Hill hike to Maulakalika temple, Nepal

Hello WorldMapPin community, greetings from Nepal. There are some journeys where the destination is just the halfway experience and the path itself becomes a memory. My hike to the holy Maulakalika temple was one of such beautiful experience mixed with fun, excitement, adventure and relaxation.

It was a fine Saturday morning. I was off from the duty till evening. So as we all know about the devastated flash flood that took place in Nepal 4 days back. So, in search of peace and to pray for the lost lives and well being of the missing ones, I decided to pay at the holy Maulakalika temple located at the nearby Nawalparasi east district of mid Nepal.

The climb begins
The hike starts with a vertical slope of fine stone pavements. It was paved very beautifully and strongly by the local engineers of the municipality. I was really excited to have a memorable hike.

There were many beautiful stone carvings in the pathways. I saw different artistic carvings of the Lord Ganesh, Lord * Gautam Buddha* and animals like elephant, tortoise. In Hindu and Bouddhism, tortoise is often associated with patience, longevity, endurance and stability.

As I was dehydrated due to continuous upstairs climb, I decided to have cucumber. Many local farmers have opened stalls in the foot tracks that makes the pilgrims easy to have access to the basic needs.

A walk through the forest
One of the beautiful part of the hike is the first trail. Sunlight filters through the trees, creating patches of light and shadow along the stone pathway was a great sight.

Tall trees, thick vegetations, fresh atmosphere and occasional glimpses of the fellow pilgrims created a wonderful atmosphere. With every step upwards, the noise of everyday life faded away. And yes... there were plenty of steps. But somehow the anticipation of reaching the temple kept me moving upstairs.

Also, the Ila groups have opened the ropeway along with a beautiful three star hotel at the summit. It makes the temple easily accessible to the old age persons and to the differently abeled persons to reach the temple.

There was a separate house for the pigeons. In temples, pigeons are considered holy and are grown well. Pilgrims give grains and fruits to these pigeons. Their sounds make the environment more refreshing and relaxing.

In the background, we can see the holy Narayani river. It is formed by the union of the Trishuli and the Kaligandaki river in the Devghat region of Tanahun district of Nepal. We can also see the Chitwan medical college where I studied the medical school.

A moment of peace
One of my favorite things about this hike was the peace that I got on reaching the summit. Surrounded by the streets and open sky, it becomes easy to forget the rush of daily life for a while.
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