Terraces and the thousand steps
Sunrise over the Himalayas! Or at least, that was how it was sold to us, but it in fact turned out to be a chilly but lovely sky over the Himalayas, followed by sunrise over a construction site (interesting for me at least...). Evidently they don't have planning permission viewing obstruction rules here! This serene start to the day was followed by our first plentiful Nepali breakfast, which included chow mein, stir fried veg, potatoes in a sticky sauce, fried eggs, pancakes, honey and muffins (yes, all on one plate).
I feasted well on this eclectic mix as at 9am we were starting off towards a hike. On the way to the drop off point our driver took us to a lookout tower, upon which I tested my ladder-climbing skills on a very flimsy looking set of rungs. The view I was rewarded with was indeed 360 degrees, although in character no better than some stunning scenery we were to see later on.
We were soon at our drop-off point (signed to Hotel Mystic Mountain) and our driver all too briefly described the route (verbatim 'when you reach a fork, ask a local "Which road is to the Nala?" and go that way') to us. We were then presented with what apparent to be a pre-3210 phone - actual buttons and everything - and set off along the track. This undulating and gradually got a bit less track-y, but gave us good views across to Nagarkot where we had stayed. We also eyed-up the infinity pool at Mystic Mountain, before the track petered-out into a trail. This was easy to follow for a mile or so, and then opened out to a clearing with several tracks leading off and a curious pile of about 30 army rucksacks.
With gunshots ringing in the background we decided it was time for offline maps to be utilised, and took a path leading into a the welcome shade of the trees. This was fresh and green, and led us around to the start of some terraced farmland. At this point, still following our map towards Nala, we went down what were called the "1000 steps" (I lost count) to a bigger track. This track then led us through neatly farmed fields, terraces and then villages to our destination - Ugrachandi Temple in Nala.
A little confusion with our driver and the dreaded phone later and we were relieved to find him and be back in the car. Our journey was hampered a little by a pile of rebar which did not go so well with the undercarriage of the car, but once we were freed it was straight on to Patan, and a tasty lunch overlooking its Durbar Square. This completed our trio of Palace Squares (Kathmandu, Bhaktpur and Patan) and gave us sight of even more pretty temples. In fact, the temples had all started blurring a little into one having seen so many of them - Nepal is blessed to have so many intricate structures.
Lunch had, we wandered the town for a bit, admiring the golden temple, golden bull and a surprisingly well kept pond, before returning to Kathmandu. Here we filled the evening with a few errands ready for tomorrow's journey, then some delicious momos (the chilli ones were particularly good).
Sunrise over the Himalayas! Or at least, that was how it was sold to us, but it in fact turned out to be a chilly but lovely sky over the Himalayas, followed by sunrise over a construction site (interesting for me at least...). Evidently they don't have planning permission viewing obstruction rules here! This serene start to the day was followed by our first plentiful Nepali breakfast, which included chow mein, stir fried veg, potatoes in a sticky sauce, fried eggs, pancakes, honey and muffins (yes, all on one plate).
I feasted well on this eclectic mix as at 9am we were starting off towards a hike. On the way to the drop off point our driver took us to a lookout tower, upon which I tested my ladder-climbing skills on a very flimsy looking set of rungs. The view I was rewarded with was indeed 360 degrees, although in character no better than some stunning scenery we were to see later on.
We were soon at our drop-off point (signed to Hotel Mystic Mountain) and our driver all too briefly described the route (verbatim 'when you reach a fork, ask a local "Which road is to the Nala?" and go that way') to us. We were then presented with what apparent to be a pre-3210 phone - actual buttons and everything - and set off along the track. This undulating and gradually got a bit less track-y, but gave us good views across to Nagarkot where we had stayed. We also eyed-up the infinity pool at Mystic Mountain, before the track petered-out into a trail. This was easy to follow for a mile or so, and then opened out to a clearing with several tracks leading off and a curious pile of about 30 army rucksacks.
With gunshots ringing in the background we decided it was time for offline maps to be utilised, and took a path leading into a the welcome shade of the trees. This was fresh and green, and led us around to the start of some terraced farmland. At this point, still following our map towards Nala, we went down what were called the "1000 steps" (I lost count) to a bigger track. This track then led us through neatly farmed fields, terraces and then villages to our destination - Ugrachandi Temple in Nala.
A little confusion with our driver and the dreaded phone later and we were relieved to find him and be back in the car. Our journey was hampered a little by a pile of rebar which did not go so well with the undercarriage of the car, but once we were freed it was straight on to Patan, and a tasty lunch overlooking its Durbar Square. This completed our trio of Palace Squares (Kathmandu, Bhaktpur and Patan) and gave us sight of even more pretty temples. In fact, the temples had all started blurring a little into one having seen so many of them - Nepal is blessed to have so many intricate structures.
Lunch had, we wandered the town for a bit, admiring the golden temple, golden bull and a surprisingly well kept pond, before returning to Kathmandu. Here we filled the evening with a few errands ready for tomorrow's journey, then some delicious momos (the chilli ones were particularly good).
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