This weekend started with the fun hike to Changu Narayan temple. All of us were looking
forward to the architecture and history of the place since it is the oldest temple in Nepal. In spite of us being many in number, coordinating and planning was perfect as always by Saloni. We left the city at 7.30 in the morning and drove towards Bhaktpaur.

As we reached Telkot which is on the other side of the diversion towards Nagarkot, we were at our starting point. We parked our cars and head for a two hour walk. We were a little behind the schedule and it was getting warmer as the morning heat was at its peak. As we crossed the different shades of greens, we loved what the Mother Nature had to offer us. The view of the city from the hill – top looked amazing as that side did not have much residential but different terrain. The hike was easy as the way was not steep.

The most interesting part about the hikes near Kathmandu is the scenes that one can experience, the fresh air and an energy which rejuvenates each one of us from our busy schedules. The path led us into the greens and got us near the temple in no time. With the conversations and catching up with one another, the time went quickly. On our trail, we crossed a group of foreigners, and an old man who asked us if we had a smoke to give him. It took us by surprise that the man needed nothing more than a cigarette at that moment. We denied and walked ahead and reached the Changu village where we saw houses in a row. The houses had prettiest flowers around their area.

As we were nearing the temple, there was a huge parking space, and lot of cars was parked. Since it was a Saturday, it was crowded and many drove to the temple as the roads were pitched. As we crossed the
souvenir shops, we were directed towards the open sky museum. The museum was not as fancy as the name. There was a statue of Lord Shiva in between the four pillars. Then we went to the main temple courtyard. The two storey roofed temple existed as early as 325 A.D. The design of the oldest temple was magnificent and there was a museum which had details about the Licchavi period. The different festivals which are celebrated in the temple premises are Teej, Krishna Asthami, Nag Panchami as the shrine of Lord Vishnu is worshiped. As we got to know more facts about the place, we could relate to each structure of the temple. We clicked a few pictures and saw how the map of town was before hundreds of years. It amused each one of us as we noticed how clear and open the city was.

 

 

 

 

 

We then went to the nearby restaurant and chilled for a while, playing games before we head back to the town for a round of laser tag!