Tokha Bazar
Kathmandu is a city of Temples . Whereas TOKHA is also
the one of these.There are many Temple you go, you will find temples after
passing few steps. Every temple has its own story of origin and religious
importance. Most of these temples are existing in its place from hundreds of
years. If you want to have complete informational temple tour, it takes more
than a week. and a good guide with enough religious knowledge has never
been Bad. Some of the temples are loosing its importane and being destroyed
because of enlargement of city area, commercialization, lack of preservation
etc. Tokha has several temples with its historic and cultural importance but
shadowed since long.
Around 8 km away from center of Kathmandu city, Tokha is
an old town dominated by Newar inhabitant. It is located at the bottom of
Shivapuri Hill. Along with historic and legendry importance, Tokha has been
mentioned in some of the Hindu holy books with its religious importance as
well. Existance of several temples and annual religious congregation also
witness its cultural and religious importance.
Though, Tokha is a potential area for the the tourism
development with its ordinary historical and cultural presentation, this place
is neither promoted by the government nor by locals. Rapid urbanization of the
Kathmandu valley has also afftected Tokha with physical growth. New buildings,
houses, apartments are rapidly increasing and shadowing the original Tokha.
There is no evidence of any attempt to preserve this place.
Travelers visiting Kathmandu simply like to visit the
places most tourist goes. Thamel and some heritage sites - you finish your trip
to Kathmandu - you are missing the jewel. Tokha is one of them! Even rarely
visited by travelers, forgotten by the government and out of interest for
tourism enterpreneurs, I am seeing a lot of potentiality in Tokha. This place
is not in a list of "Things to Do in Kathmandu" but it has many
things to offer.
Things to do in Tokha:
Old Tokha Bazar -
Though some of the old buildings are replaced by new, disorganized traffic,
broken temples and dried pond, you can still see the old habitant. The presence
of Local's livelihood is still there after the big affect of urbanization also.
Small shops, old houses, temples, public stone water tap, etc are still there
to observe.
Stay with Locals -
Accommodating with local in this town will be a great way to understand
this place and the people. The exchange between the surfer and host help both
to understand eachother. You can easily find locals by using Couchsurfing or
other similar sites. Travel agents also offer local stay arrangement.
Temples -
There are several hindu temples in this area. Chandeshwori, Gokarneshwor,
Dharmeshwor, Sapan Vinayak, Bajrayogini, etc. are also mentioned in the Hindu
holy books. There is a pond named Siddh Pokhari near to the entrance gate at
Tokha. Bisket Jatra and Sapan Tirtha Mela are major religious congregation in
this place which held in mid of April every year.
Shivapuri National Park & Shivapuri Village - You can day-hike to Shivapuri hill (2750 m) or
visit a small village which is in another side of the hill. This national
park is most famous hill for a day hike and preservation area for Red Panda.
You can follow Tokha road till Gurje Bhanjyang following Jhor.
Boundeshwor Waterfall - A Boudeshwor cave and waterfall is one of the
famous place here where many locals visit. The water level in fall
depends upon season.
Cycling around rice paddy - Cycling is one of the best activity in this
reason. You can rent a bicycle and go to TOkha to ride. There are rice paddys
and enough open area to enjoy. The air here is fresher than in the town. No
route is required, you can ride randomly here and there. Chandeshwory temple
and way till Budhanilkantha might be interesting. Cycling upto Shivapuri hill
is another option where you can have a perfect panoramic mountain views of
Langtang range.
Cooking Classes -
Find a local to host you and teach you local cuisine. Learning local food is
great way to explore people and their lifestyle. Simple ask the people if they
can provide you cooking classes. You can buy your ingredients and/or pay some
amount as well.
Volunteering at Tokha - There are number of organization available
for volunteering. Some organic farm are also there who can offer you farm-stay
and work in farming. Dont expect to get paid but you must ask for free
accommodation and food if they can offer you for your volunteering job.
There are no tourist hotels or other hospitality recently
at the area. There are some local hotels in front of Grande International
Hospital. You can rent Grande Apartment or may some Veena Housingm Shubha
Homes, Harmony Housing offer a rental house for longer stay. Homestay or Paying
Guest Accommmodation can be one option for the accommodation in Tokha.