Maghe Sankranti

Maghe Sankranti 

Food is linked with festivals and festivals in turn are linked with seasons they come in. For instance, Maghe Sankranti falls in winter and it is during this time Nepali people consume chhaku with ghiu (ghee), the combination of which strengthens our bodies, and provides necessary nutrients to fight the cold.

During this seasonal festival, many varieties of yams are sold in the market which become the centre of  attraction for the tourists. Yam is one of the delicacies consumed during  Maghe Sankranti along with khichadi (a traditional dish of rice and various lentils cooked together), chaku (hardened molasses), butter and other delicacies.

 

People are buying yams in the market for Maghe Sankranti

 

 

A person whips the hard-boiled Chaaku (molasses) for the upcoming Maghe Sankranti festival, at Tokha, in Kathmandu, on Thursday.

 

 

Source : The Himalayan  Times: Photo Gallery

Magnificent view of Hiamalayan Ranges

 Magnificent view of Himalayan Ranges

The majestic Shailung could become Dolakha’s major tourist attraction

Situated at an altitude of 3,146 metres, the place is believed to have been a spiritual centre for many Hindu saints and Buddhist monks in the past.

 

 

The Kathmandu Post

Published at : January 5, 2021

Updated at : January 5, 2021 21:33

Just about 120 km northeast of Kathmandu lies Shailung, a rural municipality in Dolakha district. Blessed with abundant natural beauty, Shailung is an important religious and tourist destination of Dolakha.

From here, one can get a magnificent view of Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, Manalsu, Ganesh, Lantang and Gauri Shankar mountains.

“There is a transport facility up to Kalapani and from there one has to hike up the stone steps for about 30 minutes to reach the spot that offers the majestic view of the mountains,” said Bharat Dulal, chairperson of Shailung Rural Municipality.

Situated at an altitude of 3,146 metres, the place is believed to have been a spiritual centre for many Hindu saints and Buddhist monks in the past. So, Shailung holds religious significance for Hindus as well as Buddhists.

Shailung is also famous for medicinal herbs and different kinds of flowers. Many people also visit the place during the winter season to enjoy snowfall.

For more details:

 https://kathmandupost.com/visual-stories/2021/01/05/the-majestic-shailung-could-become-dolakha-s-major-tourist-attraction

https://tkpo.st/2Xg4s1u

 

Dashain: one of the major festivals

 Dashain: one of the major festivals

Dashain, also known as Bijaya Dashami, is the grandest, longest and most auspicious festival in Nepal. It takes place in Nepali Ashiwin month (September to October in Solar Calendar) and lasts for 15 days. Similar to Chinese Spring Festival, Dashain is celebrated by the whole country for the goddess Durgar's victory over the demon Mahishasura. In addition to worship the Goddess Durga, Nepalis will hold celebrations for the fertility of the land and a year of good harvest. Meanwhile, Dasain has also emphasized the importance of family reunion, which is helpful to ease social contradictions. All the government agencies, educational institutions and other public sectors will be closed down during this festival period.

However, this year 2020 Dashain in Nepal will be observed in an unusual way due to Covid 19 pandemic. There will not be mass gathering in any occasions. Devotees will not flock to the temples fearing corona infection. And it has been necessary also for the people to follow self-protection protocals.

Everest looks sad this year

 Everest looks sad this year

Nepal is known for mountaineering and earns a good amount of foreign currency as revenue every year. Many interested climbers from different countries come to Nepal for fulfilling their immense wish and interest to have first-hand mountaineering climbing experience and go back to their homeland with all the exciting and unforgettable sweet memories.

Since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa ascended 8,848-metre (29,028 feet) high Mount Everest in 1953, a total of 6,507 mountaineers have climbed it from the Nepal side. Among the 6,507 summiteers, 471 are female, with Junko Tabei of Japan being the first to make it to the top in 1975.

Foreigners pay $11,000 to obtain a permit to climb Everest and spend anywhere between $40,000 and $90,000 for the entire expedition. In 2019, the government earned $5.07 million in royalties from the issuance of climbing permits. Out of the total revenue, Everest accounted for $4.05 million.

Covid-19 kept all expeditions away in this year. Likewise, there were no expeditions in 2015 owing to the April earthquake. According to the Tourism Ministry, there were five record-setting events for 2019. On May 22 and 23, a total of 223 and 212 climbers reached the summit, which has been recorded as the highest and the second-highest number of climbers on the top of Everest on a particular day.

The Kathmandu Post

Saturday, October 17, 2020

Triumph at 29,000 feet: Everest has seen over 6,500 footfalls since 1953

 

A total of 6,507 mountaineers have climbed Everest from the Nepal side since Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and New Zealander Edmund Percival Hillary first set foot atop the world's highest peak in May 1953.

This and other figures are contained in the latest annual mountaineering statistics published by the Tourism Ministry on Tuesday. Among the 6,507 summiteers, 471 are female, with Junko Tabei of Japan being the first to make it to the top in 1975.

The 8,848-metre (29,028 feet) Everest straddles Nepal and China and the summit can be reached from both countries. It costs less to climb from the Chinese side since the royalty is less than Nepal’s $11,000 per person and also because there is a motorable road up to the base camp.

Nepal’s Tourism Ministry started collecting details of events on Everest dating from 1922 when seven Sherpa climbers died in an avalanche, becoming the first reported deaths on the tallest mountain in the world.

Continue reading 

https://kathmandupost.com/national/2020/10/17/triumph-at-29-000-feet-everest-has-seen-over-6-500-footfalls-since-1953

Learn to coexist with Covid 19

 Learn to coexist with Covid 19

There are a number of naturally beautiful places to visit during your upcoming trip to Nepal. I think this may be possible only after we will learn to co-exist with Covid 19. We are in the learning process how we should live along with this invisible virus.  It is so unfortunate to see that so many people around the globe have lost their lives due to this deadly virus after it started appearing and invading the people from Wuhan, China in March 2020. Millions of people are infected and continuing to get infected. It does not seem that we the human being will be free from Covid 19 in near future.

However, assuming that the current situation gets improved and restrictions over traveling around will be lifted, following are brief summaries of some of the scenic places of Nepal which might be of your interest. Depending upon the current situation, I will continue to upload more information and pictures of other wonderfully beautiful places.

Please follow Covid 19 simple self-defense mechanisms to protect yourself and others from getting infected. Stay blessed and stay safe. Cheers 

 

 

 

Visit Kathmandu

 

 

                   Visit Lalitpur

 

 

Visit Bhaktapur

 

 

        Visit Dhulikhel

 

 

Visit Nagarkot

 

 

 

 Visit Pokhara

A glimpse of the Festivals of Nepal

A glimpse of the Festivals of Nepal    

NEPALI POLITICS Nepal is popularly known as the Land of Festivals and Temples. I have included some of the main festivals which are celebrated by different ethnic groups of Nepal. I will continue to upload more information about other festivals in the days to come.

Nepal is one of the very few diverse destinations with much variation in nature, culture, religion, lifestyle and so on. Each community in Nepal enjoy their traditions in unique manner. Most of these traditions are several centuries old and are celebrated for specific reasons and with color.

There is a reason to why Nepal  is the Land of Festival. Due to the concentration of numerous communities, the number of festivals in the calendar is numerous. Each community respect and enjoy the culture of the other communities for centuries. This is the main reason for harmonious lifestyle among the Nepali people.

Dashain – Most Auspicious Festival

 Dashain is the longest and most auspicious festival of Nepal. It is celebrated according to the Nepalese lunar calendar, usually between the beginning of October and end of November. It is the festival of reunions as people tend to return home to meet up with their families on this special occasion. The name Dashain, according to the Nepalese language, suggests that it is celebrated for ten days. The last day of Dashain is called Vijayadashami; People receive tika (a mixture of red colour and rice grains), Jamara and blessings from their elders on this day. People buy and wear new clothes and children even fly kites during this festive month.

  Tihar (Festival of lights)

This festival takes place right after Dashain. Tihar is celebrated for five days. The first two days are celebrated by worshiping crows and dogs for good omen. The third day is celebrated by worshiping cows. During the evening of the third day, people burst crackers and light small earthen lamps in their house,

 Losar

Although the entire country celebrates Losar as New Year, the date of Losar varies with each community. Sonam Losar is celebrated in Yolmo and Tamang communities, Tola Losar is celebrated in Gurung communities and the Sherpa and native Tibetan communities of the hills celebrate Gyalba Losar.

Chhath

This is a four-day celebration, which takes place in November or October, based on the lunar calendar. This festival is celebrated by the Mithila natives and it is the iconic celebration of Terai community. The celebrations of this festival are focused on paying tribute to the Sun God for his mercy and light over the people. The locals fast during the daytime, praying for prosperity and wealth.

Fagu Purnima (Festival of colours)

Fagu Purnima is celebrated in February or March. This festival is enjoyed by spraying color water on each other. According to mythology, Prahalad, a devotee of Lord Vishnu was commission to be killed in a fire, by his own demon-king father. His aunt, demoness Holika took him in her lap and set herself on fire, assuming that the fire will kill Prahalad and leave her unaffected because of her powers. However, at the end, Holika burnt to death, while Prahalad walked out of the fire, without a scratch. To save the kid, the locals sprayed water on him. As a tradition, today, locals spray each other with color water, celebrating the victory of good over evil.

Buddha Jayanthi

This is the birth anniversary or Lord Buddha. Born into a royal family in 563 BC, Lord Buddha became the founder of Buddhism. On this auspicious day, devotees visit Lumbini (birthplace of Buddha), Boudhanath, Swayambhunath and other religious sites to lit butter lamps. Lumbini is the main destination to visit during this festival. Nearly 2.5 million tourists visited Lumbini to spot the birthplace of Lord Buddha in 2017 and it is increasing every year.

Source: https://trekroute.com/festivals-in-nepal/

 

Boudhanath Stupa

Boudhanath Stupa 

This is another interesting religious place you should not miss to visit during your trip to Kathmandu. It is just 8 kilometers drive from the main city of Kathmandu. You may be seeing some of the committed devotees prostrating themselves full-length on the ground in the courtyard on the east side of the stupa.

The first stupa at Boudhanath was built sometime after AD 600, when the Tibetan king, Songtsen Gampo, converted to Buddhism. In terms of grace and purity of line, no other stupa in Nepal comes close to Boudhanath. From its whitewashed dome to its gilded tower painted with the all-seeing eyes of the Buddha, the monument is perfectly proportioned. Join the Tibetan pilgrims on their morning and evening koras (circumambulations) for the best atmosphere.

 

According to legend, the king constructed the stupa as an act of penance after unwittingly killing his father. The first stupa was wrecked by Mughal invaders in the 14th century, so the current stupa is a more recent construction.

The highly symbolic construction serves in essence as a three-dimensional reminder of the Buddha’s path towards enlightenment. The plinth represents earth, the kumbha (dome) is water, the harmika (square tower) is fire, the spire is air and the umbrella at the top is the void or ether beyond space. The 13 levels of the spire represent the stages that a human being must pass through to achieve nirvana.

 Stupas were originally built to house holy relics and some claim that Boudhanath contains the relics of the past Buddha, Kashyapa, while others say it contains a piece of bone from the skeleton of Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha. Around the base of the stupa are 108 small images of the Dhyani Buddha Amitabha (108 is an auspicious number in Tibetan culture) and a ring of prayer wheels, set in groups of four or five into 147 niches.

Source: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/nepal/around-the-kathmandu-valley/bodhnath-boudha/attractions/boudhanath-stupa/a/poi-sig/1172098/357115

 

 

Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha

 Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama, the Lord Buddha, was born in 623 B.C. in the famous gardens of Lumbini, which soon became a place of pilgrimage. Among the pilgrims was the Indian emperor Ashoka, who erected one of his commemorative pillars there. The site is now being developed as a Buddhist pilgrimage centre, where the archaeological remains associated with the birth of the Lord Buddha form a central feature.                                                                                                              

 

 

Drone view of Lumbini

 

 

 

Lumbini Maya Devi Temple

 

 

 The Lord Buddha was born in 623 BC in the sacred area of Lumbini located in the Terai plains of southern Nepal, testified by the inscription on the pillar erected by the Mauryan Emperor Asoka in 249 BC. Lumbini is one of the holiest places of one of the world's great religions, and its remains contain important evidence about the nature of Buddhist pilgrimage centres from as early as the 3rd century BC.

The complex of structures within the archaeological conservation area includes the Shakya Tank; the remains within the Maya Devi Temple consisting of brick structures in a cross-wall system dating from the 3rd century BC to the present century and the sandstone Ashoka pillar with its Pali inscription in Brahmi script. Additionally there are the excavated remains of Buddhist viharas (monasteries) of the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD and the remains of Buddhist stupas (memorial shrines) from the 3rd century BC to the 15th century AD. The site is now being developed as a Buddhist pilgrimage centre, where the archaeological remains associated with the birth of the Lord Buddha form a central feature.

Source: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/666/

 

Shyambhunath

  Shyambhunath

Whenever you happen to visit Nepal and if you are staying in one of the hotels in Kathmandu, capital city of Nepal, please do not miss this opportunity to visit  this ancient religious place. Its just 10 KM drive from mid town Kathmandu.

Following details gives you an idea about this wonderful Buddhist Temple.

Swayambhu (Devanagari: स्वयम्भू स्तूप; Nepal Bhasa: स्वयंभू; sometimes Swayambu or Swoyambhu) is an ancient religious architecture atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley, west of Kathmandu city. The Tibetan name for the site means 'Sublime Trees' (Wylie: Phags.pa Shing.kun), for the many varieties of trees found on the hill. However, Shing.kun may be a corruption of the local Nepal Bhasa name for the complex, Swayambhu, meaning 'self-sprung'.^[1] For the Buddhist Newars, in whose mythological history and origin myth as well as day-to-day religious practice Swayambhunath occupies a central position, it is probably the most sacred among Buddhist pilgrimage sites. For Tibetans and followers of Tibetan Buddhism, it is second only to Boudha. 

 

 

The complex consists of a stupa, a variety of shrines and temples, some dating back to the Licchavi period. A Tibetan monastery, museum and library are more recent additions. The stupa has Buddha's eyes and eyebrows painted on. Between them, the number one (in Devanagari script) is painted in the fashion of a nose. There are also shops, restaurants and hostels. The site has two access points: a long staircase leading directly to the main platform of the temple, which is from the top of the hill to the east; and a car road around the hill from the south leading to the south-west entrance. The first sight on reaching the top of the stairway is the Vajra. Tsultrim Allione describes the experience:

Source:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swayambhunath

Budhanilkantha Temple

  Budhanilkantha Temple

This is another religious temple not to miss during your visit to Kathmandu and offer prayers at one of the most revered Vishnu shrines of the valley. The remarkably intricate artwork that went into sculpting this magnificent 5th century stone image of the sleeping Vishnu is worth a close look. You could combine the trip with a visit to the Shivapuri National Park further up, provided you are up for a hike.

Located at the foot of the Shivapuri hills in the northern-most part of Kathmandu , Budhanilkantha is about 8 km from the main city. It is the largest stone statue of Lord Vishnu in Nepal showing him reclining on a bed of Nagas or serpents in the middle of a small pond. A priest is usually in attendance at the foot of the image to receive offerings from devotees. The 5m long granite image carved out of a single rock dates back to the Lichhavi period. The Lichhavis ruled the valley before being ousted by the Malla dynasty, who in turn were conquered by King Prithvi Narayan Shah.

According to folklore, a farmer was working on his field one day when his plough struck a boulder, and to his surprise and alarm, blood started oozing out of the cut in the stone. Upon digging around the huge boulder, he unearthed the magnificent image of the reclining Vishnu that had remained buried in the ground.

www.birenbangdel.com

Pashupatinath Temple

 Pashupatinath Temple

HELLO NEPAL Dedicated to Lord Shiva, Pashupatinath is one of the four most important religious sites in Asia for devotees of Shiva. Built in the 5th century and later renovated by Malla kings, the site itself is said to have existed from the beginning of the millennium when a Shiva lingam was discovered here.

The largest temple complex in Nepal, it stretches on both sides of the Bagmati River which is considered to be a holy river by Hindus.  The main pagoda style temple has a golden roof, four sides covered in silver and exquisite wood carvings. Temples dedicated to several other Hindu and Buddhist deities surround the temple of Pashupatinath.

 

Pashupatinath Temple is one of the seven UNESCO Cultural Heritage Sites of the Kathmandu Valley.  It is also a cremation site where the last rites of Hindus are performed. The rituals of cremation are not recommended for the heart patients. However, the visitors are seen watching curiously from across the river on the other side of the temple.

Visiting Pashupatinath Temple once in a life time is said to be one of the ritualistic journey to heavenly experience.