Bhaktapur. Nagarkot in Bhaktapur is famous all over the world for watching the sunrise in the morning. Nagarkot is equally famous for watching the sunset along with the sunrise. Nagarkot in Bhaktapur, which was famous all over the world for watching the sunrise and sunset, is no more. Now, neither the sunrise nor the sunset is visible from Nagarkot.
This is the reason why Nagarkot is in the process of being ‘re-branded’ (re-introduced with a different name), says Dhan Bahadur Lama, ward chairman of Nagarkot, ward no. 6, Changunarayan Municipality, district. According to ward chairman Lama, due to various reasons, neither the sunrise nor the sunset is visible from Nagarkot. Ward chairman Lama says that due to dusty environment pollution, climate change and other reasons, the sunrise and sunset are now visible from Nagarkot.
This is why we have started a plan to introduce it with different names and continue to attract tourists, said Ward Chairman Lama. He said that now we have started a plan to introduce 6 other tourist destinations in Nagarkot and ‘re-brand’ Nagarkot with other names. According to him, there is a plan to introduce Nagarkot through new introductions of places like Mahadev Kund, Mahamanjushree and others in Nagarkot. Mahadev Kund is a special pond in Nagarkot. Every year, a big fair is held here on the day of Raksha Bandhan. A crowd of devotees from Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Sankhu and Banepa gather here for the fair. It is located on the border of Nagarkot and Tukucha VDC of Kavre. Mahamanjushree Sthan is a famous place in Changunarayan Municipality. Earlier, when the local bodies were restructured and the then village development committees in the northern part of the district were merged to form a municipality, this area was named Changunarayan and Mahamanjushree to form two municipalities. But later, the plan to form both of these municipalities was canceled and both were merged and named a single municipality (current name Changunarayan Municipality).
Changunarayan Municipality Mayor Jeevan Khatri says that the municipality is still not in favor of tricking tourists into coming to Nagarkot to see the sunrise and sunset. We are now planning to introduce Nagarkot by another name, he said.
After the 2072 BS earthquake and Covid, the number of foreign tourists coming to Nepal decreased and not only the direct impact of this, but also the number of tourists coming to Nagarkot has decreased after tourists came to know that the sunrise and sunset were not visible in Nagarkot. For this reason, he said, the municipality has now canceled the entry fee charged by the municipality to foreign tourists coming to Nagarkot. He said that the municipality plans to reintroduce the fee only after Nagarkot is re-introduced by another name and the flow of foreign tourists starts flowing into Nagarkot.
According to statistics, about 25 percent of tourists who come to Nepal visit Bhaktapur city. There is also data that even 10 percent of tourists who come to Bhaktapur city do not come to Nagarkot.
The Mahakal Temple in Nagarkot is famous for sunrise and sunset. This temple is considered important for Tantric seekers. It is believed that the Mahakal Temple in Kathmandu was built by transferring this same god. This temple is located on the border of Nagarkot and Baluwapati Deupur VDC of Kavre, while the border of Suntol VDC of Kathmandu is 5 minutes away from here. Apart from this, there is a Kalidevi temple in Nagarkot. This temple has been considered as the goddess of the village. Every year, a fair is held here on the day of Paush Purnima. The Nagarkot massacre took place in this temple. Apart from this, there is also a Jalpadevi temple here. Jalpadevi temple located in Telkot, Nagarkot is an important place. Geeta temple is also a famous place here. This temple is located in Geetanagar, Phedi-1, Nayabasti, Nagarkot. This place is between Nagarkot, Chaling and Bageshwori in Changunarayan Municipality. There are temples of Geeta Mata, Saptarishi, Nagaraj, Budhanilkantha, Ganesh, Kumar and Shiva here. Fairs are held here especially during festivals like Haritalika Teej, Dashain, Tihar. This temple is located 5 kilometers from Bhaktapur city. When the weather is clear from Nagarkot, one could see the breathtaking view of the beautiful Himalayan peaks to the north as well as the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest. Other mountain peaks visible from here include Manaslu, Ganesh, Langtang, Gaurishankar, Choyu, Lhotse, Makalu, etc. from the Dhaulagiri mountain range to the Kanchenjunga mountain range. The Nagarkot area is also famous for the view of the sunrise rising from the lap of the mountains.
Nagarkot is a famous tourist destination in Nepal. Many domestic tourists, including foreigners, come to see Nagarkot. Especially the residents of the Kathmandu Valley come to Nagarkot to spend some time with nature, leaving their busy and noisy lives behind.
Nagarkot is a famous scenic spot near the Kathmandu Valley. This place is located 32 kilometers northeast of the capital Kathmandu and 20 kilometers east of Bhaktapur city. It is at an altitude of 2,750 meters above sea level. The climate is cool here even in summer.
Since domestic and foreign tourists come to Nagarkot, there are standard to standard hotels and resorts available for food and accommodation in Nagarkot. Nagarkot is a former municipality of Bhaktapur district and with the implementation of federalism in the country, Changunarayan Municipality is now part of the new local level structure.