Lamjung Durbar

Namaste.

Several hundred years ago Lamjung was one of the small kingdoms that have since been merged to make a unified country of Nepal.  The king of Lamjung had a small palace, the Durbar, perched on top of the hill overlooking Besisahar.  Dianne, a Dutch volunteer, was visiting for the weekend, so we went for a walk up to the palace on Saturday morning. 

Because it is the monsoon season we left early in the morning, to walk while it was still cool and also to avoid the heavy rain which we frequently have during the late afternoon.  This was a really good decision, as not only was it cool and dry, but it was also very quiet with almost no-one else on the path or at the palace when we got there.

The path took us steeply uphill, mostly up steps, but the vegetation surrounding the path was lush and green, due to the recent monsoon rainfall.  It was hard work climbing the stone steps – and we became very hot despite the relative cool of the morning. 

We passed some children from nearby houses, who had been picking flowers.  They walked with us for a short while and then presented me with a posy of their flowers, which we wore in our hair for the rest of the day.

Near the top, one of the houses in the surrounding hamlet had a beautiful garden full of flowers.  When the lady of the house saw me taking photos she invited us into her garden and was delighted to have photos of her and her family taken.



Her baby was fast asleep, snuggled into a tiny makeshift hammock slung between posts on her veranda. 








 

Eventually, after this detour, we reached the old palace.  In front of the main entrance is a stone paved courtyard surrounded by steps.  I thought initially this area was for water, but I was later informed that it is a small arena for dancing and music performances, with the steps as seating.

Nearby is a large bell, that had been decorated with flowers and red tikka powder, though I’m unsure of the purpose of the bell or why it was decorated.  The doors and windows of the Durbar were simply carved and all decorated similarly, with flowers and tikka.

Not large or palatial, the Durbar is obviously a well cared for and honoured place, and we spent a tranquil hour wandering the gardens, taking photos.  The hibiscus flowers were stunning, as were some large pink flowers growing in the grassy bank behind the building.

There were no views from the top, as we were up in the clouds, but as we made our way back down, the clouds parted to give us a great view of the town below.  I could even pick out my flat amongst the buildings. (It's the pale blue building left of the royal blue roof in the foreground of the photo.)

Pheri bheTaulaa