7:30 am: Meeting at Nature Trail Office
7:45 am: Drive to Nagarjun Base (30 min)>br> 8:15 am – 2:30 pm: Hike to Jamacho Peak and return
2:30 pm: Drive back to office, hotel, or residence
A day hike to Nagarjuna is the best opportunity go get out of the city and experience the nature of Kathmandu Valley. After around 2 hours of walking up the Nagarjuna hill, we reach the famous Jamacho Peak. From here you can enjoy great views, explore the Jamacho Gompa and take a rest. Besides the Nagarjuna cave, you will see some other caves of Buddha and Mahasiddhas. In fact, the mountain is called Nagarjuna hill because the philosopher Nagarjuna’s cave-residence is found there, where he performed meditation.

The story of the Buffalo Buddha

One famous story of the Buffalo Buddha goes as follows: A long time ago when Acharya Nagarjuna was living in his cave, an idiot buffalo herdsman from Kathmandu became possessed by faith in the Master He came to him frequently offering curd and milk. Once when he asked Nagarjuna to come to town, the Master refused. He said: ‘If you are able to meditate upon perfect reality, sit down here’. So he did as he was told. Obsessed by his work of guarding buffaloes, he could think of nothing else but buffaloes. ‘Visualize yourself as a buffalo.’ Instructed the Acharya. Therefore, he meditated in what we today call the Cave of the Buffalo Buddha. After a while of meditating, he actually became a buffalo. His horns struck the rock above him and created the holes, known today as his horn-prints. Then, Nagarjuna told him to contemplate his body in its natural state of total relaxation. Meditating accordingly, his body became as before. Moreover, his senses became sharp and alert, so he was given initiation and precepts. After completion of his mediation, people say that he shot through the roof of the cave and went straight to the Dakini’s Paradise.