12th December: Hiking around the settlements south of Kathmandu

Our guide met us at the hotel around 8 am and we hopped in a private car (yes, we treated ourselves) to Kirtipur, around 5km away from Kathmandu. Kirtipur is a quiet town and it was thus a good retreat from the noise of Kathmandu. From there we would have had a great view over the valley had it not been for the fog and the mist. Jiven, our guide, introduced us to the town's main medieval temples. On the Uma Maheshwar temple we could not help but notice the erotic wood carvings on each pillar below representations of Hindu deities. In the square children played volleyball with a lump of rubber-bands, using the large bell representing female power as a net. A bit further up was Chilanchu Vihara, a Buddhist stupa. The town also boasted beautiful medieval houses with finely carved wooden window-frames.

Uma Maheshwar Temple with animal guardians

Erotic carvings on Uma Maheshwar Temple

Chilanchu Vihara stupa (16th c.)

We then walked away from the town and off the beaten track, following a mud path through farmhouses and agricultural land. The main crops were vegetables (carrots, cauliflower, and haricots) and rice.

Start of the walk through farmland

Working on the fields

A slightly scared young cow

Half way up a 300m high hill, we stopped for a drink at a local shop. Unfortunately, our conversation could not go beyond "namaste", so we just showed our warmest smiles.  John asked our guide the Nepali for thank you, but had forgotten it ten minutes later. The top of the hill offered a great view over the valley and from there we could look down on Kirtipur. We could also guess at the contours of the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

View over Kathmandu's southern settlements, with snow-capped mountains floating above the mist 

Laundry time

We then walked down along a small channel dug to insert pipes to import water to the valley. We stopped for lunch at the bottom of the hill in a quiet spot, only disturbed by a drunk man who asked us for food. Following our guide's advice, we declined. We then followed the road up to the Newari village of Khokana, which was devastated by the earthquake in 1934. Half way there, we crossed a very smelly river full of rubbish. Apparently, the environment is not yet a priority, and a lot of rubbish is dumped in what is a holy river. A similar contradiction applies to the treatment of cows, which are sacred but are left to eat plastic on the streets at the mercy of traffic.

A street of Kokhana

Buddhist stupa and a neighbouring Hindu temple

A few hundred metres further, we reached Bungamati, a medieval town famous for woodcarving. We stopped at the Rato Machhendranath temple, dedicated to the god of rain. Every 6 months, its statue is transported to Patan on a huge chariot.

The medieval palace is now occupied by poor villagers

Ratho Machhendranath Temple

The driver was waiting for us on the main square and was watching a card game when we arrived. He drove us back to the hotel, where we had a quick nap before going back into town for dinner. We went to a tasty Tibetan restaurant where I enjoyed a delicious vegetarian curry. John had opted for Tibetan vegetable balls, a more traditional dish.