Taking a Break: A Hike to Nagi Gompa

A view over the cities of Nepal

I have learned from my many trips to Nepal that it is important to take a break from the crowded polluted city of Kathmandu and the challenges of shopping and packing for the Holiday Bazaar, meetings with BSF staff, and taking videos and pictures all the children. So I took a day to hike with Yogesh and Himal into the Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park on the north side of Kathmandu, just outside the city. It is a short ride to Budhanikantha, one of the towns where you can enter the park. 

In Budhanikantha, there is a beautiful temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Lord Vishnu. It is one of my favorite places in Nepal and one that I visited on my very first trip in 2000.  I have never forgotten its beauty and spiritual energy. The temple houses the floating statue of sleeping Vishnu, which is carved from a single block of basalt and is quite sacred and mysterious. 

From the temple, we walked up the hill, out of the town, and into the national park. The forest is an amazingly quiet, a welcome respite from the chaos of the city; it is thick and green with many well-marked trails. 

We picked a trail leading to the Nagi Gompa, a Buddhist nunnery. We walked up several miles and just when I thought we were there, what seemed like a thousand steps (it was probably actually less) appeared as the last part of the trail to the very top. 

After climbing the steps, we were rewarded with paths marked by thick golden flowers and plants and gorgeous views of the Kathmandu valley.

The Nagi Gompa monestary

We took time to sit and meditate in the colorful monastery and listen to the chanting and musical instruments of the Tibetan nuns. The nuns were welcoming and open to visitors and so were the jumping and playing monkeys that overtook the entrance to the monastery!

The monkeys waiting by the steps to the monestary

It was a great hike and a lovely day, and it was fun spend time with Yogesh and Himal. At the end, I, for one, was really tired. Of course I was hiking with Yogesh who likes to do 34 mile runs through the forest! I seriously think he hardly broke a sweat the entire time!

Himal (left) and Yogesh (right)