We met our guide Ragu and car this morning at 9:00 am for the start of our three-day trekking program (cost US $165). We drove for about an hour through the congested streets of Kathmandu and out into the country. Our first stop was the town of Bhaktapur, a UNESCO site (population about 65,000), the third largest town in Nepal. It was a lovely town, made up of 3 squares joined together by narrow, cobbled, streets, full of vendors, selling goods for both the tourists and the locals. The town is so much less busy and less polluted than Kathmandu. It’s an ancient Newar town and at one stage was the capital of Nepal way back in the days of the Malla Kingdom until the 15h Century. We walked slowing through the Durbar Square and its exquisite array of temples and royal palaces. Apparently the town was badly damaged in the 1934 earthquake, which is why the Durbar Square appears so roomy, compared to the squares in Kathmandu and Patan. In particular we loved the 55 windowed, 5 story palace. The next square is the Taumadhi Square with the famous 5-story Nyatapola Temple. The last square was the pottery square, or Dattatreya Square which was covered with pottery and wheat drying in the sun. We went inside a little potter’s workshop and took pictures of a man at his work. Of course, then there was the usual payment of rupees. The town is known for its beautiful woodcarvings, potters, and weavers. The German funded Bhaktapur Development Project has funded the restoration of buildings, paved dirt streets, and established wastewater management programs. The town is an absolute treat and definitely shouldn’t be missed on any visit to Nepal.
After seeing the town we climbed back in our van and drove through the countryside to Changu Narayan, also listed as a world heritage site. The temple there “The Changu Narayan Temple” is about 323 AD and is the oldest in Kathmandu Valley and it is charming with beautiful with stone, wood, and metal carvings. It is devoted to Shiva and has a spectacular image of Vishnu with 10 arms and 10 legs. The walk up a long street of artisans and peasant carvings and weaving to get to the temple was also interesting.. After spending time there we had lunch in a rooftop restaurant overlooking the valley and the agricultural terraces and the mountains looking towards the trails we would soon be trekking.
The route was fairly challenging in that it was mainly up as we climbed from Changu at 1700 m to Nagarkot at 2175 m, but it was absolutely beautiful. We walked along paths that the local villagers use past their mud-baked houses, through the agricultural terraces, and just through the most natural Nepali scenes. We said “namaste” to everyone we met, tasted berries along the way, and came across a sadhu high on dope. The only downer was the rain. We had one heavy downpour around 3 pm that cleared up but then started again and didn’t stop. By the time we got to our hotel at the end of our 3 hr 45 minute walk we were soaked and cold. The hotel Country Villa, thanks to the agent we booked it with, is beautiful. It is right on the edge of the mountain looking over to the Himalayas stretching from Mt. Kenchenjungo in the east to Annapurna massif in the west. Although the hydro was off we had a lovely hot shower, a cup of delicious masala chai, then sat and chatted till dinner. After dinner we went to bed around 9pm. My only problem is I am freezing and although I brought my rain jacket, its now soaking and unlikely to be dry by tomorrow morning. But it was a fabulous day and we all enjoyed the exercise both of the mind and the body.
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