Gallery: the old town of Dhulikhel
Paved streets gently wind uphill, lined with brick houses three or more stories high. Every door, every window is surrounded by exquisitely carved wood. Locals sit chatting, their day’s work over, or watch from an upper window.
Here we are in another Nepalese town, but very different from the two we have visited so far, Kathmandu and Bhaktapur. Not in terms of beauty, Dhulikhel’s traditional Newari architecture is stunning, but in character.
It is far less busy than nearby Bhaktapur; we seemed to be the only tourists here. It’s higher too, with cool mountain air that made it a real pleasure to wander its streets. And I was pleased to find some street art here, something I didn’t see in many places in Nepal.
At the top of the hill we visited one of the town’s many temples dedicated to the goddess Bhagwati, a manifestation of Parvati. This temple is recorded as having been reconstructed in 1647 by King Jagat Malla of Bhaktapur, but there is no record of its original construction date.
Apart from that one temple this was a place to soak up the atmosphere rather than tick off the sights. And of course to take plenty of photos! Let me take you on a visual stroll around the town, for Jo’s Monday Walks and as a final contribution to Becky’s Walking Squares. I hope too that I have enough vivid colours to qualify for Terri’s Sunday Stills theme; certainly I will have vivid memories of this trip for years to come.
Bhagwati Temple
I visited Dhulikhel in October 2022
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equinoxio21
Nepal is climbing higher and higher on my travel-to list…
Om…
🙏🏻
Sarah Wilkie
Highly recommended! One thing I liked was the three very distinct regions – the Himalayas to the north; the Kathmandu Valley and foothills in the middle, with all the beautiful Newari architecture and culture; and the Terai (low-lying forests with the national parks and different ethnic groups such as the Tharu) to the south. It makes for such a varied trip 🙂
equinoxio21
Does sound nice. But I will probably go to India first. My family lived in India for two centuries since the mid 1700’s.
Sarah Wilkie
India is amazing too – I especially loved Rajasthan!
equinoxio21
That’s on my list. Rajahstan, Delhi, Agra, Gwalior where my great-grandfather worked and my grandmother was born.
wetanddustyroads
Oh yes, I love this place … Dhulikhel is definitely colourful (even the dog is wearing a colourful coat) 😉. Great photos Sarah!
Sarah Wilkie
Haha yes, you’re right about the dog’s coat. The Nepalese love their colours, and I loved them too!
rkrontheroad
I stayed in Dhulikhel just before the pandemic, building a Habitat for Humanity house in the valley that was decimated by earthquake. Didn’t see the city at all though, so this was a joy to see!
Sarah Wilkie
Oh, that’s a fantastic thing to have done Ruth! We saw first-hand how much devastation the earthquake caused and heard about it from our guide – so awful for that region and its people.
thehungrytravellers.blog
Delving deeper into Nepal. Getting a feel for the real country and the real people. Loving how these posts are moving forward…
Sarah Wilkie
Towards the end of the trip we had a real opportunity to engage with ‘real people’ but you’ll have to wait for that one a while!
thehungrytravellers.blog
I can wait!
Marilyn Armstrong
What creature is the one in you set titled: “On a column in front of Bhagwati Temple.” I have a duplicate of that creature — who I assumed was a dog or car or maybe a dog-cat — in stone that dates back a lot of years. It was old when I got it and I’ve had it for more than 30 years.
This is the first time I’ve seen that cratre, whatever it is!
Sarah Wilkie
That’s intended to be a lion. The temple is dedicated to a manifestation of Parvati, the consort of Lord Shiva. Each of the Hindu gods has what is known as a mount or vehicle. For instance, Shiva’s is a bull, Ganesh has a mouse. The vehicle of Parvati is a lion. Whenever you see a temple dedicated to a particular god there will be a statue of their vehicle somewhere nearby. In researching this temple I found the following description of the column:
‘Parvati is the wife of Lord Shiva and a huge trident has been made across the courtyard in his honor. A small brass lion holding a trident is Durga’s mount which is etched in the stone column next to the trident.’ (see https://www.mountmania.com/blog/dhulikhel-a-classic-old-newari-town#bhagwati-temple)
The statue you have however could be a Chinese lion dog? See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_guardian_lions. I think they would be more likely to be reproduced as ornaments perhaps?
grandmisadventures
I just love the art and architecture around every corner here. From the intricate details on the temples to the statues carved from devotion to the more modern street art. Really beautiful pictures 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 😊 Yes, there is something beautiful everywhere you look here!
Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter
Those are all wonderful.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Anabel 🙂
margaret21
So very characterful. And I love the fact that the street art is so rooted in its own artistic traditions.
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, very much so – the little I saw elsewhere in the country was similarly unmistakeably Nepalese 😀
bushboy
A very colourful post in an interesting country. I enjoyed every photo. Thanks for taking me along Sarah :).
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Brian, I’m really happy you enjoyed all the photos 😊
starship VT
Sarah, what an incredibly wonderful collection of images you’ve chosen for the several challenges you mentioned. If I know you, you probably took dozens if not hundreds of photos of Dhulikhel, so it must have been difficult to select only a small portion of those to share here!! If that’s the case, you did a marvelous job because the people, the architecture, the art, the vivid colors and unique details you captured are all fantastic!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you so much Sylvia 😀 Yes, I did take many more photos than this (but not hundreds, we were only here for about an hour!) My selection for this post was partly influenced by my wish to ‘square’ them, as not all would work so well in that format. It’s an interesting discipline and a good way to narrow down the number to choose from when posting!
Rose
Wow, these are wonderful photos! Thank-you for taking us on this walk.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Rose 😊 Glad you enjoyed the walk!
Anna
Fascinating! Such an interesting and beautiful place to explore. Lovely photos as always! X
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Anna 🙂 I don’t think you’ve been to Nepal? You would love it!
Anna
No I haven’t been yet! Hoping to do Everest Base Camp Trek for my 50th!
Sarah Wilkie
Wow, hope you manage to do that, it will be amazing!
Monkey's Tale
What beautiful pictures of Dhulikhel. To be the only tourists in this Newari town must have really added to your experience. There are so many special places in Nepal outside of the typical tourist spots where people are living their typical Nepali lives, but that are so different from our own. Sounds like an amazing trip. Maggie
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Maggie 😊 I may have given the wrong impression though, in saying we were the only tourists. It isn’t a major tourist destination but it does get some. We were the only ones at this particular point, but only because we arrived quite late in the afternoon – I know others (including a couple from our hotel in Kathmandu) had been here earlier in the day, but we spent so long taking photos in Bhaktapur that we came after anyone else, it seemed, and had the place to ourselves!
Monkey's Tale
Still much nicer than being in the middle of large groups tourists taking nothing but selfies 😊
Terri Webster Schrandt
You nailed vivid perfectly, Sarah! Not just the colors but I imagine the beautiful memories of just being there! I’m struck how the modern street murals not only show vivid images we’re used to seeing, but also how they are juxtaposed with the iconic statues and architecture of (Hindu?) culture. A great stroll with vivid character!
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, for the most part the religious culture here (and all over Nepal) is Hindu, but with a fairly large dose of Buddhism thrown in. The religious iconography in my photos here is all Hindu. The full-length figure of a girl is wearing traditional Newari costume, as is the large one with a headdress immediately below her. So glad you enjoyed the stroll!
Margaret
Vivid memories for you as you say Sarah and wonderful pictures for me as I haven’t been to Nepal and it’s extremely unlikely I will visit now.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Margaret 😊 I’m very pleased to be able to take you and others on virtual tours, whether that’s to inspire them to visit for themselves or take them virtually to places they may not get to in person!
Mike and Kellye Hefner
So interesting, Sarah! Love the street art, the religious icons, and the temple. I wonder how often they have to replace the curtains around the roofs.
Sarah Wilkie
I wondered that – I think it must be fairly regularly, at least in the better-off communities, as they mostly looked quite bright and vivid 🙂
Mike and Kellye Hefner
It’s just so interesting. I would love to see it Nepal person someday.
Sarah Wilkie
Definitely recommended if you get the chance!
Anne Sandler
Being the only tourists certainly was an advantage here. Such beautiful images. I wonder how old some of those doors are, and your street photography is great and more natural than in a tourist destination.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Anne. This is to some extent a tourist destination – certainly the locals were used to strangers wandering through. But it’s more low-key than the other places I’ve featured so far and we arrived quite late in the afternoon when other tourists had come and gone, I believe 🙂
Cee Neuner
Oh what marvelous photos you have 😀
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Cee, I’m really glad you like them 😊
restlessjo
It#s all very different than you might find on a London street, isn’t it? Is it commonplace to have those carved doors, Sarah, or just on more important buildings? I’m guessing the brickwork is fairly earthquake tolerant but I’ve never been to that part of the world. Trip of a lifetime, you might say, but I’m sure you and Chris have much more planned. Many thanks for sharing.
Sarah Wilkie
Those are ordinary houses you’re seeing with those carved windows and doors – they seemed like apartment blocks of a sort, housing several families. All the ones in the old town had carvings, some more elaborate than others. We didn’t see many really modern houses close up, mainly from the road, but certainly carved doors remain popular today although I’m not so sure about frames etc. I’ll have a walk for you some time soon in a very different Nepali location, a small rural village – you won’t see much ornamentation there!
And yes, more planned – starting with Colombia in February 😀