Pashupatinath Temple is one of the most significant Hindu temples of Lord Shiva in the world, located on the banks of the Bagmati River in the eastern part of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The temple serves as the seat of the national deity, Lord Pashupatinath. The temple is listed in UNESCO World Heritage Sites list.
The temple is one of the 275 Paadal Petra Sthalams (Holy Abodes of Shiva on the continent). Over the past times, only born Hindus were allowed to enter the temple. Others could look at it from other side of the river. However, the norms have been relaxed due to many incidents. If the individual is destined, he/she takes and completes the journey to reach these footsteps without any resistance or obstructions along the way, is believed to be under loving grace of Rudra. It is final stage of harsh penance. Thus, the slave (pasu - the human condition) becomes the master (pati - the divine condition).

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Birendra succeeded to the throne on 31 January 1972 on the death of his father. On his ascension he was effectively an absolute monarch as he inherited a country where political parties were banned and he ruled through a system of local and regional councils known as panchayats. Birendra resented the absolute monarch tag maintaining that he presided over a democracy in which representatives to the assembly were indirectly elected and saying that his poor and backward country could not afford a democracy based on party politics and that it needed firm and decisive government.His first trips abroad as king were to India in October 1973 and China two months later as he believed that Nepal, sandwiched between the two Asian powers, should have good relations with both.

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Damauli, today Byas Municipality, is the headquarters of Tanahu District in the Gandaki Zone of Western Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 18,099 people residing in 3604 individual households.It's one of the well planned towns in Nepal.The beautiful town is growing fast to be one of the major cities in the country. Majority of the population are engaged in some kind of business.It is easily recognizable because it is located on the confluence of two major rivers the Madi and the Seti. A lot of tourists come here for rafting in the Madi river The Manung hill is another important geographical landmark overlooking the Town..This place has lot of natural beauty. It has green forests and clean river flowing. Besides this recreational aspects, people visit Damauli because of religious aspect too. Damauli is the birth place of Vedvyas who is the writer of veds and purans. I suggest everybody to visit Damauli who really want to feel and experience the real beauty of nature. Vyas cave is historically important because it is believed that Vyas rishi lived over here.

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Pokhara Sub-Metropolitan City is the second largest city of Nepal with 264,991 inhabitants and is situated about 200 km west of the capital Kathmandu.It serves as the headquarters of Kaski District, Gandaki Zone and the Western Development Region.Pokhara is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Nepal. Three out of the ten highest mountains in the world — Dhaulagiri, Annapurna I and Manaslu — are situated within 30 miles (linear distance) of the city, so that the northern skyline of the city offers a very close view of the Himalayas. Due to its proximity to the Annapurna mountain range, the city is also a base for trekkers undertaking the Annapurna Circuit through the ACAP region of the Annapurna ranges in the Himalayas.
Geography

Pokhara is situated in the northwestern corner of the Pokhara Valley, which is a widening of the Seti Gandaki valley that lies in the midland region (Pahad) of the Himalayas. 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 in the country (3,350 mm/year or 131 inches/year in the valley to 5600 mm/year or 222 inches/year in Lumle).

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Before I die I want To See My Country Devloped Kathmandu-Kulekhani-Hetauda Tunnel (KKHT) Highway The development plan of KKHT Highway has been initiated in the context of much talked about and most desired short cut route out of the valley. This highway will connect entire western followed by southern and eastern parts of Nepal through Hetauda and will significantly boost overall economic growth of the corridor, region and the whole country. The Hetauda-Narayanghat-Mugling-Kathmandu passage is one of the highest trafficked road corridors in Nepal. Most of the goods from India or third countries are brought to Kathmandu via this route from Birgunj and other places. The road length from Hetauda to Kathmandu is approximately 227 km with travel time of approx. 6-8 hrs. The alternative route - the Tribhuvan Highway, though only 133 km in length still requires travel time of approx. 7-8 hrs. Whereas the purposed KKHT Highway will connect Kathmandu with Hetauda via Kulekhani in an hour. 

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It may be unbelievable today but this is how the Bagmati river looked in late 70ies.
The building on the left side is Prashuti Griha ( Maternity Home) Hospital, Thapathali.
This photo was probably taken during the monsoon season from the Kupandol bridge
Photo by: Judith Conant Chase .The Chobar gorge cuts through the Mahabharat Range, also called the Lesser Himalaya. This 2,000 to 3,000 meter range is the southern limit of the "middle hills" across Nepal, an important cultural boundary between distinctive Nepali and more Indian cultures and languages, as well as a major geological feature.
The basin of the Bagmati River, including the Kathmandu Valley, lies between the much larger Gandaki basin to the West and the Kosi Basin to the east. These adjacent basins extend north of the main Himalayan range and cross it in tremendous gorges, in fact the Arun tributary of the Kosi extends far into Tibet. The smaller Bagmati rises some distance south of the Himalaya. Without glacial sources, its flow is more dependent on rainfall, becoming very low during the hot season (April to early June), then peaking during the monsoon season (mid-June to mid-August). In these respects the Bagmati system resembles the (West) Rapti system lying between the Gandaki basin and the Karnali basin in the far west of Nepal.In Kathmandu, the Bagmati River is destination of much untreated sewage, and large levels of pollution of the river exist due primarily to the region's large population. Many residents in Kathmandu empty personal garbage and waste into the river. In particular the Hanumante khola, Dhobi khola, Tukucha khola and Bishnumati khola are the most polluted.Attempts are being made to monitor the Bagmati River system and restore its cleanliness. These include "pollution loads modification, flow augmentation and placement of weirs at critical locations". The "Friends of the Bagmati" is an organisation set up in November 2000. According to its website, its aim is "to reverse the degradation of the Bagmati river."The Temple of Pashupatinath, dedicated to Shiva, stands on an outcrop above the river north of Kathmandu. It is considered to be one of the holy places of Hinduism.Before the Pashupatinath the river flows Gokarneswor Temple at Gokarna, located at the north of the Kathmandu Valley. This is, too, a holy temple where the people of Kathmandu valley go for worshiping for the eternal peace of Father viz at "Kushi Aausi".
Public baths have been built supplied by a small hot spring. Nearby are two small structures that over the last many centuries were shrines, first to Buddha and then to Hinduism. There a many sculptures along the walls. One sculpture fragment shows the remnant of a Buddha triptych, a Buddha flanked by two bodhisattvas.

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Nepal’s local name for Mt. Everest is Sagarmatha, or “goddess of the sky.”
2. The flag of Nepalis the only national flag that is not quadrilateral in shape.3. Eight of the world’s highest peaks can be found in Nepal.4. Kathmandu was once known as Kantipur, which means the “City of Glory.”5. Touching anything with your feet is considered offensive in Nepal.6. In the 1700s, Gorkha king Prithvi Narayan conquered Kathmandu valley without any bloodshed, by attacking while the people were                celebrating the Indra Jatra festival.7. There is a famous street in Kathmandu named Freak Street, where hippies lived in the 1960s and 1970s.8. The abominable snowman, also known as the yeti, is a legendary apelike creature that is believed to frequent the high valleys of Nepal.9. Greetings in Nepalare similar to the greetings in India– people put their palms together and then bow their forehead, saying “Namaste,”      which directly translates to “I salute the God in you.”10. Sherpas, an ethnic group from the eastern mountainous part of Nepal, are usually employed as porters for mountain expeditions      because, on account of their genetics and upbringing, they do not suffer the effect of altitude as adversely as other people do.

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Ghandruk is a town and Village Development Committee in Kaski District in the Gandaki Zone of northern-central Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 4,748 persons living in 1,013 individual households.
Ghandruk is a popular place for treks in the Annapurna range of Nepal, with easy trails and various accommodation possibilities. From Ghandruk there are views to the mountains of Annapurna including Machapuchare.

The first thing you notice on arrival at Himalaya Lodge is the massive peaks of Annapurna South (7219m) and its neighbour Hiunchuili (6441m) towering over the valley. The lodge is built around a 19th cuntury Gurung village house perched above the ancient village of Ghandruk in the Modi Khola Valley at an altitude of 1980m (6500 ft).

The village is a major recruitment centre for Gurkha soldiers and is the hub of the Annapurna Conservation Area Project which promotes many varied eoclogical projects. A wander around the village reveals small shops and farm houses, tea houses and the comings and goings of local people transporting goods from one village to the next in the company of donkeys, mules and chickens.

The lodge's 10 rooms are simple but very comfortable, with en-suite bathroom and shared veranda. The lovely staff ensures you are well looked after before leaving guests to share stories around a roaring log fire (the only heating in the lodge) after dinner.  The sunrise views from here, viewed through the steam of a hot cup of tea brought to your door,  must be some of the most spectacular in Nepal.

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