Adventure Tourism: Nepal Offers Cliff-hangers Galore!
Mountaineering and rock climbing are not just adventure tourism Nepal provides for visitors, but an intrinsic part of the training given to local school and college children. Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) provides special training in both to school children and college students to arouse their interest in these adventure tourism avenues of Nepal. Though rock climbing is not as popular here as mountaineering, there are several sites in Nepal with suitable rock faces that have been developed as training ground for local and visiting climbers.
The Kathmandu valley is surrounded by several spots that are truly cliff hangers for seekers of adventure tourism in Nepal. The vertical cliffs may be dizzying but are perfect to learn the ropes of rock climbing for beginners and challenge the skills of experts. Several adventure tourism agencies in Nepal offer packages for rock climbing. Most of the spots are situated to the north and northwest of the Kathmandu valley within the Nagarjun Royal forest and the Shivapuri Watershed and Wildlife Reserve. Your trip can fulfill your thirst for adventure with rock climbing and love of nature by combining it with bird watching and game watching.
Nagarjun or Jamacho is a forested hill to the northwest of the Swayambhunath Stupa, and is believed to be the place where the Buddhist philosopher Nagarjun meditated. The limestone cliff is within the Nagarjun Royal Forest Reserve and is a good training wall for beginners and offers challenges to experts too. The rock face is about 12-15 m high and is equipped with piton on some routes. You could always do a free climb if experienced enough. Just three km from downtown Kathmandu, you can take a taxi to Balaju and walk through the reserve gates. Follow a dirt trail till you reach the rocky cliff.
Another interesting rock wall is north of Kathmandu near Shivapuri hill which is a part of the Shivapuri Reserve. The large central granite surface is a popular rock climbing spot. Visit the Vishnu temple at Budhaikanta en route.
Outside the Kathmandu valley near Sidha Lake on the hilltop of Patle Nalang of Dhading district is the Shreeban Rock Climbing Nature Camp, which offers training for basic and advanced rock climbing in picturesque surroundings.
