Sundarijal: The Gateway to Shivapuri, Chisapani and the End of the Helambu Trail

Most people who book a Kathmandu trek never hear the word Sundarijal. It is a village on the north-eastern edge of the valley, about 15 kilometres from the city, and it matters to us in three ways. It is where our one-day Shivapuri hike ends, where our three-day Sundarijal to Nagarkot trek begins, and where our 13-day Langtang and Gosainkunda trek finishes. This page is about the village itself, what our own itineraries say about it, and where our height figures come from.

Where is Sundarijal and what is it?

According to Wikipedia, Sundarijal is a village and former village development committee that is now part of Gokarneshwar Municipality in Kathmandu District, about 15 kilometres north-east of the capital. The name comes from sundari, meaning beautiful, and jal, meaning water. The Bagmati River rises in this area and, as Wikipedia puts it, has been a major source of water for the Kathmandu Valley since the Rana period. Wikipedia also records a temple to the goddess Sundarimai where the Nagmati meets the Bagmati, a hydropower station commissioned in 1934 with a British government grant, and a population of 2,552 at the 2011 census.

One more piece of history is worth knowing. Wikipedia says that in 1960 several Nepali Congress leaders, including B.P. Koirala, were taken to the Sundarijal military detention camp and held there without trial for eight years, and that the site is now the B.P. Museum. I have not visited the museum, so I cannot tell you its opening hours or what is inside.

How long does it take to get there from Kathmandu?

Our three-day trek itinerary says the drive from your Kathmandu hotel to Sundarijal takes 40 to 50 minutes. Our one-day hike itinerary says the drive back from Sundarijal to your hotel is about 45 minutes. On our 13-day Langtang trek you do not have a vehicle waiting: the last-day itinerary says you catch local transport back to Kathmandu.

What is Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park and what does it cost to enter?

The forest above Sundarijal belongs to Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park. Wikipedia describes it as Nepal's ninth national park, established in 2002, covering 159 square kilometres on the northern edge of the Kathmandu Valley and named after Shivapuri Peak at 2,732 metres. It began as a protected watershed and wildlife reserve in 1976, and the Nagarjun forest was added in 2009.

The entry fee, from the Nepal Tourism Board park fee page as we last read it on 4 October 2026, is NPR 1,000 per person per entry for foreign visitors and NPR 600 for SAARC nationals, with children under 10 free. Our one-day and three-day packages list the park entry permit as included. On every route we describe here you stop at a park checkpoint to complete the formalities before you enter the forest. If you walk independently, expect to pay at that checkpoint.

Our Shivapuri day hike guide and Nagarkot to Chisapani guide use the same Tourism Board figures.

Which of our trips touch Sundarijal?

Trip	What happens at Sundarijal	Source
Sundarijal Hiking, 1 day	Pick-up at 7.30 to 8.00 am, Budhanilkantha, a 20-minute walk to the park checkpoint, Nagi Gompa, Tarebhir cliff, then a descent to Sundarijal and a drive back. About 18 km and 5 to 6 hours	Our itinerary, day 1
Sundarijal, Chisapani and Nagarkot, 3 days	Day 1: drive to Sundarijal, trek up to Chisapani, 13 km and 5 to 6 hours, night in Chisapani. Day 2: Chisapani to Nagarkot, 15 km and 5 to 6 hours. Day 3: Nagarkot sunrise, Changu Narayan, drive to Kathmandu	Our itinerary, days 1 to 3
Langtang and Gosainkunda, 13 days	Day 13: from Chisopani down to Sundarijal, past the park checkpoint, water reservoirs and large pipes, then local transport to Kathmandu	Our itinerary, day 13

How high is Sundarijal, and where do our figures come from?

No official Nepali page I could find gives a height for these villages. I checked the Nepal Tourism Board, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and the Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park pages on 4 October 2026, and none of them lists one. So we use satellite elevation data, the Copernicus digital elevation model read at OpenStreetMap coordinates, and we use the same figures on every page. That puts Sundarijal at 1,380 metres (4,528 ft), Chisapani at 2,165 metres (7,103 ft), Nagarkot at 2,175 metres (7,136 ft) and Nagi Gompa at about 2,100 metres (6,890 ft). Shivapuri Peak is 2,732 metres. A satellite figure is an average over a patch of ground, and a phone or GPS watch will read differently by tens of metres, so treat every altitude on this page as approximate. On these numbers the climb from Sundarijal to Chisapani is about 785 metres, which is simple subtraction and not a measured figure. Some of our older itineraries spell the village Chisopani, and it is the same place.

How far is it from Sundarijal to Chisapani?

Our three-day itinerary says 13 kilometres and five to six hours, climbing stone steps through forest past the Sundarijal waterfalls and the water pipeline that supplies Kathmandu. Wikipedia describes the Sundarijal to Chisapani trek as almost 22 kilometres long. I cannot reconcile the two without walking it with a GPS, so I will tell you what we plan for: five to six hours at a steady pace with short stops. The route you take, and where you join the trail, can change the distance.

Is Sundarijal the start or the end of the Helambu trail?

It is the end of our Langtang route, and a start for the short treks. Wikipedia describes Helambu as a region of highland villages, home to the Hyolmo people, about 80 kilometres from Kathmandu, beginning at the Lauribina La pass and descending to the Melamchi valley. Our 13-day Langtang trek crosses that pass on day 10 at 4,610 metres, reaches Ghopte, then follows the ridge south. Day 11 goes to Kutumsang by Tharepati, Magin Goth and Kuala Bhanjyang. Day 12 passes Gul Bhanjyang and Pati Bhanjyang on the way to Chisopani. Day 13 is the walk down to Sundarijal.

To read about the Helambu villages themselves, see our Helambu region guide and our Tarkeghyang village guide.

What can you see on the way?

The itineraries describe the same few things. There are waterfalls and a long water pipeline near the village, the old hydropower station, and dense forest above it. On the three-day trek, Chisapani is the first night, and our itinerary lists Ganesh Himal, Langtang, Langtang Lirung, Gaurishankar, Dorje Lakpa and Jugal Himal as the views from there on a clear morning. The Langtang itinerary says Langtang, Ganesh Himal and possibly the far Everest range. It does not promise any of it, and neither do I. The monsoon cloud decides.

On wildlife, Wikipedia lists a 2003 to 2004 field study that recorded leopard, Himalayan black bear, jungle cat, wild boar and Hanuman langur in the park, and a checklist of 318 bird species published by Bird Conservation Nepal in 2006. Recorded is not the same as seen. On a day walk you are far more likely to meet monkeys and birds than a leopard.

Is there a one-day option, and what does it include?

Yes. Our one-day itinerary drives to Budhanilkantha, about 8 kilometres and 30 to 40 minutes north of Kathmandu, to see the reclining Vishnu statue, then walks in. According to the itinerary it is a 20-minute walk to the army checkpoint, a 30 to 45-minute climb to Nagi Gompa, a Tamang Buddhist monastery with views over the Kathmandu Valley, and a forest trail past Tarebhir cliff. It ends at Sundarijal. The package lists a licensed guide and the park entry permit as included. If you want the longer Shivapuri summit day, read our Shivapuri day hike guide.

When is the best time to go?

I do not have a Sundarijal-specific weather record, so here is what I can source. Wikipedia says the park gets about 1,400 millimetres of rain a year, mostly from May to September, with 80 per cent of it in the monsoon, and that winter temperatures run from 2 to 17 degrees Celsius and summer from 19 to 30. That points to October and November, or March to May, for dry trails and the best chance of a mountain view. Dashain brings a public holiday from 17 to 23 October 2026, so read our Dashain guide before you plan transport that week. If you want to continue east from Chisapani, our Nagarkot to Chisapani guide covers that ridge from the other direction, and Changu Narayan is the last stop on our three-day trek.

Do you need a guide here?

Sundarijal and Shivapuri are not restricted areas. Our one-day and three-day packages both list a licensed, English-speaking guide, and that is how we run them.

The short version

Sundarijal is a village about 15 kilometres from Kathmandu, at the foot of Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, with a 40 to 50 minute drive from the city. It is the end of our one-day Shivapuri hike, the start of our three-day trek to Nagarkot, and the finish of our 13-day Langtang and Gosainkunda trek. Every height on this page is a satellite-based figure, and I have explained that above. If you want to talk through which version suits you, message me on WhatsApp on +977 9810351300.

Written by Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday, from a family of three generations of guides. TAAN Member #1586.