Dhulikhel Hiking :
The arniko Highway provides Nepal's over-land link with Tibet and China. many people who make the trek into the Solo Khumbu region and the Everest-Base Camp travel out along the highway, taking the turn-off to Jiri, which is the last stop beofre you have to start walking/ Buses to Jiri leave from Kathmandu between 5.30 and 6.30 am(10hours)

Past Barabise the road is particulary vulnerable to landslides and during the monsoon large sections are swept away, it's very unlikely to be open between May and august. Even when the highway is passable it is of limited use in breaking India's stranflehold on Nepal. It is an enourmous distance from Lhasa to the industrial centres of China, so it is, in most cases, still cheaper to shop Chinese goods via Calculate than to truck them over the mountains.

When road workers first tackled the Himalaya, they decided to follow the rivers, which had already done the hard work of cutting through the mountains. They have now realised that zone just abouve the rivers is particularly vulnerable to erosion from below and landslides from above0which is why Nepalese houses and traditional trails are often built along the top of ridges. As a result, many of the roads that have been developed by foregn countries agencies have turned out to be serious liabilities for the Nepalease government, who must fund their onegoing maintenance.

After Dhulikhel the road descends into the beautiful Panchakhal Valley, reaching the town of Panchkhal after about 20 minutes drive. about five minutes beyond Panchkhal a dirt road takes off to the left, giving road access to the Helambu region.

Eight km later you arrive a Dolalghat, a thriving town at the confluence of the Indrawati River and Sun Kosi (the departure point for many rafting trips). the turn-off to Jiri is another 14 km away, on the right.

Kakani Hike:
Standing at 2073 meteres on ridge north west of Kathmandu, Kakani is nowwhere near as popular as Nagarkot but does ofer magnificent views of Ganesh Himal and the central and western Himalayan.

Apart from looking at the view (one could argue this is enough) there's not much to do. There is a centrury-lod summer villa used by the British Embassy and a large army camp, although this does not seriously impine on the tranquillity of the surroundings.

The road to Kakani also offers beautiful views. Once you're through beautiful views. Once you're through the pass and out of the valley Kathmandu seems light years away. Although the valley is terraced 1000 meteres from top to bottom,many trees have been left behind and prosperous-looking houses dot the hillside.