Chaling: a temple-like place for yoga practitioners

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A new day, and ready for a new place. Yes, Chaling, this place sounds quite weird but is beguiling. Over the past few years, this place is amazingly developing, especially in tourism. Well, it comes under the Changu Narayan Municipality in terms of political geography.

Perhaps, this could be one of the reasons for its growth too. Here, you can find several temples. From east to west, as well as from North to the South, there are walls of the temples.

However, most of them are in a rustic environment. So, you can prefer to have a hike over there. By the way, this site is not that far. It is only 20km remote from the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu.

The Temples in Chaling

Here, we have some of the names of the temples along with their directions. That might help you to reach there. Temples, named Om Shanti Center, Machhenarayan Temple, Ban Kali  Temple, Beg Binayak Temple, and Bhaju Bhairav Temple are in the heart of the place.

Similarly, other temples like Pancha Mukhi Hanuman Temple and Shree Pancha Mahalaxmi Temple are in the northern segment.  Rikheshwor Mahadev Temple in the west. Also, Deusi Temple, Nidareshwor Mahadev Temple, and Singha Bahini Temple pose in the east of the Chaling.

Yoga in Chaling

Well, Chaling is additionally famous for Nepal Yoga Retreat. It is comparable to the temple for yoga practitioners.

Besides all those temples, this place beholds the beauty of nature. The greenery around you simply gratifies your eyes. People over there seem more engaging in agriculture. But, it was the hub for the production of animal skin and leather materials during the 18th century.

Chaling and the legend behind its name

There are a lot of perceptions about the naming of Chaling. As per one legend, in ancient time, Chaling, before being a village, there used to be a hill named Chaling Dada. From where the wave of water used to flow.  The wave of water in the Nepalese language is called “Chal”. Thus, the place from which the “Chal” is flown is then named Chaling.

Another legend says that there was a dense setup of Tamang people in Chaling and they used to bring/eat meat from Tibbet and Kavrepalanchowk but the skin of such animals was traded in the valley. In their language (In the language of Tamang people), the work of chopping and cleaning animal skin is called Chali. And, from the word, Chali the place is started to call Chaling.

Moreover, there is one more legend left. As per which, the local of that place used to cattle a lot of buffalo. But there was not a good market available for dairy products. That’s why they used to serve the cream that flows over the milk while boiling the milk to their guests.

That flowing cream in the Nepalese language is called “Tar” or the “Chali”. You could probably guess by now. Consequently, because of the Chali that the villagers used to serve and eat, the place began to call Chaling.

Also, there is a saying in the chronicle about this place. That identifies the ancient name of this site, as Gopal Dranga. It was the name mentioned in Kirat and lichhavi era. Nevertheless, this small account of land is full of peace and grace.

FAQs

No, it doesn’t. It lies at Changunarayan municipality in the north-east part of Bhaktapur.

It is popular for the yoga center. With that, it is filled with terraced fields, temples, and small villages.

You could choose a local bus or hire a private vehicle to reach over there.

You can catch a local bus from Ratna Park or from Bagbazaar if you are staying at Thamel, which directly goes to Bhaktapur. Then you need to take another bus from Kamalbinayak-Nagarkot bus park to reach there which approximately takes 15-20 mins.

The entrance fee to enter Bhaktapur along with the Bhaktapur Durbar Square varies as per the nationality. It costs, Rs.1500 for Non-SAARC nationality, Rs.500 to SAARC, and for Chinese citizens, and free for the Nepalese. And this charging rule is limited to Bhaktapur Nagar only.

No, you don’t need to pay for your infant. In fact, it is free entry to the children below 10 years of each national at Bhaktapur Durbar Square.

Yes, there are restaurants and cafes on-site but are not convenient for all kinds of visitors.

Yes, it is. Even a single woman could travel here alone.

Well, there are a lot of things that you can do like shopping, sightseeing, eating different foods, also photography. But, capturing one corner of the square and having a sunset view would be the most satisfying thing that you would experience.

While being in Bhaktapur, you must mind few things like taking out of your shoes while entering the temple and other religious sites. Likewise, you might not be allowed to click pictures of some specific events or places. You should consider these things.

As we informed you earlier it is all safe for solo traveling which means you can travel without a guide. But we also recommend you to have a certified guide who would help you to understand the authentic Bhaktapur and the stories carved all over the monuments.

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