A spring on the ridge above the valley
For centuries people walking between the Kathmandu Valley and the hill villages to the north crossed the Shivapuri ridge. The route through Sundarijal and Borlang Bhanjyang was one of the easier crossings, and the spring at Chisapani was a natural resting point. Porters carrying goods to and from Helambu, and later Hyolmo traders and pilgrims to Gosaikunda, stopped here for water and shelter. The walk took most of a day from the valley floor, so travellers going north usually slept at or near the ridge before the long descent toward the Melamchi and Talamarang valleys. In that sense Chisapani has always been a first night out of Kathmandu.
The ridge above has its own importance. Shivapuri hill, at 2,732 m, is the highest point on the valley rim and the catchment of the Bagmati river, which rises at Baghdwar in these forests. In the 20th century the hills were protected first as a watershed for Kathmandu's drinking water; the Sundarijal reservoir and its hydroelectric station are part of that history. In 2002 the area was gazetted as Shivapuri National Park, Nepal's ninth national park, later extended to include the Nagarjun forest.
Trekking lodges grew at Chisapani from the 1970s as Helambu became a popular short trek. The 2015 earthquake damaged or destroyed most of them, and owners rebuilt, some in concrete and some in stone. Rough jeep roads now reach the ridge, but the walk from Sundarijal is still the best way to arrive: you feel the city fall away behind you. Lodge owners here depend on the autumn and spring seasons, and on Kathmandu families who come up for weekends and holidays. The view, the cold water and the quiet forest are what they sell, and on a clear morning it is easy to see why people keep coming back.
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