Thursday, March 22, 2012

Pashupatinath Temple

Pashupatinath, or Pashupati, is a Hindu temple on the banks of the Bagmati River in Deopatan, a village 3 km northwest of Kathmandu. It is dedicated to a manifestation of Shiva called Pashupati (Lord of Animals). It attracts thousands of pilgrims each year and has become well known far beyond the Kathmandu Valley. The temple is barred to non-Hindus, but a good view of the temple can be had from the opposite bank of the river.

It is not known for certain when Pashupatinath was founded. Tradition says it was constructed by Pashupreksha of the Somadeva Dynasty in the 3rd century BC, but the first historical records date from the 13th century. The ascetic Pashupata sect was likely related to its foundation.
Pashupati was a tutelary deity of the ancient rulers of the Kathmandu Valley; in 605 AD, Amshuvarman considered himself favored by his touching of the god's feet.
By the later Middle Ages, many imitations of the temple had been built, such as in Bhaktapur (1480), Lalitpur (1566) and Benares (early 19th century). The original temple was destroyed several times until it was given its present form under King Bhupalendra Malla in 1697.
According to a legend recorded in local texts, especially the Nepalamahatmyaand the Himavatkhanda, the Hindu god Shiva once fled from the other gods inVaranasi to Mrigasthali, the forest on the opposite bank of the Bagmati River from the temple. There, in the form of a gazelle, he slept with his consort Parvati. When the gods discovered him there and tried to bring him back to Varanasi, he leapt across the river to the opposite bank, where one of his horns broke into four pieces. After this, Shiva became manifest as Pashupati (Lord of Animals) in a four-face (chaturmukha) linga.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Rara Lake


Lake Rara is situated in the western part of Nepal, at about 300 km northwest of Kathamndu, the capital of Nepal. It is a warm, oligotrophic lake with a monomictic type of water circulation. It is surrounded by hills and mountains from which more than 30 brooks flow into the lake. It has only one outlet, Khater Khola, on its western shore (khola=stream). Khater Khola forms a deep gorge at about 7 km downstream from the outlet and finally joins Karnali River, a tributary of the Ganga.
Lake Rara is somewhat oval in shape. It has relatively large maximum depth for its surface area. It has two basins. The main basin, occupying the western part of the lake, covers about 80% of the total surface area. It is characterized by a steep margin and vast flat bottom. The area below 160 m accounts for about 27 % of the lake area. The eastern sub-basin has a gently sloping margin and a small bottom. Lake Rara is a part of 'Rara Lake Naitonal Park and Wildlife Conservation Area' (Q).

Phewa Lake

Phewa LakePhewa Tal or Fewa Lake is a lake of Nepal located in the Pokhara Valley near Pokhara and Sarangkot. It is the second largest lake in Nepal and lying at an altitude of 784 m (2,572 ft) it covers an area of about 4.43 km2 (1.7 sq mi) with an average depth of about 8.6 m (28 ft) with maximum water depth is 22.8 m (75 ft) when measured with an echo-sounder on 5 December 2009. Maximum water capacity of the lake is approximately 46,000,000 cubic metres (37,000 acre·ft). Annapurna looms in the distance from the lake and the lake is famous for the reflection of Mount Machapuchare on its surface. The holy Varahi mandir is situated on an island in the lake.

Tal Barahi Tample

 Pokhara's most famous Hindu temple the two tiered pagoda style barahi mandir stand on a small island near the ratna mandir( royal palace), founded in the 18th century, the temple is dedicated to god vishnu in his boar incarnation but it's been extensively renovated over the years. rowboats to the temple leave from near the city bus stand in lake side.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Lumbini


Lumbini is a site in the Rupandehi district of Nepal. It is the place where Queen Mayadevi gave birth to Siddhartha Gautama, who as the Buddha Gautama founded the Buddhist tradition. The Buddha lived between roughly 563 and 483 BCE. Lumbini is one of four magnets for pilgrimage that sprang up in places pivotal to the life of the Buddha, the others being at Kushinagar, Bodh Gaya, and Sarnath is a city of our country. This located is  in kapilbastu district and kapilbastu village. This zone peaceful place of our country. Here is born lod Buddha. this place is important part of our country so we are save this part. There is many many pagoda for peace.

Lumbini is geographically located 25 km east of the municipality of Kapilavastu, Nepal. Where the Buddha lived until the age of 29. Lumbini has a number of temples, including the Mayadevi temple, and others under construction. Also located here is the Puskarini or Holy Pond where the Buddha's mother took the ritual dip prior to his birth and where he, too, had his first bath, as well as the remains of Kapilvastu palace. At other sites near Lumbini, earlier Buddhas were, according to tradition, born, achieved ultimate awakening and finally relinquished earthly form.


 

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Pokhara City

Pokhara city is in western Nepal located at 28.25°N, 83.99°E, and is situated 198 km west of the capital Kathmandu. It is the second largest city of Nepal and also serves as the headquarters of Kaski District, Gandaki Zone and the Western Developmental Region. Pokhara is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Nepal. Three out of the ten highest mountains in the world are situated within 50 miles (linear distance) of the city so that the northern skyline of the city offers a very close view of theHimalayas.

 Pokhara is situated in the northwestern corner of the Pokhara Valley, which is a widening of the Seti Gandaki valley. The Seti River is the main river flowing through the city, Seti and its tributaries have dug several canyons into the valley floor. To the east of Pokhara is the municipality of Lekhnath, a recently established town in the valley.
In this region the mountains rise very quickly and within 30 km, the elevation rises from 1,000 m to over 7,500 m. As a result of this sharp rise in altitude the area of Pokhara has one of the highest precipitation rates of the country (over 4,000 mm/year). Even within the city there is a noticeable difference in rainfall between the south and the north of the city, the northern part of the city situated at the foothills of the mountains experiences proportionally higher amount of precipitation.
In the south the city borders on Phewa Tal (lake) (4.4 km² at an elevation of about 800 m above sea level), and at 1,100 m the northern outskirts of the city touch the base of the Annapurna mountain range. Eight-thousand meter tall peaks (Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, Manaslu) are visible from the city. The Machhapuchhre ('Fishtail') with an elevation of 6,993 m is the closest to the city. The porous underground of the Pokhara valley favours the formation of caves and several caves can be found within the city limits. In the south of the city, a tributary of the Seti flowing out of thePhewa Lake disappears at Patale Chhango(पाताले छाँगो, Nepali for Hell's Falls, also called Davi's Falls, after someone who supposedly fell into the falls) into an underground gorge, to reappear 500 metres further south.