What to boost your fitness while also having a load of fun? Why don’t you head out to the Ultimate Venue at Narayan Danda, Budhanilkantha? As the name suggests, the new adventure sports center is sure to offer you the ‘ultimate’ experience. The sprawling 90-ropani complex located 3.2 km north of the famous Budhanilkantha temple, is so close and yet feels a world apart from the pollution-filled and chaotic city it abuts.
Through Ultimate Venue, its two founders, Suresh Lama and Abhushan Karki, wanted to let people explore a new place, engage in challenging activities, and get over at least some of their fears. But where did they get the novel idea? “From nowhere in particular. We just decided that something like it could work here and plunged right into it,” says Lama.
The activities at Ultimate Venue are broken down into six components—camping, training, adventure training, agro farming, boot camp, and restaurant. The adventure sports include combat obstacle course, high ropes obstacle course, rock climbing and abseiling, hiking and trekking to amusing places like Baghdwar, Shivapuri Peak, Nagi Gumba, Sundarijal, Shivapuri Circuit, plus cycling.
The boot camp, likewise, is of three varieties, according to participants’ age, the number of days of engagement, and the fees. The 5-10 day fitness boot camp, usually for those above 14, ranges from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000; the 1-3 day Career Boot Camp for corporate clients ranges from Rs 2,500 to Rs 10,000; while the 1-7 day Teen Boot Camp for school and college students costs Rs 1,500 to Rs16,000. All these activities are supervised by experienced professional mountain-climbing trainer Sonam Tsering Sherpa, with a medical team as backup safety.
The main attraction of the place is an unobstructed 270-degree view of the Kathmandu valley and the beautiful views of sunrise and sunset it offers. People can visit any day and any time. The restaurant serves a mix of Indian, Chinese and authentic Nepali cuisines. Ultimate Venue also offers catering services, picnic spots, training in basic and advance rock climbing, lessons in route marking and rescue, as well as a crash course in farming practices.
“The present generation seldom gets a chance to be close to nature. All day they are playing with gadgets and modern technologies,” says Lama. “So, we thought, why not give them a chance to be close to nature while they also get to exercise a bit?” For instance, children are given rice and maze seedlings to plant in different named plots. They can later come and purchase the harvest.
As the venue has proven to be a hit among locals and tourists alike, it is also expanding. The Ultimate Venue plans to build rooms for night stays, have live music, and run motivational classes on fitness and nature for all age groups.
One of the goals, say the founders, is to help with the promotion of Visit Nepal Year 2020, “by letting them know that there is such a unique place in Nepal as well.”
