Changu Narayan and Bhaktapur

Today, after leaving Nagarkot, we first hiked to a famous Hindu temple called Changu Narayan.









Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare


Narasimha (4th avatar of Vishnu) kills the demon Hiranyakashyap


A religious ritual


Then we went to Bhaktapur, which is about an hour's drive from Kathmandu. It's a UN World Heritage Site, and is a fascinating historic site and living community with surprises around every corner.

Durbar Square


Nyatapola Temple, the tallest temple in Nepal


Video of this plaza





Big wheels (for a ceremonial chariot)




At the well




This area is filled with traditional Nepali carved windows







And the Peacock Window


We encountered a festival in which boys taunt the goddess Kali, who chases after them and tries to catch them.



Kali chases the children


Woman spinning yarn


We soon passed by a Hindu temple by a river. This temple was filled with Shiva linga, which are stylized representations of male and female genitalia. These are found throughout regions of the world heavily influenced by Hinduism, including Angkor Wat in Cambodia.



Lots o' lingas


Big linga. Size matters.


Potter's Square


A ritual in which young girls are married to a Hindu god. It's just a rite of passage: they will still be allowed to marry a real human man when they grow up.


Proud mother and twin daughters, after the marriage ritual, in Potter's Square

Nagarkot

Tourists flock to the village of Nagarkot, an hour and a half from Kathmandu, for one reason: spectacular views of the Himalayas. From certain vantage points you can even see Mt. Everest peeking up from behind other mountains.



Nice views into the terraced fields down in the valley below.



Most tourists arrive here in the afternoon, get up early to see the sun rise over the Himalayas, and depart.



A pity... this place offers some decent hiking. We stayed and hiked. Great views on the hike:



Kids going to school (which starts at 10:00 sharp in this country):



Interesting sign we saw on the hike:



We hiked to the top of a hill above a military training ground. There's a viewing tower there.



We climbed up, and could see Mt. Everest, though very far away. My 18x zoom could barely make it out, but it's the white triangular point in the center of this picture:



Lots of eagles in this area.

Steppe eagles (Aquila nipalensis)




Tomorrow, Bhaktapur and then back to Kathmandu.

Then the next day, back to Taiwan. I don't think I'll have the chance to post any more updates until I return to Taiwan.

Chitwan 2

Today was the day of our elephant trek. On the way to the elephant riding site we saw women harvesting crops (either mustard or rapeseed).



Preparing turmeric


Doing the laundry


Then the elephant trek started. Four passengers per elephant. Not the most comfortable ride, but definitely a unique experience!




We trekked through the jungle and alluvial plains.



We saw Sika Deer, Sambar Deer, and a peacock. No rhinos or tigers. (I did see a butterfly called the Common Tiger... does that count as a tiger sighting?) We also saw the remains of a deer that had been killed by a tiger.

Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor)



The Sambar deer seem to be less afraid of elephants than the Sika deer. We saw a large group (perhaps 15) Sika deer, but they all bolted as we got within photo range.

Peacock (Pavo cristatus)



Here is the elephant I was on:



It is of course an Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), which has smaller ears than the African elephant, and is trainable. The females also have barely visible tusks, whereas all African elephants have prominent tusks.

Afterwards, a delicious Nepali dinner.



Followed by a party in which we drank Everest Beer!



Tomorrow, a 7-hour drive to a Himalayan village.

Chitwan National Park

More detail later, but... today we were walking alongside a dry creek bed, and saw the rare, endangered One-Horned Rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis)! Yes, unicorns do exist! (Whoever said a unicorn had to be a one-horned horse?)



The next day we went on a wildlife trek, first by dugout canoe and then a trek through the jungle.



We saw Mugger Crocodiles (Crocodylus palustris)...



A Gharial Crocodile (Gavialis gangeticus)



Stork-Billed Kingfisher (Halcyon capensis)



White-Throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)



And Sika Deer (Cervus nippon), among animals.



A termite mound (about 2m or 6 ft tall)

Pokhara Day 2

Another hiking day. A more strenuous hike.

We hiked to a peak called Sarangkot. It was higher than the one we went up yesterday. Most of the way up was up ridge paved with stone steps. On the left is a view of the lake, and on the right the Himalayas. Unfortunately the air was especially hazy today. Fine particulates blow off the Himalayas, making for a persistent haze that affects the central valley of Nepal. The monsoons clear up the haze: the best views are in October.



There were some shops along the way. Here's a weaving girl.



Datura and Bougainvillea


One thing we saw throughout our hike was paragliders. A very popular activity here. Something I'll have to try sometime. There were some eagles flying among the paragliders.



Again, the trek down was through pleasant countryside.




These haystack-looking structures are common in the countryside. They are shelters for livestock. Mostly goats and pigs.



Hard work


Paragliders!






Fisherwoman


Street in Pokhara


And for dinner: pizza!!


Tomorrow we go to Chitwan National Park. Elephant treks!