The cycling route in Makwanpur

The Tribhuwan Rajpath is Nepal’s most magnificent and hair raising highway. It heads west out of Kathmandu Valley and down to Naubise before hurling itself through an astounding number of switchbacks, straight over the highest ridge in the entire area (Mahabharat Let) before dropping to the Terai at Hetauda. The Rajpath was built by Indian engineers in the mid-1950’s and was the first highway to link Kathmandu with the outside world - before that, VIP’s were carried to the capital by palanquin, and the prime ministers’ automobiles had to be portered from India, fully assembled by 200-strong teams of coolies. History has proved the route chosen by the Indians to be completely idiotic however, and even Nepalese avoid it, preferring to go the long way round via Narayanghat and Mugling. The road is therefore ideal for cyclists: challenging, varied, scenic and almost devoid of traffic. Route KM Comments Kathmandu - Naubise 30 1st 14km is a slow wander out of Thamel through a warren of back roads.The next 12km is downhill along a fanstastic winding road which barely clings to the hiilside. Unfortunately heavy traffic and smoke-belching trucks spoil the ride. Grotty accomodation in Naubise. Naubise - Shikarkot 42 1,085m climb out of Naubise for 32km to the top of the ridge at Tistung (alt. 2030m) cycling an impressive number of switchbacks and passing terraced farmland & pine forests. Gradual descent in to the Palung Valley passing a multitude of picture postcard terraces. Minimal traffic. Shikarkot - Hetauda 66 Delightful zigg zagging 13km climb to Sim Bhanjyang (alt. 2,388m). From Daman, there are unfolding views of the Himalayas, resulting in a glorious panorama of 8 out of the worlds 10 highest peaks (best seen in early morning). At the summit, the road badly breaks up for 18km of the 41km descent. It’s a dizzy 2,000m descent through woodland with hundreds of tight hairpin bends and dramatic drops to the valley floor far below. Gradients ease off after Bhaiase. Superb route with minimal traffic. AA at Daman (9km), 12km (expensive looking Everst Panorama Resort) and at 37km. A 5* route with minimal/no traffic. Good food and accommodation at the Motel Avocado - ask to see the ‘cyclists rumour book’. Misc. It is possible to get by in Nepal with just a sleeping sheet and using the blankets provided hotels/guest houses. We brought our sleeping bags and were glad to have them. Outside Kathmandu and Pokhara most of the blankets were in a dreadful state and were the possible home to lots of little furry creatures.

Guidebooks The Rough Guide of Nepal, was our favoured guidebook as it had a very good section on cycling Nepal (the section above on Tribhuwan Rajpath is copied from the guidebook). It detailed a lot of the places we were visiting that weren’t covered in the Nepal Lonely Planet guide. For mountain biking, a good map is contained in the Insight Guide to Kathmandu. The book itself is poor and out of date but the map is the best of the area and has over 10 mountain biking routes around the Kathmandu Valley rim highlighted. The book can be purchased from the Pilgrims Bookshop in Kathmandu for 640 rupees. Roads In places the Nepalese roads were superb but they can quickly deteriorate in to rubble. After my experience of suffering a broken steerer column on my fork and a broken spoke, I would recommend a mountain bike rather than a tourer in Nepal if attempting any of the mountain roads or if wanting to go off the beaten track. Weather A typical day in the hills was a cool, clear start. The day would quickly warm up to mid 20’s and then the clouds would roll in. In the afternoon it would be cloudy and occasionally we would get a dramatic thunderstorm. During the evening it would quickly cool down and our jumpers were useful. On the Terai, it got hot during the day (high 20’s to low 30’s) but the evenings were pleasant. The low humidity dried out our skins (quite a change from Thailand) and moisturiser & lip balm was very useful.