Bandipur Hill Walks

Bandipur Hill Walks is a two-day plan around the Newar hill town of Bandipur (about 1,030 m): a half-day loop to the Tundikhel viewpoint and Thani Mai temple on Gurungche Hill, and a walk down to Siddha Cave at Bimalnagar. On our map the first day is 4.3 km with about 260 m of climbing and the second is 3.2 km with 430 m of descent, with a stiff climb back up if you return on foot. Sources give 15 to 30 minutes to Thani Mai from the bazaar and 1 to 2 hours down to the cave, so both days are easy and can be squeezed into one. The route needs no permit and no flight, and works best between October and February, when the mountains are clear.

What the walk is like

You stay in Bandipur for both nights. Day one is a sunset walk: through the bazaar to Tundikhel, a field about the size of a football pitch with views of Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, Ganesh Himal and Langtang, then on to Thani Mai, a roofless shrine on Gurungche Hill. Day two goes down the hillside through forest to Siddha Cave, a large unlit cave that Wikipedia gives as 437 m deep. You need your own headlamp, and a jeep from Bimalnagar saves the climb back.

Day by day

Day one covers the bazaar, Tundikhel and Thani Mai: 4.3 km with about 260 m of climbing, 2 to 3 hours with time in town for the library, the temples and tea. Day two goes down to Siddha Cave: 3.2 km one way with 430 m of descent, 1.5 to 2 hours each way. Walkers who want a single day can do Thani Mai at dawn and the cave in the afternoon, but keep an hour in hand for the climb back, which is the hardest part of the whole route.

Getting there and away

Buses from Kathmandu (5 to 6 hours) and Pokhara (3 to 4 hours) stop at Dumre on the Prithvi Highway; local buses and jeeps cover the last 8 km to Bandipur. A 2016 guide gave about NPR 20 for the local bus and NPR 500 for a 4x4, shown here as items to check.

Permits, guides and costs

No permit or TIMS card is needed and Bandipur lies outside any national park, conservation area or restricted area, so no guide is required; one is optional for the cave trail. Costs are mostly the guesthouse night and the transfers; see the cost section for ranges.

Season and safety

October to February is clearest. The stone paths and the cave trail are slippery in rain, the cave is cold, and direction signs on the cave trail are scarce, so ask at your guesthouse after wet weather. See our guide rule page for the rule in full.