With the hustle, bustle and pollution in Kathmandu, being able to stay overnight in Nagarkot was really refreshing.
ABOUT NAGARKOT
Nagarkot is a village around 32 kilometers away from Kathmandu. It is said to be a great viewing deck of the Himalayan ranges (Mt. Everest included).
GOING THERE
It is possible to take the bus from Kathmandu (which is a lot cheaper) but my friends and I opted to take the taxi. It cost us NPR 2500 (~PhP1250 or ~USD30) one-way. It wasn't a huge pain in the pocket though because we divided the fare among the four of us. The [scenic and super bumpy] ride took less than 2 hours. For our way back, the taxi driver offered to pick us up the next day and charged us NPR 3000 (~PhP1500 or ~USD36).
GOING AROUND
I don't think there's much to do around Nagarkot except to relax and to enjoy the view. You can go around the village though (which is very interesting) by walking.
WHERE TO STAY
There are a bunch of hotels in Nagarkot. We stayed at Peaceful Cottage and Cafe du Mont. They have a deck which offers a 360-degree view. When I went there, they had two buildings (one of which is still under construction but some rooms can already be occupied). We stayed in the new rooms in the building under construction. They were big and fabulous for the price though still smelled of fresh paint. The toilet and bath was big and the fixtures were the expensive kind (trust me, I know these things haha). There's also a big terrace though there's nothing to see except trees and crows. However, the only problem I had with Peaceful Cottage was the comforters. The comforter on my bed smelled bad as if they weren't dried properly after washing. I ended up wearing my thick jogging pants, thick jacket and scarf to bed because it's really cold in Nagarkot. Phew.
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| A view from the deck |
I shared the room with my friend (it was a double room) and I paid only around PhP600. I wasn't able to ask my friend (who used a credit card to pay for our rooms) how much it was exactly but I would guess it's around USD25 per night.
The wi-fi in Peaceful Cottage performed great. However, wi-fi didn't reach our rooms so we had to go to the restaurant (the common area) each time we wanted to surf the net. The difference in elevation of our rooms and the restaurant is around 60 feet (around six floors) so imagine having to climb up six floors each time you need to go to the restaurant to eat or to surf the net. Added to that, the air is very thin due to the altitude so I always end up panting whenever I go up the restaurant. It wasn't bad, though. I mean, it's still exercise. :)
I don't know about the other hotels in Nagarkot but I would definitely recommend Peaceful Cottage to anyone who will stay in Nagarkot. Just make sure to ask for fresh-smelling comforters.
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| Sunset |
MY EXPERIENCE
April is totally not the best time to go to Nagarkot (it was proven by the lack of guests in the area) as the clouds cover the view of the mountains. When we went there, we saw no snow-capped mountains. The best time to go, according to the staff, is around winter when it snows but the view is really great.
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| Twilight |
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| Solar water heaters are very common in Nepal |
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| Sunrise |
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| A postcard of Nagarkot |
