It shall remain regret of a lifetime for me not to be able to view, that is, from a close angle, the Mount Everest, while visiting Nepal few years ago. Our hosts had specially arranged a mountain flight to the Mount Everest on the last day of our three-day stay in Kathmandu, to which all of us were looking forward to with great excitement and keen desire.
This was a chartered plane, which during one-hour mountain flight, flying at about 8,000 metres was to show us the glimpses of the entire central and eastern Himalayan Range that includes the highest point on earth, Mount Everest, known domestically as Sagarmatha. In fact, Nepal contains eight of the world's ten highest peaks, and it was expected to be a fascinating and breath-taking experience. We were to depart early morning and it was anticipated to be another sunny day; sky clear and bright.
History of climbing the highest mountain in the world at 8,850 metre is fascinating, and the difficulties of climbing are legendary. The Mount Everest and Sir Edmund Hillary are rather synonyms, as he, along with Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, made the history on 29th May 1953 to climb now of 82 years it. Sir Hillary was also remained the Ambassador of New Zealand in Nepal during 1985-1989.
Himalayan Mountains feature in ancient legend as eternal home of the gods, and has gained immense popularity with the mountaineers after the 1953 expedition. More than 4,000 mountaineers from twenty countries have so far attempted to climb Mt. Everest. Only 160 of them were successful to accomplish whereas 140 climbers died while attempting.
The mountain, which looks like a pyramid-shaped horn, is covered with huge glaciers offering extreme weather conditions. Yet the first woman, Junko Tabei of Japan, reached the summit in 1975, and an American, Tom Whittaker, was the first disabled person to be at the highest peak in 1998.
When we were ready next morning to depart the hotel, bad luck struck and heavy clouds started gathering in the sky. Suddenly, there was heavy downpour.
By the afternoon we all lost hope to avail the special flight, and plan to visit the mountains had to be shelved. Alas, we were so near the Mount Everest yet so far.
There was however consolation that being in Nepal I could anyway have glimpses of the Himalayan range. From the plane that we arrived it was a breathtaking scene overlooking the Himalayas.
The scenic beauty and exotic places in Nepal are affixed in my mind though a reasonable time has passed. A medieval community - unchanged perhaps for centuries - has to offer a large number of historical and cultural sites to a visitor.
In fact, Nepal enjoys the singular distinction of containing seven out of ten cultural sites that are incorporated in the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. These are Kathmandu Durbar Square, Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Patan Durbar Square, Changu Narayan Temple, Pashupatinath Temple, Swayambhunath Stupa and Stupa at Boudhnath. In addition, the country has claim to fame the birthplace of Lord Buddha, the most important Buddhist pilgrim site of Lumbini, which is being developed under a UN-sponsored international project, and has two natural heritage sites of the Sagarmatha (Everest) National Park and Royal Chitwan National Park.
There is so much to see in Kathmandu, for instance there are 235 temples only in the valley, and a visitor could not possibly cover most of the places.
Kathmandu valley consists of three cities. While Kathmandu, previously known as Kantipur, portrays old city intermingled with modern facilities, Bhaktapur is the showcase of medieval town life, whereas Patan, or Lalitpur, situated in rural atmosphere, is the centre of fine arts for the last many centuries.
One of the three royal palace squares in the valley, Kathmandu Durbar Square, is indeed a reflection of grandeur of the past. A complex of palaces, courtyards and temples, it is the 5-acre site of Hanuman Dhoka Palace, the royal residence until the 19th century. Durbar is divided into two main chowks or courtyards; the outstanding feature of the one is the imposing pagoda known as Kasthamandap, or House of Woods, of the 12th century, said to be from single tree trunk. Here is a cluster of temples and shrines; ornamented with carvings, metalwork and gilding and decorated with colourful buntings and yellow flower petals scattered around.
The famous Hindu temples are the Temple of Narayan, a three-roofed carved rose-brick structure, and the elegant Shiva Temple. Of the great significance, located in the other main courtyard famous as Kumari Chowk, is the Kumari Bahal, the Temple of the Living Goddess, which is a stucco temple of mid 18th century.
It is the two-storey building, with intricately carved wooden doorframes, windows and balconies, that also serves as the residence of the Kumari, a young girl chosen to become the human incarnation of the Virgin Goddess herself. She is worshipped during the religious festivals, and on our visit, the Kumari made a public appearance, a special gesture, in the balcony of Kumari Bahal.
The Singha Durbar is the largest palace in Asia that contains as many as 1,700 luxury rooms and 17 expansive courtyards. It has now been converted into the house of parliament, Prime minister's house and the secretariat.
A tree-lined road, amidst spellbinding landscape, takes us from Kathmandu to Bhaktapur at a distance of about 30 kilometres, which is known for clay pottery and craft museums. Bhaktapur Darbar Square, glorious architecture of the 17th century, is the most famous and relished site of the former capital.
There are almost 300 stone-steps that lead to the entrance. Decorated with stone sculptures of animals and birds, the place was crowded with the locals and tourists alike. Monkeys were freely moving around the square, amidst the vendors selling pashmina shawls made in exotic colours and designs, ornate jewellery and other artefacts.
There are many stone statues erected in the Square; the most fascinating being the gilded statue of King Malla seated on a high stone column, overlooking the town. Atop the nearby hill is located the great Stupa of Swayambhunath, the best known Buddhist temple, which in fact is a 2,500 years old site.
A symbol of the Buddhist art and structure, the temple has distinctive feature of painted eyes of Buddha on all four sides of its central portion, and contains many stone sculptures and various monasteries. The temple presents a panoramic view of Kathmandu.
The Nyatapola Temple, which is considered the highest temple in Nepal is the 30-metre building, standing on a 5-terraced platform. It portrays classic workmanship, and has traditionally carved wooden columns and pillars, and mythical animals in stone guard the steps of temple. On the banks of holy Bagmati River is the Pashupatinath Temple, one of the most revered shrines in the subcontinent dedicated to Lord Shiva. Adorned with golden roof and silver doors, the temple has amazing artistic expressions including erotic carvings.
Patan, also known as Lalitpur, is basically a Buddhist city and claims to have 55 temples and 136 courtyards, besides many monasteries. Silhouetted against the backdrop of mountains and hills, it is the city of artisans as reflected in various metal smiths and brassware shops. Darbar Square serves as community centre and place for carrying out religious rituals. The Golden Temple, or Kwa Bahal, a 5-storey pagoda of the 14th century, is an impressive Buddhist monastery.