2 Days Ranikot Village And Balthali Hike

2 Days Ranikot Village And Balthali Hike

2 days Ranikot and Balthali village trek is perfect for short hiking destinations around Kathmandu valley with family and friends. The hike starts from (Bhaktapur) Suryabinayak temple which is 45 minutes drive from Kathmandu in normal traffic time. Suryabinayak is the biggest and famous Hindu God “Ganesh”. Nowadays in western society, people know about Ganesh because of Yoga and Spiritual practice. On Tuesday, Saturday and in special kinds of events this temple will be full of worshipers; we can also see the marriage ceremony. The 45 minutes drive will give you such a different kind of impression about Nepal and the people's lifestyle. We will start hiking from here and the beginning walk will be by the roadside but after a few minutes, we will walk through the jungles. Peaceful hike through the jungle about 30-45 minutes a bit uphill and then we will connect to the roadside.

The 45 min walk will reach to the Pilot Danda (It’s a name of Yogi who built a temple at this place), from here we can see the Bhaktapur, Kathmandu, Patan and other valleys under the Himalayan ranges. We can see Annapurna, Langtang, Ganesh Himal, Gaurishanker and other Mountain ranges from here. The easy hike reaches the Ranikot hill station where we can see the valleys and mountain range much better. Our destination is quite further towards Budha Pokhari where we will stay with the local family. This is the trip to interact with the local families where you can pick the vegetables from their farm, can see how they milk from the cow, buffalo and can see other castles around.


Ranikot and Ghyampe panda is the popular destination for a picnic spot for Nepalese People. Ranikot hill station has 2 nice hotels where we can arrange accommodation for a night but our target is to stay with a local family. Once we reach the house where we are staying they will greet and welcome you with garlands, and fresh milk or tea. From this point, we can see amazing landscapes and the Mt. Gaurishanker with rolwaling range. Enjoy the fun time with the house owner by picking vegetables from the farm, join with them in their kitchen to cook food so you can learn how Nepalese meals are prepared. While preparing food sing and dance with the family members.

The next morning wake up with the beautiful sunrise view, don’t forget to get a nice camera to capture the scenic view. Enjoy the local breakfast prepared by the family, and for women, they will give the local dress to take pictures and also sometime they will gift you their typical dress. After saying bye to the family we will start hiking towards Balthali village. The hiking trail is easy and almost flat walking through the empty road. While hiking we can see local houses and the peoples working on their farm. This hike completely gives you a typical Nepalese lifestyle experience because after a 1-hour hike we will take a local bus (30 minutes) drive up to Panauti bazaar.

Panauti is the oldest Newari people town, we can see old typical houses, temples and the local lifestyle. There are modern houses and the town is pretty busy but we will be visiting temples and old historical places. After Panauti we will take a short 20 minutes bus drive and start hiking towards Balthali village.

After crossing the Roshi River suspension bridge we will be walking through the pine forest, beautiful farms, and rivers to Balthali village. Balthali is typical mountain villages with the mixed community, and also famous for oranges and vegetables. We will be staying one night in this village viewpoint in the hotel. From here we can see Panoramic Himalayan ranges and the beautiful colorful farms. Evening enjoys the sunset and the peaceful environment, during the winter there will be the campfire with local Nepalese music. The next morning wake up with the beautiful sunrise and the Mountains view. After breakfast, we will walk the pretty the same way back to Khopasi and drive back to Kathmandu. On the way, if you like to stop for Bhaktapur Dubar Square visit than we can add this place because we will have enough time.