A scenic day hike of Shivapuri Day Hiking Tour about 2-3 hours uphill to Shivapuri at the height of 2,540 m high offering grand panorama of snow peaks with whole Kathmandu valley, this pleasant hike includes the tour of Buddhanilkantha a sacred Hindu religious site of great importance and beauty of sleeping Lord Vishnu on a bed of serpent.
Our day activities for Shivapuri Day Hiking Tour start after breakfast where our guide picks you up at 9 a.m. for a short scenic drive towards the north of Kathmandu valley rim reaching Buddhanilkantha town and the holy sites also known as Narayanthan dedicated to Lord Vishnu.
After Buddhanilkantha drive leads to a step up to the entrance of Shivapuri Watershed and Wildlife Reserve at present placed as Shivapuri National Park.
From the entrance gate after getting the ticket to enter inside the park premises starting our walk in pristine natural surrounding covered in beautiful rhododendron-pines-fir-magnolia and oak tree lines, walk leads to a climb for few hours in the cool shade of the forest, as the walking progress reaching the top of Shivapuri Hill at 2,540 m high with amazing panorama of mountains from Ganesh-Langtang to Jugal Himal range with views of Kathmandu valley below.
Shivapuri a nice spot with perfect tranquility and natural surrounding where lots of exotic bird life can be spotted like magpies, sunbirds, and ruby throats.
After refreshing moment heading downhill back to the entrance gate for a short drive to visit a holy Hindu site at Buddhanilkantha, an enchanting Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu Narayan. So the locality is also known as Narayanthan. He lies in a bed of serpents amidst the pious pool and seems to float on water. The surrounding pond actually represents the sea. The reclining statue was built in the 5th century A.D. The season of religious celebration here takes place right after the festival of Tihar.
Although it is a renowned spot of worship, the reigning king of Nepal (may it be contemporary or any Hindu monarch) may not visit this place for reasons particularly unknown. Thus to please the king a replica of it has been built elsewhere if he wishes to visit it much.
After a great interesting day with hike to Shivapuri and visit of holy Buddhanilkantha drive back to your hotels which will be approx 4-5 p.m.
