October adventures!

We've had a fantastic October - two birthdays, a house move and three weeks off school for the Dasain holiday. 

Dasain, Nepal's biggest annual festival, lasts for 15 days. It celebrates the victory of the goddess Durga over the forces of evil (personified in the buffalo demon Mahisasura) and across the country thousands of animals (mainly goats) are sacrificed in Durga's honour. 

Freshly purchased Dasain goats!

Many businesses and shops close for all or most of the holiday and there is a carnival atmosphere as families come together and blessings are received from older relatives. Thousands of people leave the city to return to their home villages rendering the streets relatively traffic free (perfect for cycling!). Dogs, vehicles and cows are also blessed during the 15 days and receive 'tika' marks of red paste and garlands. Huge swings are erected at the entrance to villages and communities relax together, fly kites and enjoy a few days break from the daily grind.   

Decorated tractor

Village swing constructed from bamboo poles

October is the beginning of the trekking season so many of our friends headed off to the mountains but we decided to stay and explore the Kathmandu valley and enjoy the peace of the half empty city. 

Kathmandu valley was formed by a vast lake which burst its banks and drained away around 10,000 years ago. The valley was gradually settled and was an important staging post on the trade route from India to Tibet. It became the homeland of the Newars, a mixed tribe of Indian and Tibeto-Burman origin, and by the 17th century it was dominated by three rival kingdoms/city-states - Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. 

Each of these still has an historic Durbar (palace) square with magnificent temples, palaces and gorgeous architecture. Gradually the rice paddies and open spaces between the cities are disappearing as the population grows, but many parts of the valley still have a rural feel with free-range animals and the odd paddy field squeezed between partially constructed blocks of flats.

We live in Patan which is now only separated from Kathmandu by the rather smelly and extremely polluted Bagmati river. Patan is more laid back than Kathmandu and is characterised by narrow lanes with little shrines on every corner, temple squares and, in its historic heart, traditional Newari houses with intricately carved wooden doors and window frames. 

Bhaktapur is the best preserved and most rural of the former city-states and we took a day trip there during the holidays. It has three major temple squares surrounded by cobbled streets which weave between red brick buildings, joining courtyards and smaller squares peppered with temples, statues, cisterns and wells. Artisans weave cloth and chisel timber by the roadside and side-squares are full of clay pots, open kilns, crops drying in the sun and women winnowing rice and other grains. 

We also went for a 10km day-trek from Nargarkot (2,195m above sea level) down to the village of Sankhu. The walk starts in the mountains (with fantastic views of the high Himalaya) and then descends through woodland, terraced farmland and villages.

All in all a very good month! 

Thanks for your interest. SJAP x