the closest table to the warm stove!

Cabaku

I have used several other trekking guides in Nepal and although nearly all of them have been very good, vonKathmandu is the best.

Sally Templeton

I’ve been taking hikes with them for three years, and they just keep getting better. Always great views and great company. Totally recommend vonKathmandu.

Bindi Borg

Thank you introducing us to Tanzing. We had awesome time with him. He is a great guy and so much fun. Rich

Rich and Pat

We had the most fantastic time! Thank you so much for everything!!!!! We are blown away by the beauty of the country, the hospitality of the people, the rich culture and nature. Phunu is just fantastic!!!

Verena Eberhard

Von Kathmandu was so good to us and took us on so many fun adventures. We hiked with them to Namobuddha, Bungamati, and Pilot Baba Ashram, all of which were stunning

Georgia R

Wonderful experience and exceptional organization! I thoroughly enjoyed myself and will definitely be signing up for another hike.

Curiosity30697130296

We had a most outstanding 9 days trip to Mohare and around Pokhara. Congrats also for the very knowledgeable and smart organizational skills of team vonkathmandu that made these days very special to us. We will come back!

Stephan and Malena Grabherr

Von Kathmandu looked after every detail from the start to the end of our wonderful trek up to Kanjin at the top of the Langtang trail. We had an excellent guide (Ramesh Tamang who spoke good English and was extremely knowledgeable). We will come again and use their great services soon.

Andy Brown

The hike was absolutely fantastic. Great team, great views and landscape, professional organization, super care… You guys do a perfect job. It can’t get more professional than that.

Carolin Spannuth Verma

Outside the busy season, we had the opportunity to sit with the locals around the wood fire ovens and to listen to their stories about bears raiding the village..

Sabrina Schmidt Koschella

And we received the best care ever from our guide Phura Sherpa as well as the porters Suresh and Uttarman. (While I don’t speak Nepali, I loved listening to Phura sing while we hiked. An added bonus!)

Anna Ruth

Amazing hikes with great people. You can tell a lot of thought and planning goes into creating the most interesting route possible.

Chris Hofmann

Good friendly and safety conscious guides and the bonus is that the guides are snapping away all day taking high quality photos which they share after the walk.

David Masters

They were well-organized, effective, and fun in their approach!

Sonya Martin

Super well organized- you don’t have to think- just enjoy the incredible scenery. Great chance to meet new folks. What a great way to spend the day- out of the city in nature.

Kimberly Waller

Vonkathmandu knows how to accommodate your wishes and tailors the programme accordingly with great flexibility and a personal touch. We had a great trek to Pikey Peak!

Arjanne Rietsema

They know the best trails in Kathmandu valley, honed with week after week of recce hiking. Together they bring some of the best crew and do not compromise on the quality of service.

Raj Gyawali

The thing that I love about vonKathmandu is that they take care of each and every small detail for you, you just have to show up for an adventure. They know the hills / mountains, they know the good spots to take in the views and they really make the whole thing worth your while.

Shruti Sharma

Throughout the whole trip I always felt well supported by vonKathmandu, whenever I had a question they answered it right away and they were always caring about how I was doing. I would highly recommend to do your Nepal trip with those guys, they are just great

Milan Marck

Glad to discover new places to hike through local villages and the different ridges, very professionally done from the pre-trip info, briefing, logistics etc! Thank you!

Katherine Mah

Huge fan of the day hikes! They offer a fantastic break from the city to hike for hours through beautiful, pristine landscapes, but you still sleep in our own bed afterwards.

Erika Hoffman

Well organized, friendly people, great safe trails and you get to meet lots of interesting people. Plus the views are always spectacular!

Tara Ealy

Stunning views of sprawling terraces and seas of yellow mustard flowers. Highly recommend, and will be certain to travel through von Kathmandu on my next trip.

Nathaniel Glidden

Amazing experience! One of the most beautiful hikes I’ve been on, and I never would have been able to find it by myself.

Anna Hamilton

Fun hike, the crew members are very accommodating participants’ needs, well-organised, great way to discover the beauty of the Valley. Highly recommended!

Pungky Utami

Great team and amazing landscapes! Highly recommend this experience. Very well prepared guides were always kind and helpful.

Gabriel de Carvalho Morand

Perfect intro to the wonders of Kathmandu Valley and surrounding moutain ridges. A nice, friendly and well organised group.

Rob Fielding

Namobuddha Monastery Hike