The distinctive geodesic steel tower at the high point of the Nagarkot ridge is the classic spot for the sunrise view over the Himalayas. It stands at about 2,165 metres and offers a 360-degree panorama: on a clear morning, you can see eight of Nepal's Himalayan ranges from here, including Manaslu, Ganesh Himal, Langtang, Jugal, Rolwaling, and — on very clear days — a distant glimpse of Everest to the north-east.
Most visitors are here by 5:30am, wrapped in layers and clutching cups of tea bought from the tea stalls that open specifically for the pre-dawn crowd. The light arrives gradually, first silhouetting the peaks in charcoal against the sky, then catching the snow walls and turning them pink, then gold. On good days the show is genuinely spectacular. Be warned: haze, monsoon clouds, and early winter fog can close in completely. October and November and the spring months from February to April offer the most reliable skies.
story: "From this ridge you are looking at the same peaks that Edmund Hillary could see from Kathmandu in April 1953, before he and Tenzing Norgay made their attempt on Everest. The mountain appears as just a faint triangle on the horizon from Nagarkot — smaller and more distant than you might expect for the world's highest peak."