Badimalika is one of Nepal’s most revered Shakti Peeths, a hilltop temple at 4,200 metres in the Bajura district of the far west. Unlike the busy trails of Everest or Annapurna, this route sees very few foreign trekkers, and the journey there is as much a cultural pilgrimage as it is a mountain trek. The trail climbs through the Budhiganga valley’s forests and terraced villages, over high grazing pastures, and past the fringe of Khaptad National Park, before reaching the temple itself – from where the Api and Saipal ranges dominate the horizon.
The temple is dedicated to the goddess Bhagwati, worshipped locally in her forms as Kali, Mahakali, and Durga. Local tradition holds it as one of the Shakti Peeths, the sites where, according to legend, parts of the goddess Sati’s body fell to earth. The temple’s biggest event of the year, Malika Chaturdashi, falls on the full moon of the Nepali month of Bhadra (August), when thousands of pilgrims – alongside the related Ganga Dashahara and Janai Purnima observances of the same season – climb to the hilltop shrine.
Along the way, the trek also touches Nepal’s smallest national park, Khaptad, a 225-square-kilometre reserve spread across the Bajhang, Bajura, Achham, and Doti districts, known for its high-altitude meadows, over 200 recorded plant species, and more than 260 species of resident and migratory birds.
Badimalika has also found itself back in the national spotlight recently. While campaigning in Dhangadhi ahead of Nepal’s March 2026 election, Balendra Shah – now the country’s Prime Minister – pointed to the landscapes of Bajura and Achham as unmatched anywhere in Europe, remarks that went viral and renewed public interest in the region. Since taking office, his government has included the development of trekking routes in Badimalika as part of its governance agenda, putting far-western Nepal’s tourism potential firmly on the map.
Khaptad National Park
Khaptad National Park was established in 1984 and stretches across four far-western districts, ranging from around 1,400m to 3,300m in elevation. It supports over 200 species of herbs and medicinal plants, and more than 260 species of birds, including Impeyan pheasant (Danfe), cuckoos, and eagles. Around 20 mammal species live within its boundaries, among them barking deer, wild boar, goral, Himalayan black bear, yellow-throated marten, leopard, and musk deer. Trekkers on the Badimalika route pass along its edge, with the option to extend the itinerary into the park itself.
