Hiking Frenzy

Mere and I are still obsessed with hiking the entire Kathmandu Valley. However, day treks in Kathmandu have their ups and downs (wah wahh). Here’s a list that I’ve compiled:

Good Things About Hiking in KTM Valley

1. You end up getting to see beautiful, remote stupas and temples
2. There are less tourists in the hills and the temples
3. I get to/have to practice my Nepali
4. You get above the pollution that blankets the city
5. You get to see the cycle of the Nepali crops and their various beauteous versions
6. If you hike in the north part of the valley you can end up in Boudha Nath which is THE best way to end a six hour trek
7. You get to try really good traditional Nepali food, like Dal Bhaat (lentils and rice)
8. Taxis are relatively inexpensive for foreigners so you can take them to the hiking starting points

Not Great Things About Hiking in KTM Valley

1. If you ask for directions you usually are directed to paved roads instead of dirt roads – and if you’re trying to hike, then you’re not really hiking anymore or you are but it’s more of an “Urban Hike”
2. There are maybe two directional signs in the entirety of the Valley
3. If you’re a foreigner, locals like to look at you – a lot
4. You might not get above the pollution that blankets the city
5. Buses take a while to get to the starting points

Recently, Mere and I decided to hike around Dakshinkali and Pharping, which is southwest of the city. We took two buses, which ended up taking about two hours to get to the famous Dakshinkali temple. A taxi would’ve been around 700 rupees ($9) but we are trying to be thrifty.

The Dakshinkali temple is situated at the bottom of a hill and has animal sacrifices on Tuesdays and Saturdays. We happened to be there on a Tuesday - Mer was psyched and I got a stomach ache. Goats and chickens met their doom inside the temple where only Hindus can go. However, the temple isn’t entirely enclosed so tourists can view the majority of the ceremonies and headchops. Here’s a picture of the pools that lead to the temple and people waiting in line to go inside:



I watched people get their tika right outside the temple and noticed one man getting his incredibly awesome tattoo of Shiva tika-ed as well. I went to go admire his arm and as I tried to initiate a conversation in Nepali it turns out (of course) that he lives in Texas and is just visiting his parents here.



According to our hiking map there was a little uphill hike from the Dakshinkali parking lot to Pharping, which is a little town with a “Pilgrimage Route” through various Buddhist and Hindu temples. The 45 minute “hike” consisted of a short dirt path straight up hill and then the main road the buses go on. On the main road we came across Sekh Narayan, which consisted of little pools and temples:



After walking a little further down the paved road and trying to weave through the various villages to make things more interesting, we came upon some women dealing with their rice harvests. Mere took a great picture of the rice on the woven mats:



Finally, we came to Pharping and the “Pilgramage Route” route. My favorite part was this strange monument of Padmasambhava in a glassed box:



Neither Lonely Plant nor my our hiking map was specific enough to get us to the “true” hikes of the Pharping area so at 3:00pm we started making our way home. Although we were unsuccessful in terms of hiking the hills of nature, we managed to see nearly 10 different temples and stupas and get pretty tired.