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Shrines of Nepal |
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 Chitwan National Park-Devghat-Valmiki Ashram:
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Surrounding Chitwan National Park in southern Nepal is one of the best planned and most intelligently developed tourist areas in Nepal. Not only does it offer a wide variety of resorts and lodges, it is also easy to reach - by road or by air. Regular flights are scheduled by Royal Nepal Airlines and other airlines to Meghauli, Simara and Bharatpur. Many resorts provide coach service. Local buses offer a choice between a night ride and a day ride.
Chitwan National Park is perhaps the best park in Nepal for seeing animals in the wild. In the earlier part of the century, when rapid deforestation was devastating Nepal's southern Terai belt, Government of Nepal intervened and proclaimed the Chitwan area a national park.
The Government of Nepal declared the Chitwan region a national park, outlawed settlement and deforestation within its boundaries, and a campaign to save the animals began. Projects carried out with the help of friendly nations have revived the animals that remained. Though the Terai is certainly not what it once was, the preserved portion within the Chitwan National Park is still a treat for animal lovers. |
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Royal Bengal tigers roam the region; one-horned rhinos can be seen charging through the underbrush, feeding and even courting. The Rapti River has been dammed to form a man-made lake called Lamital where water-birds and marsh mugger peckers and many other birds are found in plenty in these forests.
Elephant grass, five to six feet tall, provides excellent camouflage for animals. This grass serves as food for the gaur (a local bison), rhino and other herbivores. Once a year, local people are allowed into the park area to cut grass. The grass is dried, and used to thatch roofs or stored for food for the domestic animals during the dry season.
Activities:
- Elephant ride
- Canoeing
- Guided jungle walk
- Terai culture
- Wildlife breeding projects
- 4WD safaris
Dev Ghat
The description of the grandeur of Dev Ghat shrine abounds in Puranas. The confluence of all Gandaki rivers, Dev Ghat shrine lies in the proximity of famous tourist zone Chitwan. Cave of Rishi Valmiki and the small hut where Divine mother Sita stayed, temples, ashrams, and Sanskrit schools that abound here have further embellished the beauty of the shrine. The special significance lies in taking bath in the river on Makar Sankranti – the very day when the shrine gets crowded because of the annual fair.
Triveni
The place of confluence of Kali Gandaki, Trishuli and Narayani River, Triveni is the holy shrine where Gajendra (great elephant) was redeemed from the cycles of births. Famous also because of the holy Ashram of Valmiki, Triveni’s historicity and antiquity can be experienced even today, which is so astonishing…
Valmiki Ashram:
According to legends this was the ashram of Rishi Valmiki and Sita had stayed here during Vanvaas. It was this place where she gave birth to Luv and Kush, the two sons of Lord Rama. Several bricks bearing religious imprints have been found around the ashram. According to local myth, this place was protected by five Devas (Gods), One of the deva is at the centre of the ashram while the remaining four protected the other four corner.
Every year a festival is organised on the banks of the river, within the compound of the ashram. The fair marks the birth of Luv & Kush and is also a means of facilitating and honouring Rishi Valmiki. |
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Janakpur: |
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Janakpur is another reputable religious city from the lap of which Mother Sita is believed to have born. Situated at eastern south of Nepal, the Mithila capital is the place from where Lord Ramchandra and Mother Sita bound themselves in the marital knot. The pilgrimage remains incomplete if one misses to visit the palatial temple of Lord Ram and Sita. Millions of Hindu devotees visit the shrine on the occasion of Ram Nawami and Vivaha Panchami. |
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