We had free time until 10:30 so after breakfast we spent and hour or more wandering around the Club Himalaya hotel gardens. The gardens are both extensive and well cared for with three different species of tall pine trees forming a perimeter forest. Within the main garden section was an intricate network of paths following flower beds and neatly trimmed hedges. We noticed several different species of epiphytic orchids but only one was still in flower.
Gardens at Club Himalaya Hotel
Gardens viewed from rooftop at Club Himalaya Hotel
At around 10:30 we placed our bags in the bus and then commenced a two hour walk leaving directly from Club Himalaya.
Om, our very informative guide led us initially down a road through the village of Nagarkot where the typical street-front shops were busily involved in their mid morning trade and associated activities.
The path we followed descended quite steeply and the surrounding area became more rural with there being occasional roadside cottages and associated buildings. Most of the farms have their plots on the terraced hillsides which extended across a vast area of the valley below us. Wheat, barley and corn appeared to be the main crops and these seemed to be quite close to reaching harvest time.
Village houses
Terraced farm gardens
Village house
Our morning walk
Man threshing wheat on village house roof
Man sawing wood
The pathway we followed was one where frequent encounters were made with local dogs and poultry but somewhat unexpectedly we noticed numerous cannabis plants growing as weeds along the edge of the road.
Chickens
Cannabis on roadside
In amongst the largely rural setting we were surprised to come across a neatly enclosed hillside enclave owned by the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University. This Buddhist off-shoot claims to have campuses around the globe and gauging by the facilities they don’t suffer from lack of finances. The gardens were immaculately maintained with an elaborate temple as a central feature but the topiary elephant in the garden was a particular cause for amusement.
Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University
The two hour walk ended at the Buddha Peace Park where we rested and had some very refreshing drinks including banana “lassis” which were delicious and made from a ‘runny’ yoghurt.
Buddha Peace Park
The area surrounding the park is the Bageshwari Reserved Forest. This vast forest reserve is regulated to be untouched forever and thus is uninhabited apart from the Nepalese Army School which occupies one boundary section of the reserve to ensure conservation of this large forested area.
Our further travels southwards involved passing through townships of Suryabinayak and Sanga where we were subject to a massive monsoonal downpour which caused roads to be flooded and traffic to be brought to a snail pace.
Rain storm passing through townships of Suryabinayak and Sanga
Rain storm passing through townships of Suryabinayak and Sanga
This dramatic storm soon passed and we were then back in afternoon sunshine as we approached our destination of Dhulikhel where our guide Om was to take us on a walk through the old town.
There is thought amongst scholars that Dhulikhel is an ancient town as revealed by the chronicles of the Llchhavian era of the sixth century AD. Even today there are ancient relics and the buildings within the old city show architectural modes of the past centuries.
Different architectural styles of buildings, Dhulikhel
Sadly, a number of the older buildings in old Dhulikhel show the scars of the terrible earthquake of 2015.
Building damaged by 2015 earthquake
Whilst still in the old city precinct of Dhulikhel we visited a hilltop Hindu temple where the Himalayas should have been visible but cloud and smog precluded such opportunities.
Gate to Hindu Temple
View from Hindu temple
We finished the day’s travels at our hotel, namely the Himalaya Dishya Resort where we celebrated a day of travel and activity with very pleasant drinks and a dinner including interesting Nepalese meals.
View from our room, Himalaya Drishya Resort
Tomorrow we head back towards Kathmandu and will visit some historically significant and interesting locations along the way.