The proposed site of the Nagmati Dam is located in the Mulkharka Village of Sundarijal Village Development Committee (VDC) (recently merged into Gokarneshwor Municipality) of Kathmandu District where the Nagmati River enters a narrow and steep sided gorge. At this point, the elevation of the river bed is approximately 1,840 m and the contributing catchment area is 12 km2. In terms of river distances, the site is approximately 11 km from the headwaters near Chisapani (the elevation at the catchment divide is 2,320 m) and 3 km upstream of the point where the Nagmati River joins the Bagmati River above Sundarijal. The land use in the catchment feeding the dam lies entirely within the Shivapuri-Nagarjun National Park and is comprised of forest, albeit primarily re-growth without pristine large trees that would have been felled decades ago.