Hollywood of Nepal 'Chobar'

Chobar is also known as the Hollywood of Nepal as many movies is shot in this place. This peaceful place is located at 8 km from Kathmandu. Chobar is derived from the two words Cho- up and bar means Vihars which means Viharas up in the hills. Chobar is famous for its gorge, cave and park. It is believed that Once Kathmandu was a lake and Manjushree, Hindu God who cut the gorge at the Chobar to make a plain land. This park is surrounded by landscape of beauty. Many families comes to spend their weekend. Local people all over the valley comes to spent their leisure time in this park. The caves of this park are the South Asians longest cave. All the water of the valley river called Bagmati drains through the Chobar Gorge. The birds when they fly over the gorges, it looks amazing. There is a suspension bridge which connects the two valleys. When we walk from the hanging bridge, and when we look down it gives you the thrilling experience. We can also see the opposite side of valley with working farmers in the fields. The cool breeze which passes over the hills will give you relief from distress. The view of fascinating hills and gorges will make you forget all the problems in life. We can also see a panoramic view of Kathmandu Valley with snow-capped Mountains if weather is clear. In the evening we can see the beautiful sunset over the valley. At the top of Chobar hills there is an Aadinath temple, which is another attraction. If we go in festival time we may get chance to see many Devotees. There is one Gumba at the top of the hill and a Militeray Camp. From the top of the hills, we can see the other part of Kathmandu, Pharping way through Hathiban. There is one old Peepal tree and a temple. That tree is hung of many colorful bottles. From there you can see panoramic view of the whole Kathmandu valley from Pharping, Kirtipur, Sayambhu and Bhaisi party. At the south part we have Jalvinayak Temple which is one of the famous Ganesh Shrines in Kathmandu which was built in 1602. The Jal Vinayak is derived from the Ganesh Temple Jal “water” and Vinayak means one who endowed with all features of leader i.e. Nayak. Vinayak is also a name of Lord Ganesh. Near that Temple there is a rock shaped like elephant head that gives a look like Lord Ganesha. The mustard flowers over the valley transform the landscape into a yellow carpet. The local typical houses of these places gives you the taste of Nepali Culture.

A Glimpse of Old Nepal "Panauti"

Panauti is an old Historical Village which is 36 km away from the Kathmandu City. It is a small Village, famous for a state given by the King Bhupatindra Malla to his sister as dowry. This peaceful place with beautiful Mountains, lush green farmlands, old traditional houses, Garden of orange trees and snake like roads which disappear at the ends is an awesome view. This is the place where you can feel an Old Nepal in real. When you enter the lane of this old village the heavenly smell of incense drying in the sun takes you in another world. The red chillies and yellow Turmeric outside the houses makes village more vibrant. The innocent old people resting in the shades of tree saying Namaste with smile is over whelming. Panauti is very rich in Nepali Culture with many festivals. In every festivals large numbers of devotees comes from all over Nepal. Apart from the festivals, the village is very silent as local people are mostly farmers and go for field work. This place is rarely visited by the tourists. The natural river flows from the north through big rocks enters the Triveni Ghat. Triveni is the meeting point of two main rivers Roshi and Punyamati. This Ghat with Small River looks exactly like small Pashupatinath and the colorful ducks swimming in the river adds more charm to this nature. There are beautiful murals in temples which represents the Hindu Tales. The sculpted stone of Hindu God is another attraction. There are many ancient Hindu temples and Buddhist Stupas around the village. Indreshwar Temple of Panauti is one of the famous Temples of Nepal with tallest pagoda where pots and pans were hung by the young people for better married life. There is traditional stone water tap called Dhunge Dhara in some places which reflects the image of Old Nepal. We can also get the opportunity to see arts and architecture of local people. There are many local shops where we can get handicrafts of hay and woods. The Organic tea and coffee of this place is healthier for our body. The trek between Panauti to Namo Buddha is one of the famous trek in Kathmandu. It’s an opportunity to know more deeply about Nepal. This place will soak you in old heritage with beautiful experience. If you want to visit the real Nepal you must reach this place.

Behind our sight " Chepang "

Far from City, there is an indigenous tribe called Chepang which reside in the mid hill region of Shaktikhor, Chitwan. This tribe comes in the poorest tribal groups of Nepal. They live a nomadic life with small size houses and of one-story with thatched roofs. Their population is very less compared to other communities in Nepal. They take  meals once in a day and hardly grow anything due to low irrigation facility; their land is harsh and dry. Their primary occupations are farming with slash and burn system. They commonly grow dry crops which are eaten and affected by monkeys and wind storm vice-versa. The food last for only three months and another nine months they raise goats and chickens and exchange with foods in the market. Their main food items are Kaguno, buck wheat, natural wild roots, Chewri (wild berry), wild potatoes along with collected natural edible foods, hunted bat and fish whereas the main beverage item are local Raksi (alcohol) and Chyang (Rice beer). They are nature worshipers and still believe in Shamanism. The distance from Chepang Village to Shaktikhor is 2 hours of walking. It’s difficult for small children to walk up and down through that hill to school. The Chepang Village is surrounded by Jungle which is not safe and is risky for small children to pass. Because of distance issue they are unable to get basic education. The Chepang community is far away from education and lack of awareness in family planning. Men, women and children all need health education. The living standard is below the poverty line. Children of this community are facing health issues, i.e. malnutrition and scabies, etc. There is a great need for better sanitation and hygiene. If we help them to educate, it will help in some extend to improve their life.