Kirtipur - Pharping - Dakshinkali 1D

Kirtipur

Kirtipur is an ancient city of Nepal located 5 km south-west of Kathmandu. The name Kirtipur comes from sanskrit terms Kirti (glory) and pur (city). During 1099 A.D, It was part of Lalitpur. After invasion of the Kathmandu Valley by the Gorkhali king Prithvi Narayan Shah in the 18th century in 1767, Kirtipur was unified to the Gorkha kingdom. He took the town on his third attempt, after entering it by trickery and cut off the noses of men in the city. Bagh Bhairab temple is one of the most popular temples dedicated to God Bhairab in the form of a tiger. This god is regarded as the guardian of Kirtipur and the locals call it Ajudeu, a grandfather god. Bhairab, the most terrifying form of Shiva is the destroyer on one hand and the guardian on the other hand. Bagh Bhairab is worshipped during ceremonial rituals in relation to the important events of life such as rice-feeding, puberty, marriage and even the construction of houses. Bagh Bhairab Temple, Shri Kirti Bihar (Theravada Buddhist monastery built in traditional Thai architectural style), Uma Maheshwar temple (locally, Kwacho Dega) 1655 A.D. by Rautra Vishwanath Babu, son of king Sidhhi Narsinga Malla at the highest point (1414 m) of Kirtipur), Chilancho Stupa (medieval Buddhist shrine with stone inscription of Nepal Samvat 635), and newari culture are the major highlights of Kritipur.

Pharping

It lies 18 km south west of Kathmandu valley. On the way lies Chobhar gorge where the Bodhisatva Manjushree is said to have cut an incision to drain water out of the lake, which once covered the valley. There is a small but picturesque temple of Adinath on the top of hill with best panoramic view of snow-capped mountains. Buddhist monastery is Pharping’s main attraction along with 17th-century temple of Goddess Bajra Yogini. Other fascinating sights here includes cave and a hand print of the Buddhist saint Padmasambhav on the rock as well as footprints of Guru Gorakhnath.

Dakshinkali Temple

Dakshinkali Temple dedicated to the Hindu goddess Kali, the shrine is especially crowded on Tuesday and Saturday. Animal sacrifices specially cockerels and uncastrated male goats are offered to the deity. Situated between Chobhar and Dakshinkali, the temple of Shesha Narayan represents one of the four Narayans of the Kathmandu valley. Here we do have another cave where Guru Padmashamvav meditated. The other three Narayans are Changu Narayan of Bhaktapur, Visankhu Narayan of Patan and Ichangu Narayan of Kathmandu. We can find a lot of monastries in this area.