I didn't have any plans for this weekend. The weather was too unpredictable today indicating the signs of rain as well as cloudy sky. My friends called me and asked me if I was free to go for a ride to the new place in Kathmandu that I hadn't visited yet though I have been around the same place few times. The name of this place is called "Kalu Panday Dada" or "Switzerland Park". The hilltop is a popular hiking destination around Kathmandu. If you just want a peace from noise and dust pollution of the city, this is a perfect destination for the people living around the same.
The hilltop got its name from the brave Gorkha soldier "Kalu Pandey" whose desire while on his last breath was that he be buried either in his home i.e. Gorkha or from the place where "Gorkha can be seen". He was prime minister of Nepal back then. The battle was led by King Prithivi Narayan Shah, the founder of modern Nepal. He saw Kathmandu as the main trade center point with China and India and decided to conquer Kathmandu to his territory. For this he had to attack Kirtipur (the south of present day Kathmandu) in 1757. And this was where Kalu Pandey died as this was the one of the fiercest war in the history of Nepal. I took a different road and couldn't go at the main park where his dead body was buried. You can see the photo here.
The hilltop is at a distance of 18 km from my home and in bike it took us roughly around 1 hour to reach there. The park is situated in Dahachowk in Chandragiri municipality, Kathmandu, Nepal. Along the way, I noticed that it was a perfect destination for cycling as well- too many youths paddling uphill in their bicycle. All of these photos captured were the western view of the Kathmandu city at an elevation of 1820 metre.
The place also got its name as "Switzerland Park" due to the gossip of one of the local guide from the same place. 10 years back there wasn't even a unpaved road to reach the village. A group of Swiss hikers decided to explore the beautiful village with the same local guide. One of the hikers told that the place reminded of his same country Switzerland. The local guide after that incident told his story of guiding those hikers and what they told. Later the words spread out and the people decided to give the park name from the same story. That's how it got its name.
Had the weather been clear, the beautiful mountain like Ganesh Himal, Mount Manaslu and so on can be seen clearly from here. The dense forest of Chandragiri can be seen clearly from the park and when its the season, you can see the forest turns red due to the rhododendron blooming. Rhododendron is the national flower of Nepal. Overall the trip was short but an enjoyable one.