Of Cats and Curries: Following Manjushri- Round the Valley in 8 days IV

Day 3: Deurali to Indrasthan

6:00 am – 4:00 pm (Tuesday. April 13, 2010)

Without opening your door,

You can open your heart to the world.

Without looking out your window,

You can see the essence of the Tao.

The more you know,

The less you understand.

The Master arrives without leaving,

Sees the light without looking,

Achieves without doing a thing.

The first part of the walk from Deurali to Chandragiri is through well defined and gentle trail. There is a steep final climb that goes through well defined but narrow and overgrown trail near the top. Make sure you are wearing full sleeved shirts as the trail is overgrown with shrubs with thorny leafs. It takes around one and a half hours to get to Chandragiri peak from Deurali. At the time of writing a road was being built to Chandragiri from Chitlang Bhanjyang, a pass with road access to the north-west of the peak.

Shrine at Chandragiri peak possibly of Nava Durga (nine goddesses of power)

A shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva at Chandragiri peak

The under construction road from Chitlang Bhanjyang to Chandragiri peak

Pugmarks of a large leopard on the road

Chitlang Bhanjyang

This area is of historical interest. It is said that King Prithvi Narayan Shah, the unifier of modern Nepal, had come to Makwanpur while still a crown prince to fetch his first wife, Indra Kumari, the princess of Makwanpur. He was however denied to take homes wife after he and the King of Makwanpur Hemkarna Sen had an argument. On his way back to Gorkha, he surveyed the Kathmandu Valley from Chandragiri peak, giving way to a desire to conquer the beautiful valley.

Chitlang Bhanjyang was among the four major passes of medieval Kathamandu, the other three being Baad Bhanjyang (now more commonly known as Nagdhunga Pass), Pati Bhanjyang (10 km north of Sundarijal) and Sanga Bhanyang (to the east along the Arniko Highway). Controlling these four passes was what allowed King Prithvi Narayan Shah to blockade and eventually conquer the Kathmandu Valley.

Currently however there is nothing either in Chandragiri peak or Chitlang Bhanjyang to testify to its historical importance. At Chandragiri peak there is a small shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva and at Chitlang Bhanjyang there are a couple of abandoned huts. Both places, specially Chitlang Bhanjyang offer good places to camp though.

The road through Chitlang Bhanjyang connects Thankot to the north to Chitlang village and then Tribhuwan Highway to the south.

From Chitlang Bhanjyang one has the option to either walk down the dirt road to Thankot village or to take a trail to a small peak to the NNW of Chitlang Bhanjyang and then walk north along the ridge to Nagdhunga Pass.

The dirt road to Thankot passes through good forest and after one and half hours comes to Thankot village. It offers numerous places to eat and replenish supplies as needed.

Thankot from the dirt road to Chitlang

Walking north from Thankot one should come upon the dirt road that goes up to Indrasthan. This road does perfect justice to the word “dirt road”. It is an extremely dry and dusty area and the cactus planted along the road at certain sections only adds to the desert ambience. During windy days and there are many in a pass, one can see the dust from this area travel as far as Kalanki.

A cactus tree on the road to Indrasthan

There is a small pond and some temples at Indrasthan. From Indrasthan it is a short walk up to the flat hill top. At the western end of the top there is the tomb of Kaji Kalu Paade; in the middle there is a telecommunication tower with a small army force and at the eastern end there is a small piece of flat land with a small clump of bamboo. This eastern end is a very good place to camp as it has one of the best views of the Kathmandu Valley below. However, make sure to notify the army camp nearby if you intend to do so.

Gateway to Indrasthan

A stone tablet commemorating Dahachok festival in Visit Nepal Year 1998. (notice the prescription drug vials to the left of the tablet)

The main shrine of Indrasthan being guarded by a sea serpent

The dried pond at Indrasthan

The story as to why Kaji Kalu Paade’s tomb lies here is pretty interesting. He was the top general of King Prithvi Narayan Shah and was a matured statesman who held in check the heedless ambition of the king. After having conquered the area around Kathmandu Valley, the king wanted to invade Kirtipur, a well fortified town atop a hill to the west of Chobhar. Kaji Kalu Paade warned the king that the time wasn’t yet ripe for the invasion. But the king was not only adamant but also brought into question the loyalty and bravery of the kaji. Thus, affronted Kaji Kalu Paade took the lead in the invasion of Kirtipur (1757 A.D.). In the battle that ensued, Prithvi Narayan Shah’s Gorkhali army were utterly routed. The battle also cost the army the life of its commander, Kaji Kalu Paade. As it was his wish to have a tomb from where his homeland Gorkha was visible, the king brought the Kaji’s remains to this hilltop and constructed a tomb for him there.

Kazi Kalu Paade's tomb

View of Nagarjun from Indrasthan (September 2008)

The top of Indrasthan. Bamboo grove campsite to the right. (September 2008)

Binaya and Reshma

View from the hilltop

Dust being swept into the valley from Dahachok

Use your imagination

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Personal Notes:

Start early. Reach Chandragiri (2561m) at around 8. Lot of bushwhacking at the upper stretched and lot of nasty leaf-stings. Very bad trail. A dozered road from here to Chitlang Bhanjyang. Very large pugmark on the road to hitlang. Chitlang all abandoned. Head down to Thankot. First full meal of Dal-Bhat in 3 days. Got there around 11 am. Left at 12 p. Extremely hot day. Climb up to Dahachok was a bitch. Tractor ride. Smiles when we ask for “Kalu paade ko tauko’. NO water in INdra Daha. Kalu Paade’s head memorial pretty well tended. Camped at the eastern edge of the hilltop. Beautiful view of Kathmandu. Very strong winds and a little rainfall. Tent gets all went. Dried and now SLEEPING.

Birds/Animals seen: Pair of Sparrowhawks hunting on swallows hunting on insects from a fire. Buzzzard. Kestrel.

(Dust from Dahachok)