Adventure in the Himalayas

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Thursday, 29 August 2019 - Took the road to Nuwakot to see the Himalayas but cloudy, foggy weather obscured the mountain views, then we visited Indrayani Temple and continued to Bhaktapur Durbar Square taking photos of shrine niches, carved windows, terracotta temples, intricate woodwork, and historic city architecture before exploring Swayambhunath Stupa with its wisdom eyes on a hilltop overlooking Kathmandu.

Because we missed a plane, we were unable to spend the night in Nuwakot - from which you can see the Himalayas and Everest - on a good day. Our guide tried to make up for the canceled trip by taking us to Nuwakot this morning.

india2019 — Unfortunately, the weather was very cloudy and foggy, so we did not see the mountains. We did run into a military outfit all wearing Ranger on their sweatshirts. It took several minutes, but I was able to convince them I also was a Ranger.

india2019 — A stepwell - unmarked and heavily overgrown in algae. There was still water coming out of the spout, but we did not see anyone collect the water at this well.

india2019 — Indrayani Temple was a small temple on our way to Bhaktapur Durbar Square.

india2019 — At the entrance to Bhaktapur Durbar Square is Mini Pashupatinath Temple - which is a smaller representation of Pashupatinath Temple. Interesting pagoda style.

india2019 — Shrine niche - there are so many. I like the colors and the small statues.

india2019 — These two golden statues were very high up on a temple.

india2019 — Shrine to Ganesha - the elephant god.

india2019 — A few of the buildings in Bhaktapur Durbar Square show damage from the 2015 earthquake - several buildings we viewed in the palace squares had this same type of bracing.

india2019 — Detail of the carving on the buildings - how does this last?

india2019 — The multiple-armed statue of the terrible god Ugrachandi, a fearsome manifestation of Shiva's consort Parvati. The statues date back to 1701 AD and it is said that the unfortunate sculptor had his hands cut off afterward, to prevent him from duplicating his masterpieces. Ugrachandi has eighteen arms holding weapons, and she is in the position of casually killing a (Buffalo) demon. Her garland is a necklace of human heads.

india2019 — Gopi Nath Temple - Two roofed pagoda style has sweeping wooden beams.

india2019 — Kedarnath Shiva Temple is a terracotta made Shikara style temple,

india2019 — A gold face high up on the outside of the Kedarnath Shiva Temple.

india2019 — A gilded statue of King Bhupatindra Malla on a pillar with his hands folded in Prayer posture, legs folded and a serpent supporting the capital is in front of the Golden Gate. King Bhupatindra Malla is the most famous of the Malla kings of Bhaktapur and had a great influence on the art and architecture of the town.

india2019 — A man painstakingly works on stones for restoration of temple damage after the 2015 earthquake. All the restoration has to be done in a manner similar to the original craftsmanship.

india2019 — This woman was sitting on the steps of the Nyaynyapa Jhya (55 Windows Palace). She spotted me taking a picture and smiled.

india2019 — The intricate carvings on the windows of the second story room of the Nyaynyapa Jhya

india2019 — A typical window carved sill. We would see many of these in Kathmandu - in fact, the hotel where we stayed had several purchased as antiques and installed in the hotel.

india2019 — Built in 1678 by Jitamitra Malla from a natural spring the Naga Pokhari (Royal Bath) water pours from a gilded stone water spout into a sunken basin.

india2019 — You can't help but notice the huge snakes that encircle the bath. These are Nagas that are deities that take the form of water serpents.

india2019 — Close up of the Jitamitra Malla water spout - a complex set of animals.

india2019 — Detail of the craftsmanship where the wood and the brick came together.

india2019 — A small carving on a window sill.

india2019 — The 17th century Siddhi Laxmi Temple uses stone in an Indian style called Shikhara in reference to its tapering shape.

The steps up to the temple are flanked by male and female attendants, each leading a rather reluctant child and a rather eager-looking dog. On successive levels the stairs are flanked by horses, rhinos, man-lions and camels.

india2019 — A very skinny buddha.

india2019 — Yaksheswor Mahadev Temple which was built by King Yaksha Malla in the 15th century is the oldest surviving temple in the square.

The roof struts are carved with erotic scenes.

india2019 — Detail on Yaksheswor Mahadev Temple.

india2019 — Virginia Ann was simply entranced by the number of goats being led around like pets. She asked this man to stop so she could take a picture.

india2019 — A short distance from Bhaktapur Durbar Square is Nyatapola Temple. It is a five-story pagoda style temple built in 1702.

The Nyatapola temple was built and dedicated to the goddess Siddhi Lakshmi. The temple rests on a base of five levels with four Ganesh shrines in each of the corners.

india2019 — Looks like another Ugrachandi carved in wood - again I wounder how this lasts so long exposed to the elements.

india2019 — Virginia Ann waits with our guide while I climb Nyatapola Temple.

india2019 — Not exactly sure what this was hanging from the ceiling. At first I thought it was a bell.

india2019 — Across from Nyatapola Temple is Bhairabnath Temple another pagoda style temple. Bhairabnath Temple is dedicated to Bhairab, the fearsome incarnation of Shiva, whose consort occupies the Nyatapola Temple across the square.

The first temple on this site was a modest structure built in the early 17th century, but King Bhupatindra Malla added an extra story in 1717 and a third level was added when the temple was rebuilt after the 1934 earthquake.

india2019 — The end of the long metal adornment starting at the top of the temple. Looks like Bhairab at the end.

india2019 — Brass lion statue at the Bhairabnath Temple.

india2019 — A woman makes an offering at the Bhairabnath Temple.

india2019 — The same stepwell as we head back to the car. The green and red bricks make a good contrast.

We then drove to Patan Durbar Square.

india2019 — The image of Vishnu in his man-lion incarnation as Narsingha (or Narsimha) can be seen all over the Kathmandu Valley. The deity is normally depicted gleefully disemboweling the demon Hiranyakashipu with his bare hands, recalling a famous legend from the Bhagavata Purana. Because of a deal made with Brahma, the demon was granted special powers - he could not be killed by man or beast, either inside or outside, on the ground or in the air, by day or by night, nor by any weapon. Vishnu neatly got around these protections by adopting the form of a man-lion and killing the demon with his fingernails, at dusk, on his lap, on the threshold of the house.

india2019 — More wooden carvings - and again a skinny god.

india2019 — A stepwell in Patan Durbar Square called Manga Hiti which had three spouts all delivering water. We watched several people fill up containers with water. This was the middle spout and had a bit of decoration.

After the April 2015 earthquake, Manga Hiti, a 1,500-year-old water spout dating back to the mid-6th century, was one of the first areas in Patan Durbar Square to be cleared of rubble.

india2019 — Krishna Mandir was built in 1667 by King Srinivas Malla. It is said one night the King saw Lord Krishna and his consort Srimati Radha standing in front of the royal palace. He ordered a temple to be built on the same spot.

india2019 — Bhimsen Temple is dedicated to the god of trade and business, which may explain its prosperous appearance.

This picture is taken from the fourth floor rooftop restaurant. Where we had a great meal of Momos.

india2019 — Hanuman is a central character in the Hindu epic Ramayana. He is generally depicted as a man with the face of a monkey and a long tail. Hanuman is known for his extraordinary daring feats, strength and loyalty.

india2019 — King Yogendra Malla on top of the pillar with a snake behind him and a bird on top of the snake.

india2019 — The street along the palace wall.

india2019 — Cal and Virginia Ann at the entrance to the palace.

india2019 — This woman was in a very formal dress - she was Asian and seemed like a tourist with her friends snapping away as she posed several times in the Mul Chowk - the largest courtyard in the palace.

india2019 — Intricately carved wooden beams inside the Mul Chowk of the palace.

india2019 — The multiple-armed statue of the terrible god Ugrachandi again, a fearsome manifestation of Shiva's consort Parvati. Ugrachandi has eighteen arms holding weapons.

india2019 — This statue is on the door of Mul Chowk courtyard. We were amazed at how the stones (and the statue) survived so long.

india2019 — Taleju temple was built by Siddhi Narsingh Malla in 1640 and rebuilt by Srinivasa Malla in 1667 after a fire. Taleju Bhawani was the personal deity of the Malla kings. It is a five-story temple with triple-roofs.

india2019 — Carving of Ganish - I love the fact that his foot is on a rat which is the animal transport for him - an elephant!!

india2019 — Another beautiful window frame.

india2019 — Sundari Chowk contains the Tushahiti stepwell in the center of the courtyard. Built in 1647 by King Siddhinarasimha Malla for ritual bathing.

india2019 — Damaged during the earthquake, renovation is nearly complete. While we were there artisans were busy repairing a whole side of the square. The courtyard was built in 1666.

The gilded figures on the right and left are Ganga and Jamuna, goddesses of the river system that runs from the Himalayas and the copper shrine in the middle.

india2019 — We then drove to Swayambhunath high on a hill in Kathmandu.

This is a fountain with a small bowl at the bottom of the statue - the Statue of Peace. Everyone was trying to toss a coin into the small bowl with very few successes. We gave it a try with no success.

india2019 — Swayambhunath stupa is the main attraction in the area. This picture is taken level with the stupa from a nearby rooftop.

india2019 — Between the stupa's two eyes (also called Wisdom Eyes), is a curly symbol, which symbolize a nose and looks like a question mark. This is a Nepali sign of the number one. This sign represents the unity of all things existing in the world as well as the path to enlightenment through the teachings of Buddha.

india2019 — Smaller stupas clustered around the large stupa.

india2019 — Detail of a small statue on one of the smaller stupas.

india2019 — Small idol which seems to have a set of chains to provide protection in a niche of the Harati Ajima Temple.

india2019 — The view from the hill of Kathmandu.

india2019 — A golden plaque on one side of a temple on the hill.

india2019 — Pillar with someone high overhead.

india2019 — A peacock in gold on top of a small pillar with prayer flags reaching up to the top of the temple.

india2019 — Many small stupas collected in a group in a courtyard.

india2019 — Karma Raj Ghumpa a buddhist temple next to the stupa.

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