Cycling to Chandragiri Hills

I recently bought a new cycle. Why did I buy a cycle, again?
So, wanted to go somewhere as soon as possible.

I wanted to visit Chandragiri Hill since the construction of new Cable car started there. I was very fascinated by the idea that someone thought of building a completely NEW hangout destination, specially for the people of Kathmandu.

I am the kind of guy who would 'like to' get every possible information about a place, restaurant, store before visiting. I didn't know where Chandragiri was exactly, so wanted to know before I take my family or friends there. I googled and found that it was somewhere around Thankot.

I took my cycle and headed towards Thankot. I initially thought I had to reach the police checkup on the top of Thankot hill.

I am not into asking directions with people on the way. I know I should do it. But, I would rather check google maps for that. Well, maps don't help always. I do ask with people too.

When I was close to Thankot, I was this board. I was really glad to see this.


Not just because I was close to my destination and I was tired, but also because the Chandragiri Hill Pvt. Ltd. guys were thoughtful enough to put up a board at the entrance. Not many companies or organizations do this in Nepal. And I hate that. They don't care about putting up information in websites, internets. A simple 'This way' board could help a new visitor. This board made it easy for me.

Till this entrance, the road is pitched. Since it is a highway, it is a bit risky; heavy trucks and buses on the way. After that, the road isn't pitched yet (as on the date this blog was published). By the look of the road, I think it will be soon pitched.

There is one more board on the way where you have to make a diversion.


As soon as I reached the main entrance, it was good to see how planned and managed it was. The roads were well pitched, stairs so that the people can take shortcuts. I was very glad to see the cleaners cleaning the roads early morning. I supposed they do this everyday.




It has enough parking spaces. 2 parking spaces for each cars and bikes. Sadly, no cycle parking space yet. I had to tie mine to a railing.


There is an ATM as well. I feel this is very thoughtful to have one, since this place is away from city.


Below the office, there is a beautiful restaurant/bar. I had to check it out. So went and had a fresh lemon soda (the cheapest thing available there :p ). I don't think the place was quite expensive though.


Judge an organization (restaurant,mall, hospital etc) by its rest room. So, I went to do that too. Haha!

 

Since it was very new, the rest room was very clean. Let's see if they can maintain it.

Conclusion:
I think this place is a pretty good spot to hangout with your friends/family or even for a date. Not very far from the city, but far enough from the pollution and concreteness. I just hope the place maintains itself and doesn't get very crowded.

HOW to get there?

1. Take a bus/tempo to Thankot. You can get the local vehicles from Ratnapark/Old bus park.
2. You could take Ring road bus and get off at Kalanki and take a bus to Thankot from there.

Look for the first BIG board of Chandragiri Hills. Or you could just ask the conductor to drop you at cable car and they will understand, I am sure.

Go straight up from there and look for another board few minutes ahead.

You will have to walk for like 20 minutes from the main road.

*If you have a private vehicle, you can take it up to the main entrance.

Update: 

(after my visit to the top)

- I am seeing a big challenge for the company 'MAINTENANCE' - if they can keep it, they will earn millions!
- They need to add more eatery stalls; there was huge queue, first to pay the bill, then to get the food (almost an hour) - very few food stalls and helpers. 
- The incoming count of people is huge. This may be because the place is still new and people are excited to see it. I heard the company is planning to start ticketing via Bhatbhateni as well. I think they should start online ticketing as soon as possible.
- If you are planning a visit, reach before 8am/9am to avoid queue(very long one).
- I might suggest you to take tea and dishes if you are planning a family hangout. I saw some of the people visiting more than once were clever enough to carry their own food