A cultural tour to beautiful villages

 For hiking that is conducted on Saturdays, this time, we chose Bungamati and Khokana city for our interns. Leaving home at 11 in the morning, we took a bus to Chobhar and then we started our hike from there. Walking all the way up the beautiful village, interns took beautiful pictures of the landscapes, local cattle, and local villagers. There was a place where we found some metal workers working on beautiful pieces of metal ornaments. Our interns were interested and they bought some of these, while the same goods go to Thamel, where they would have to buy the same in double the price.

Checking the Nepal Leprosy Trust building on our way, we reached a bridge overlooking the holy Bagmati River flowing below us. Then, on the way, marvelous pieces of paddy fields were seen with farmers still working on it. Rainy season, enough rain, that’s all they aspire. Pictures of beautiful landscapes (that’s what this country is famous for) impressed everyone. Perfect day for hiking was what we hoped for; indeed it was what we got. Walking uphill the well-paved road, there it was, the cultural city of Bungamati right in front of us. Famous for its classic Newa: lifestyle, city is packed with shops that sell ancient paintings and scriptures depicting the Newari tradition, one of the oldest ones of Nepal. From the red chilies hanging from windows of houses to be dried to the ponds present there everything was attractive. It was more of a cultural tour than a hike, because interns got to learn about the people’s lifestyles and festivals. The people there were helpful and a good source of information for us.

According to the locals, Bungamati, that has kept changing its name with the changing times, is the birthplace of Rato (red) Machhindranath, regarded as the patron of the valley. He lives here for six months in a year and the rest in Patan. The movement of Rato Machhindranath from Patan to Bungamati and back to Patan is considered as one of the major annual festivals. Another famous temple there is Karya Binayak (dedicated to Lord Ganesha) from where the view of the valley is wonderful. From there we walked upto a place called Bhaisepati, where we had lunch. 

On our way back, in a place called Chunikhel, there was a group of women wearing red sarees in Bamdeveshwar Temple, singing and dancing all around because it was the last day of the 3-day festival Teej. They warmly invited our lady interns to join them. And their heartfelt plead was too appreciable to be ignored, so everybody joined. Then we found a herd of playing children, who were happy posing for pictures. And finally, it was time for some pictures of us, for memories to be cherished in the future, of this lovely portion of Earth.

                Report By: Rajat Acharya