KATHMANDU-POKHARA

My grandmother (Nani) is very religious and a strong Hindu devotee. Her bucket list mainly includes temples from different parts of India. But there was a place on her bucket list which was outside India, it was Pashupatinath Temple, Kathmandu-Nepal. And this place was on her bucket list for many years, she used to pester me continuously for a trip to Nepal. So in August 2019, I planned a family trip to Nepal, a short one for 3 days. You don’t need a visa to enter Nepal, the immigration is done at the airport. Our hotel was near Pashupatinath Temple and also it was within walking distance from the Tribhuvan International Airport.

On the first day, we visited the historical temple of Lord Shiva, Pashupatinath Temple. This temple is beautifully built according to the architectural style of Nepalese Pagoda. The deity here gained great fame as Pashupati, the Lord of all Pashus. Pashu stands for animal in Hindi. From the temple, we went to the main market of Kathmandu known as Thamel. There are lots of shops and different types of outlets in the market. There is almost everything available in Thamel. It is a proper tourist spot where you can see people from different places or countries.

The most famous part of Thamel is “Mandala Street”. There are a lot of fancy cafes, restaurants & other shops. We went to Himalayan Java Coffee and the dessert items we had there were finger-licking good. Just buy a hot cup of coffee with a dessert item of your choice…Amazing!

The next day we had our flight booked for Pokhara. We kept only one day for Pokhara but I recommend at least 2 days to explore properly. At that time there was only one airline from Kathmandu to Pokhara, Yeti Airlines. It was a small passenger aircraft which had a capacity of around 20-25 passengers. It was the first time that I was traveling in such a small aircraft. It took us around 1 and a half hours to reach the beautiful city of Pokhara.

After checking out from the airport, I and Akshit booked a cab driver for a day and had a deal with him that he will take us to all the main tourist points of Pokhara. It was a perfect idea because our Nani was with us and if we have a car with us all the time it would be quite comfortable. The first point was Bindabasini temple, the oldest temple of Pokhara. This temple is devoted to Bindhyabasini, the incarnation of the goddess Kali. Then, from the temple, we went to KI Singh Bridge which is built on the Seti River. The specialty of this place is that you witness the turbulent flow of “White Water” which is quite amusing. Locals say that this is due to the fast flow of Himalayan water through the limestone.

The next turn was of the “Devi’s Falls”, one of the most visited places in Nepal. There’s a story behind the name, a Swiss couple went swimming but unfortunately, the woman drowned. Her father’s name was David and he wanted to name this place as “David’s Falls” but later it changed to Devi’s Falls. It is also known as the underworld waterfall. The place was so green and the rustling sound of running water took me into a state of tranquility. Next was a short trek to “World Peace Pagoda”, only me and Akshit were up for it. My mom and Nani didn’t sign up for the trek. It is also called Shanti Stupa and it is known to be the first world peace stupa of Nepal. From the top, we could see the proper view of the Himalayan range and also the famous Phewa Lake.

Now it was time for the last point since we had a flight to catch back to Kathmandu. The last was beautiful Phewa Lake. We did boating and also visited the holy Tal Barahi Temple. The temple is located in the middle of the lake. We spent a nice family time while boating. We were very hungry and before catching our flight we had supper in the famous “Krazy Gecko Bar & Restaurant”. Tasty food with such a great view of Phewa Lake in front of you….5 stars to Krazy Gecko from me.

For the last day, some points were remaining so again we hired a taxi for one full day. First, we visited the Narayanhiti Palace Museum also known as the Royal Palace of Nepal. Once, the palace was the residence and principal workplace of the monarch of the Kingdom of Nepal. Mobile phones were strictly prohibited inside the museum, so we kept our mobiles in the locker provided at the entrance. After the museum tour, we had our lunch in the Thamel market. Next. we went to see the ancient temple of Guhyeshwari. There were a lot of monkeys around the temple. They were quite friendly. The last point was Budhanikantha Temple also known as Narayanthan Temple. It is dedicated to Lord Vishnu. By late evening we were back to our hotel. The next morning we boarded our flight back to Delhi.

It was a short and sweet family trip. Nepal is a beautiful country and also a perfect place for a family trip.