The best way to Bandipur is to arrive by mid-day at Dumre Bazaar from Pokhara or Kathmandu, and to hike it up. You can also take a bus or a jeep up on the recently completed link road. The walking trail, however, allows you to retrace the ancient trade route used by the great and the small alike to reach Bandipur - kings and warriors, traders and porters.

This is also the route commemorated by the late King Mahendra in a popular poem, "The Long Climb of Bandipur".

The climb is actually not very long - it is all of three hours of easy hiking. Passing through rice paddies, the trail soon enters a forest that is full of bird song. The route is marked by springs and water spouts, an old resthouse (pati) and rest platforms (chautara), all put up by philanthropists of yore to assist the sweating traveler. The trail skirts the great cliff below Bandipur, passes through a Magar village, and emerges on top at Tudikhel. From here, it is ten minutes' of level walking to the town itself.

Bandipur has mountain resort hotel at one end of Tudhkhel, and another is coming up above the town. For a flavor of the old settlement and its life rhythms, the visitors can stay at one of the bed-and-breakfast places which have recently opened their doors in the old Newar houses. Guide services are available to help visitors explore the town and surrounding hills.

We suggest a two-day stopover at Bandipur, which will allow you to appreciate the place in its full variety. When you finally leave, you can do so either by walking down the trail down to Dumre Bazaar, or taking a ride down on the link road. From Dumre Bazaar you can connect to the fast coaches which will have you in Pokhara or Kathmandu by evening.