If you are looking for a budget destination with lot of cool places, steep snow capped mountains, thrilling adventures and nirvana - Nepal should be in your itinerary. We friends - 3 of us, had finalised on a trip
to Nepal in the month of December 2014, which is the near coldest month in
Nepal, with temperatures lingering around 5° C and below, the chill was nasty
at nights. Though I thought I was equipped to handle the cold, there were
several occasions when I was completely frozen and so was my SD Memory Card
of
the camera
.
The sitting Buddha welcoming passengers at the Tribhuvan airport in Kathmandu
Nepal is a heaven and a haven for
the mountaineering enthusiast. Mind you it has 8 of the world’s top 10 highest
mountain peaks. Enter Nepal from Kathmandu, Tribhuvan international airport,
the only international airport in the landlocked country. There are other
options too, by road through the states of UP and Bihar. To save on time, it is
always best to fly. Though, the airport itself deported us to the 1960's feel,
the smiling Nepali people made me feel comfortable and at home. I was the first
to land there as my friends were traveling on different flights on different routes,
last minute plan, you see :)
The Kathmandu valley
An Indian traveling to Nepal need
not worry about getting visa or immigration checks in Nepal; any photo
identification card is accepted as a proof to enter the country. To my surprise
it was not even checked once at any of the immigration counters at the airport.
Only while departing from the airport did they stamp my passport. It is like
extended state of India, their culture, language, food and hygiene (?) habits,
businesses are similar to that of India. Nepal is like a close Himalayan
younger sibling lost in its past Gorkha glory and frozen - literally in the
Himalayan lap.
Pashupatinath temple premises - No cameras allowed inside
Our destinations in Nepal were
Kathmandu valley, Pokhara and Nagarkot, a hill station, near Kathmandu, though
we tried hard to include Everest in the plan, but just couldn't.
Kathmandu is on the banks of the
Bagmati River and nestled in the Kathmandu valley. It is surrounded by hills,
which gives spectacular views of the city and surrounding areas. Comparatively
it is on the lower altitude than other regions in Nepal. The entire valley
itself has been declared as a world heritage site by UNESCO, which boasts of as
many as 7 monuments and structures in the list.
The Durbar Square in Kathmandu
Do explore some of the nearby local
markets on foot in Kathmandu, around the Durbar Square. It is the best place to shop and eat. I was looking for inexpensive gifts back home. Indian currency is accepted everywhere
in Nepal. I tried to buy Nepali Rupee at the foreign exchange booth but they denied
me, looking at my Indian appearance and the passport. Indian Rupee has a slight
advantage in the exchange.
The most famous landmark of Nepal apart from Everest of course
Nepal has about 10% Buddhist population
and the monasteries are spread across Kathmandu. Monks were omnipresent in
their tradition maroon and saffron attire at the biggest holy place – the Boudhanath
stupa along with the Swayambhunath temple which is revered by both Buddhists as
well as Hindus. The two eyes on the stupa are the eyes of Buddha (also known as
eyes of wisdom) and a symbolic number one in the Devanagari script which symbolizes that any kind of devotion and faith lead to one path. Some believe that it is a question
mark of the unknown, the Nirvana. It also symbolizes the conch shell (shankh) which is a
holy ritual object used in Hindu customs, according to one of the many theories, we heard
from the locals.
Eyes of wisdom glowing in the evening rays
If you are at the Swayambhunath
temple, you cannot afford to miss the Nirvana Café which is atop the hill. This
is one of the best roof top restaurants I have visited till date. The immensely
spectacular views of the Kathmandu valley left me breathless. You won’t even
know a café exists there unless you explore a tiny alley in the temple premises
and of course thanks to my hunger. The extremely pleasant sunshine of December
in Nepal and we had a laziest lunch basking in the winter sun and in the divinity
of Swayambhunath. Icing on the cake was a friendly smiling and cute Nepali
attendant of the restaurant who also spoke Marathi, who had spent some years
working in Mumbai.
The panorama of the camera has limits capturing the beauty of the place
We bumped into a lot of Indian
tourists at the temple of Shiva – Pashuptinath, another UNESCO heritage site.
It has a huge ancient complex and has many smaller Hindu temples, ashrams,
inscriptions built over centuries on the banks of the Bagmati River. If you are
a person who loves history you should stay back in Kathmandu for a week. We saw
a lot of old wooden and mud structures, temples and huts standing alongside
modern concrete structures. It gave me a feeling of any North Indian hilly
town. The Darbar Squares offers a lot of sights and opportunities to learn about the
culture and history of the kingdom as well to increase the giga bytes on your hardware.
And of course there are Bhaktapur and Patan.
On the way to Pokhara from Kathmandu
The next day we had our driver
hurrying us up for ride to Pokhara. The journey by road from Kathmandu to
Pokhara was memorable one, it takes around 5 hours by road. We got ourselves recharged during the journey
catching up with our sleeps, the lethargic chill in climate was encouraging us to
go in a slumber. The winding roads crisscrossing from one hill to another
mountain and to add to we were welcomed by misty climate. One of the must-do on
the way to Pokahara, is to take a slight detour to the Mankamana temple atop
the mountain through the cable car. Mankamana temple (Literal meaning – Wish
fulfilling) is of goddess Bhagwati, which is an incarnation of goddess Parvati.
It is believed that the goddess has the
power to fulfil the wishes, so you will see a lot of young couples and newlyweds
as well as people carrying a “sacrifice” with them for the goddess. The temple
premises has a breath-taking backdrop of snow-capped Himalchuli and Annapurna
ranges, which cannot be missed.
Ropeway to Manakamana temple and the Trishuli river below
We took the very steep cable-car
ride which lifted us into another mountain crossing the gushing river of Trishuli
below and impressive views of surrounding hamlets and mountains. Once you reach
the other side explore the local life passing through a small market and village
leading to the temple. The local food, fresh fruits and lot of Gorkhas. We bumped into many of these smiling people with their glowing “pahadi” complexion. I had the sumptuous Sel
rotis made by the locals there, made of rice and lots of ghee which is much
needed lubricant for the steep region.
The Manakamana temple premises and the snowy backdrop
We reached Pokhara when the sun
was just setting over mighty Annapurna ranges. Pokhara is a tourist friendly
city, but to our dismay, we had to start on a bad note, with some last minute hotel
changes due to miscommunication. Taking it in our stride, we moved on and after
which Pokhara did not disappoint us in anyway.
Pokhara offers a lot of open spaces;
it is more organised than Kathmandu, with glittering Phewa lake on the side
great views of the Machhapuchhre (Fish tail) peak which is closest to the city
and even a blind person can’t miss the 8000+ meters tall Annapurna range. The geological formations in this region are astounding. The numerous gorges formed
by internal movements, the relentless water flow from the melting of ice of
Himalayan ranges, the tectonic plate movement of the subcontinent towards the
Asian plate makes it one of the hotbeds of earthly activities. The fault line
formed due to the Indian subcontinent plate moving towards the Asian plate runs
right underneath the region dissecting Nepal into two and forming the colossal
Himalayan ranges. These are evident in the places like Davi’s falls, Gupteshwar
cave and Seti River Gorge.
Pokhara is a haven for adventure seekers
The most flabbergasting
experiences were waiting for us the next morning at the Sarangkot hills. In the
chilled dawn in Pokhara, when we woke up with sluggish sleepy eyes and reached to
the hill to see the most spectacular sunrise of life which brightened up,
literally the mighty Annapurna range and our faces. A loud cheer was heard from the crowd
gathered over a small hotel terrace representing tourists from all over, as
soon as the sun peeped above the horizon and the rays kissed the rugged
mountain slept under a carpet of snow.
One of the best sunrise seen from Sarangkot
Once it was bright daylight and fortunately
it was a clear day, we just settled there to imbibe the beauty of the
surrounding valley dwarfed by the Annapurnas. When we were just coming out of
the mesmerisation of the ranges there was another delightful experience of paragliding
over Pokhara. The views were mesmerising, the chill in the air, panoramic
bird-like views of the valley and butterflies in the stomach. Although this was
my second experience flying in tandem, flying over Pokhara and Fewa Lake was a
more complete. Earlier had glided over Queenstown
in New Zealand.
Annapurna ranges behind and flying over Pokhara
Check out the paragliding video
There is no shortage of
restaurants in Pokhara, you can find for all budgets. Get on bicycles which are available
everywhere, and explore the city.
The Dhaulagiri and Annapurna ranges and the valley
Our last stop was Nagarkot a
small sleepy hill station near Kathmandu. It was frostbiting cold as we climb
up the winding hills of Nagarkot. They say the best things are kept at the
last. We had the shortest stay in Nagarkot and the Hillside village hotel was
fantastic with stunning views of entire Annapurna range, from the room! We
chased the sun-set from all the possible points on the Nagarkot and then
finally had a relaxing night out at one of the local restaurants.
Room with a fantabulous view at Nagarkot
We left with one regret to have
included more days in our itinerary and took a vow to return back for the Everest.
The main attraction while coming back was the new terminal T2 at the Mumbai
International Airport.
T2 of CSIA at Mumbai
I felt sad and shocked as the
news broke about the massive earthquakes that shattered Nepal in April 2015. The
aftershocks and the aftermath that followed, were mind-numbing. I always feel
connected with the places I traveled, with the people, trying to imagine the
state of situation there, when I catch some news about it. Nepali people are very
unpretentious, trying to meet their ends meet with limited resources in a developing
economy on a harsh terrain. The major source of income is generated from
tourism. I am sure that they will overcome it much stronger with all the help
pouring in for them. II Om Shanti II
I would like to hear from you if you have already visited these places or planning to visit in near future.
Note - Please take prior permission before using any of the pictures or content.
of
the camera
. 
