Pioneers Leg 15 · Sunday 22 November 2026

Hetauda to Kathmandu

Over 3,200 m of climbing with the Himalaya in view, to the finish in Durbar Square.

Distance
99km
61.5 mi
Climbing
3,138m
10,295 ft
Descent
2,295m
7,530 ft
High point
2,043m
6,703 ft

The day's digital “cloth” map

  1. Start
    0.0 km / 0.0 mi
    Avocado & Orchid Resort, Hetauda
    Breakfast 06.00. Leave from 06.30 onwards from both hotels: Samana and Avocado & Orchid. A long day of climbing, so start steady.
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    35.3 km · 21.9 mi to water stop
  2. Water stop
    35.3 km / 21.9 mi
    Morning water stop
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    15.5 km · 9.6 mi to lunch
  3. Lunch
    50.8 km / 31.6 mi
    Lunch in the hills
    Confirmed lunch stop at the marked location. Standing lunch only. A bus alternative runs from this lunch stop (approximately 51 km).
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    20.2 km · 12.6 mi to summit water stop
  4. Water stop
    71.0 km / 44.1 mi
    Summit water stop
    Summit at 2,043 m. Bring warm layers for this stop and the descent.
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    26.2 km · 16.3 mi to Durbar Square
  5. Official photo
    97.2 km / 60.4 mi
    Durbar Square, Kathmandu
    Official finish photo at the World Heritage Durbar Square. A ticket is required to enter. Ride25 will endeavour to buy the tickets, but if that fails you will need 1,000 NPR in cash (or less than 10 USD) to buy your own.
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    1.7 km · 1.1 mi to finish
  6. Finish
    98.9 km / 61.5 mi
    Yak & Yeti, Kathmandu
    Through the cobbled streets to the hotel to celebrate the end of Leg 15. Moxy is the overflow hotel. Dinner together at Yak & Yeti in the palace at 19.00 (Nepal time).
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Ride25 crew

Call the crew for a lift, a mechanical or if you are lost. Everyone is also in the ride WhatsApp group.

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PoliceAmbulance 102. Free from any phone in Nepal.

Tourist Police: 1144

Tonight’s arrangements

Yak & Yeti, Kathmandu; overflow: Moxy. Dinner together at Yak & Yeti, in the palace at 19.00 (Nepal time).

Route map

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  • Route
  • Stops
  • Wind, km/h

Elevation

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Wind and weather

Too far ahead for a forecast yet, so these are the conditions on the same day last year. Winds were light, around 3 to 10 km/h, mostly south south westerly. Dry, about 13°C early and up to 20°C. The live forecast appears here automatically in the two weeks before the ride.

Typical conditions from Open-Meteo records for the same day in 2025. Check the live forecast on the morning.

Riding notes

  • The biggest climbing day of the leg. Eat and drink early and often.
  • Road surfaces depend on the state of the roads after the monsoon. Expect rough patches and long descents. Check your brakes.
  • It is much cooler at altitude. Bring a gilet or jacket for the descents.
  • Standing lunch only at the lunch stop.
  • Regroup before Durbar Square so we arrive and take the finish photo together. You need a ticket to enter the square. Ride25 will endeavour to buy the tickets, but if that fails you will need 1,000 NPR in cash (or less than 10 USD) to buy your own.
  • Three climbs: 9.5–22 km, 30.5–41 km and 51–71 km.
  • Fast descent at 22–30.5 km, with the steepest kilometre around 11%. Check your brakes and control your speed.
  • Ramps of about 15% around 55–57 km.
  • The 71 km water stop is on the summit at 2,043 m. Keep warm layers with you for this stop and the descent.
  • A bus alternative runs from lunch at 51 km (mapped at 50.8 km). Standing lunch only.
  • Target finish 17.00. If you’re behind at the afternoon stop, the crew will ask you to take a lift.

The country you ride through

History on the road

0 to 40 km

Makwanpur

Makwanpur Gadhi, the hill fort above the route, was where Prithvi Narayan Shah, who unified Nepal, defeated the Makwanpur kingdom in 1762.

40 to 80 km

The Mahabharat range

The route climbs over the Mahabharat range, the middle hills between the Terai and the Kathmandu valley. On a clear day the snow peaks of the Langtang and Ganesh Himal stand to the north.

80 to 98 km

Kathmandu

The Kathmandu valley has seven UNESCO World Heritage monuments. Durbar Square, our finish, was the royal palace of the Malla and then the Shah kings, and many of its temples were rebuilt after the 2015 earthquake.

Look out for

  • Makwanpur Gadhi
  • The Himalaya from the passes
  • The first view of the Kathmandu valley
  • Durbar Square

Local heroes

Famous faces from along the route

Kathmandu is the base for every Everest expedition, and the Yak & Yeti's history includes Boris Lissanevitch, the Russian ballet dancer who opened Nepal's first hotel in 1954. Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary were feted here after the first ascent of Everest in 1953.

Call crew leader, Mel+44 7947 765600 Police100