Nepal, June 6 -- It has been 15 years since cyclists in Kathmandu have been gathering on the third Saturday of every July to circumambulate the Valley rim as part of the Kora cycling challenge.

Kora is a Buddhist term meaning a meditative walk around a shrine or a sacred mountain like Kailash. This works well as a cycling loop around Kathmandu Valley, gives bicycle enthusiasts the adventure of a lifetime, and they are never far from a road, so they can take any length of the course that suits them.

The challenge is flagged off at Patan Darbar Square, and the basic 50km route follows the Ring Road to Chobhar, Kirtipur, then up to Sitapaila, Nagarjun, circling around the north of the valley through Gongabu, Golphutar and Boudha, behind t...