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VISIT NEPAL
The City of Devotees
. . . Still medieval, untouched by the Twentieth century is the Heritage Award winning city of Bhaktapur, founded in the 8th Century. It has gathered myths and treasures along it's walk down history. The Gods are everywhere, in wayside shrines that emblazon the narrow streets that snake its way through old bazars into the Bhaktapur Darbar Square. Here are creations of consummate artistry. A golden gate so rich with carving that it is said to be Nepal's finest treasure, a palace of 55 exquisite wooden windows built by the King whose golden likeness sits atop a pedestal against small pox, to propitiate the dead, and stairways guarded by stone lions that lead to nowhere, because an earthquake in 1934 destroy much beauty that the city cherished. Two other squares, as rich, more beautiful than the Darbar Square, blaze jewet-like. Taumadi Square boasts the incredible temple of five stages, and a perfectly proportioned temple to the God Bhairab whose head is believed to be enshrined in it. A walk through busy bazaars away is Dattatreya Square, where a wondrous temple to the Trinity of Hinduism rises proudly embellished with golden conch shells, symbols of the Gods, and a golden finial. Abutting it is the filligreed 16th century Pujari Math, where priests lived. Here in a wealth of windows is the famed Peacock Window of Bhaktapur.
Preserved in medievalness,
Bhaktapur-a City of farmers, is a meander in the Seventeenth Century. Old Unchanged and Prehistoric Kirtipur and Chovar The settlement of Kirtipur straggles the hilltop with a stupa at one end and the ruins of a Hindu temple at the other, Kirtipur embodies the perfect blend of two religious existing side by side in perfect harmony. And it is around Hinduism and Buddhism that the people of Kirtipur live their lives of weaving masonry and carpentry. Here the shuttle of the looms vie with the sawing of wood, and the mixing of mortar. Once Kirtipurians were soldiers who resisted a concerted attack on their citadel for months. It is said they were protected by a child's toy tiger that was possessed by the spirit of Bhairab-God of Terror. In the middle of Kirtipur stands a beautiful Bhairab temple protected statuary of an earlier age. A little away from Kirtipur, is a narrow improbable gash in a mountain wall through which a river rushes. Chovar Gorge is said to be the cut that was made by Manjushri's sword when the Saint drained the valley of turquoise lake that filled it. A Hindu legend has it, that it was not Manjushri's sword but the beloved Lord Krishna who hurled a thunderbolt at the unyielding mountain wall and created Chovar Gorge. The thunderbolt turned into a stone Ganesh, now enshrined in a small temple. Banepa-Panauti Once the capital of a city state, today Banepa is famed for its weaving on its traditional handlooms. A medieval township set in a verdant valley east of Kathmandu, Banepa is a few minutes away from the village of Chandeshwari which has a beautiful temple dedicated to the Goddess Durga. So beautiful is Chandeshwari, and its people so hospitable that early Everest expeditions that set of from Bhaktapur would spend their first night in the village. From Banepa and from Sanga set atop Kathmandu's valley walls are unparalleled views of Annapurna, Manaslu, Ganesh Himal and the Langtang Himalayas. Panauti, a rough track away is a 15th century township with more temples than dwellings. Picturesquely set on the confluence of the Roshi and P unyabati Rivers, Panauti is best known for its carvings on a 12th Century temple and as a pilgrimage place where the devotees cleanse themselves in the confluence according to rites dictated by history.
The Holy Trinity Three shrines, sacred, serene, steeped in antiquity shine with a rare beauty in the valley of Kathmandu. To see them is to visit the very heart of all that is holy to the Nepalese. The Hindu Holy of Holies is dedicated to the Lord Shiva in his aspect as the protector of all Animals and birds set with consummate artistry on the banks of the holy Bagmati River. Pashupatinath with its double tiered gilt roof and its heavily carved silver doors, is where Hindus by the millions converge. To bathe in the Bagmati River here, is to absolve the self of sin. To die with one's feet in the sacred river is to escape the perpetual cycle of birth and rebirth that Hindus are doomed to. Above Pashupatinath is a wooded hill which houses ascetic in search of life everlasting. And it is said that in the not too distant past the Gods and Goddesses of Hinduism frolicked here. Around the pagoda roofs of Pashupatinath a wondorous welter of rest houses and shrines and monasteries have blossomed over the years. To go to Pashupatinath, is to find peace. The mantras of Mahayana Buddhism refer to a jewelled lotus which surely is Boudhnath, one of the world's biggest stupas. Said to contain the relic of the Amitabha Buddha, Boudhanath with its Golden Finnial, its all seeing eyes, and the ring of terracotta tresure troves around it is a place of particular sanctity. Here mule trains from Tibet and caravans laden with preciousness, rested. Here are monasteries carried over the high passes from Tibet. Here are inns as old as the caravans and here are re-incarnate Lamas who chant the sun into the sky and who pray as darkness falls. Many legends attach themselves to Boudhnath and we will unfold them for you as we wander around the 'Stupa of a million dewdrops'. Worshipped by Hindus and Bhuddist alike, the 5th Century image of the sleeping Vishnu, the Preserver of Life, is a particularly fine example of Lichhavi Art. It would seem that the master sculptors' hands were possessed of divinity for' a play of water perhaps, the chest of the 30 foot diety seems to breath in the tranquil rhythms of sleep. Set in the didst of a pool, the statue is perfectly reflected in the water that cradles it. At the time of Buddhist festivals, the shrine is hung with fluttering prayer flags for Vishnu is Avlokeshwara to the Buddhist. | ||||||||
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Bhaktapur
& Pashupatinath
Nagarkot
Hill Station
Patan
& Swayamb Hunath