Nagi Gumba in Budhanilkantha, Nepal
One wouldn’t expect a visit to a Buddhist nunnery to be a foodie adventure, but the journey to Nagi Gumba (also known as Nagi Gompa) in Shivapuri National Park certainly challenges expectations. The drive winds up steep, narrow dirt roads, hugging the cliff’s edge, requiring a bit of faith in your hired driver. Some visitors opt to hike, trekking through the forest path. Either way, motorized transport can only take you so far, as the nunnery requires a final short uphill walk through the trees. At the top, cloud-level panoramic views of Kathmandu Valley are stunning, even with the hazy air. The peaceful surroundings and the friendly welcome from the nuns quickly dissolve any lingering anxieties from the ascent. A lesser-known highlight of this enchanted visit is the opportunity, with prior arrangement, to tour the grounds and share a simple meal prepared by the nuns—a traditional Nepali menu of rice and daal, mixed vegetable curry, saag, and paneer. Here, over 100 nuns have renounced ordinary life, dedicating themselves to meditation, chanting, and study in this serene retreat high above the modern world below. And if you ask, you may even leave with some Buddhist wisdom to take home, like: “Do good things. Say good things. Have a good heart.”
One wouldn’t expect a visit to a Buddhist nunnery to be a foodie adventure, but the journey to Nagi Gumba (also known as Nagi Gompa) in Shivapuri National Park certainly challenges expectations. The drive winds up steep, narrow dirt roads, hugging the cliff’s edge, requiring a bit of faith in your hired driver. Some visitors opt to hike, trekking through the forest path. Either way, motorized transport can only take you so far, as the nunnery requires a final short uphill walk through the trees.
At the top, cloud-level panoramic views of Kathmandu Valley are stunning, even with the hazy air. The peaceful surroundings and the friendly welcome from the nuns quickly dissolve any lingering anxieties from the ascent. A lesser-known highlight of this enchanted visit is the opportunity, with prior arrangement, to tour the grounds and share a simple meal prepared by the nuns—a traditional Nepali menu of rice and daal, mixed vegetable curry, saag, and paneer.
Here, over 100 nuns have renounced ordinary life, dedicating themselves to meditation, chanting, and study in this serene retreat high above the modern world below.
And if you ask, you may even leave with some Buddhist wisdom to take home, like: “Do good things. Say good things. Have a good heart.”
