A night out with the boys always excites me. I always have to think about new places if I am camping in Kathmandu Valley. Finding a great place for camping in Kathmandu is not always easy. I always keep scouting for a safe place for camping and one fine day I found an amazing place that’s just an hour far from the core of Kathmandu, and it was the perfect palace for camping.
Basic Summary of Camping in Kathmandu:
District: Lalitpur
Location: Lakuri Bhanjyang
Days: Overnight trip (You can go around 3-4 p.m. on Friday and return at around 10 a.m. on Saturday)
Cost: Rs. 1500 to Rs. 2000, including petrol, food, and other expenses.
Camping area charge: Rs. 1500 for one group
The season when I traveled: November
I packed my car with everything we might need for camping, and my brother and I rushed to our destination, picking up some friends along the way. In case you are wondering, the following are the things we packed:
Our packing for the camp:
- Tent, sleeping bag, and mattress
- Small stove, gas, lighter, knife, and multi-function utensils
- BBQ Machine and coal
- Guitar and Ukulele
- A lot of water
- Speakers, chargers, power banks, etc.
- Marinated chicken
- Bread, salami, sausage, jam, eggs, paratha, noodles, chips, juice, and more.
- Milk and all ingredients to make tea and coffee
- Telescope for stargazing at night
We collected all our friends and one of the friends joined us on his offroad bike which was exciting. After around 45 minutes of driving from Satdobato, we reached Lakuri Bhanjyang and I was amazed to see the whole Kathmandu valley from there.
We took our car and bike to the camping spot itself and started unpacking. We took our tent and then started setting it up in the best spot, which has a good view and is also in a place that won’t impact us even if it rains during the night.
We placed both our tents and set up the BBQ machine too. We had some snacks, so we were eating chips and fries while working on the setup. We set up our stove and a small gas cylinder too, and then we wanted to have a good cup of coffee. I made a cup of coffee while looking at the view of Kathmandu, and it slowly got darker.
At around 6 p.m., we had coffee on our hands; Kathmandu city was looking darker, and then slowly, lights were seen from each home. Within an hour, the whole valley looked like it was doing some kind of celebration. There were lights everywhere and it was majestic.
We were having deep conversations, small talk, laughs, jokes, stories, and making fun of each other, and I felt that it was the best thing that I could ask for at that point in time. It was slowly getting later, so we started our BBQ party along with the music.
We were eating while cooking and then having a conversation, and on one side, one of my friends was setting up a telescope to gaze at the stars at night. He used to call us time and again to introduce us to our solar system and what he could see from the telescope. But the only thing I could see and enjoy seeing was the full moon with my naked eyes.
The view below was of the city where I used to live every day, and the view above felt almost like a gateway to heaven. The full moon was covered in white clouds that were moving time and again, covering the moon but adding beauty to it. We ate our dinner, which included BBQ, Sausage, Salami, Fried rice, and a few other sides. After dinner, we were ready for a little chat with each other and to sleep in the tent.
The only problem was that we had 2 tents and 7 headcounts. One tent was bigger, so four of us tried to fit in there, which was hard but fun too. There were two openings to the tent, and we had it open on both sides. You could see the view of the whole Kathmandu valley from one side, and from another side, you could see the stars and the moon. It was straight out of a movie scene, and I assure you, it was no less than that.
Since it was a full moon day, we had pretty much enough light to see around, and sometimes the moon was covered by clouds, making it dark and scary once in a while. We slept at around 2-3 pm after having a super fun night and conversation with friends and enjoying the view.
I woke up at 5:00 am as fresh as I could be, even though I slept late yesterday. The weather was fresh; I got out of the tent and took a long breath. There was a chilly breeze, frozen dew on the grass, and some fog that made the view memorable. I could feel it while I was writing this too.
After some time, I made a cup of tea for all of us, and we were in a round formation, shipping our tea and talking about what happened yesterday night already. We also had some breakfast with us, so we heated the breakfast and started eating it with our tea. We had to do some photo sessions after our breakfast as it was mandatory.
We took some beautiful photos, and a few of the people nearby also wanted to take photos in our tent, so I am pretty sure that our tent setup looked cool enough to attract visitors for a photoshoot.
Finally, at around 10 a.m., we packed all our tents, collected all the garbage from our side, and threw it in the nearby dustbin. It was a well-managed place by the local club, so they had a garbage disposal. When you pay Rs 1500 for the spot, they also provide tents and other supplies, but we had our own, so we didn’t use theirs.
It took us about 45 mins to be back to the core of the city and then home. It’s always good to be back home after a good trip, and then I slept for the next few hours to make sure that I was ready for my regular work the next day. It is one of the best locations for camping in Kathmandu.