So many temples (all starting with “P”), so little time
We signed up with Royal Mountain Travel to take a day tour today of Patan Durbar Square and Pashupatinath Temple, the largest Hindu temple in Nepal. We were met at 9:00 a.m. by our guide Dilip and driver Subash, both very engaging young Nepalese men from Patan in a Toyota Yaris. (Dilip on the left, Subash closest to the car).
There was some confusion as we headed into the traffic as Dilip said he had been instructed to take us to Panauti first which is 32 km away, hence the hour plus drive. Having never heard of Panauti, we were going to say something but thought we might as well go with it.
Were we ever glad we did! It turned out to be a wonderful visit to one of the oldest towns in Nepal, once a trading capital with China, with the Nepal/Tibet-China border only 100 kms away. It is in the process of being recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Panauti’s most famous temple, the Indreshwar Mahadev Temple, is a magnificent piece of Newari architecture and one of the tallest pagoda style temples in Nepal, built in the 15th century.
Intricate carvings on the pagoda roof overhang supporting struts tell stories from ancient texts the Mahabharata and Ramayana.
Other smaller temples dot the complex.
The small museum had an interesting collection of artifacts from the area. We met up with a young school group in their blue uniforms diligently taking notes on the exhibits.
We walked back through the old town which was blissfully free of motorcycles and tourists. It was easy to imagine what the town would have looked like in its trading heyday.
Subash drove us on to Patan where we entered the city gates.
We walked up to the Durbar Square or the Royal Palace Square. Dilip was a font of information and we really enjoyed having a private tour guide! He told us that during the time of the Malla kings (14th – 18th c.) the rulers of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan all competed with each other to see who could have the most elaborate palace.
The scope of the square is absolutely breathtaking. Numerous temples and palace buildings make a fantastic vista.
Reconstruction is underway after the 2015 earthquake which tragically leveled several temples but many were undamaged.
It was fascinating to be able to see examples of the wood carvings up close in the museum on the second and third floor of the palace complex. These were part of the royal palace living quarters whose windows overlooked the streets on the outside and the courtyard on the inside
Steetside view
Courtyard view
Because of the rivalry between the kings, artisans and craftsmen had an elevated position in society.
There were also wonderful examples of stone & bronze statues in the museum.
While we were in one of the courtyards Dilip was explaining the significance of the bells on the eaves when the wind picked up and rang them for us!
Here’s a link to a 15 second video that I posted on YouTube with the bells ringing in the breeze:
We were starting to feel a bit peckish so Dilip took us to a restaurant overlooking the square which is owned by his uncle and where he works in the evenings. Curried veg and veg fried rice haven’t grown old yet!
Fatigue and “temple overload” were setting in as it was now after 2:00pm. Knowing that traffic congestion would be very heavy on the way back, we decided to forgo Pashupatinath temple and head for home.
It took over an hour to travel the 6 kms back to the hotel, not just bumper to bumper but fender to fender with motorcycles squished into any gap!
We were glad to be home and grateful for such a superb day! Nepali chai for me and Wally scaled another Everest!
