Our day started with the sun shining through the mists in the foothills and the birds in full song. A wonderful way to wake up! Our stay at the resort has been lovely and peaceful. The food was excellent and very fresh, they even make their own yak cheese ( which tastes a lot like Gouda!)This resort was so peaceful, it’s hard to leave!

After our hearty breakfast we loaded our luggage into the car ( driver would meet us in Dhulikhel and take us on the Bhaktipur after our hike) we were off down the hill! But down was not to last! Nepalese flat paths are far from it, and up we went!

As we climbed, the vistas were amazing! Rich prosperous valleys below were seen in all directions!

We soon came across a couple of women doing their morning laundry. I think I like the convenience of mine, thank you very much!

As we rounded the corner, our guide told us that we would be hiking over the next hill directly in front of us! There was a lot of valley to defend before we were to go back up…and then back down again!

We saw some interesting sites along the way, like the local “football” field, or a private Stupa, or signs of new construction everywhere!

Our funny guide, just a little more flat, and then we go down about 200 steps!

Here we see some corn drying close to the farmhouse. Apparently monkeys like to steal the corn, so better to keep it safe!

We had a lovely hike through another pine forest just before we hit the valley floor.

Once at the bottom, we started back up the other side. We crossed a small town and highway (2 lane, or over here 4!) walked up a few blocks then turned onto a road that rindes Dan and I of the foot breaking Roman Roads on the Camino!

The road continued up, and we never tired of the vistas.

Now it was time to start going down for real. Rajesh tell us that the next staircase has 1,000 steps….and he wasn’t kidding!

As we approached the mid point, we had the opportunity to go and look at a Buddha that sat patiently guarding all the valleys in site. He stand over 40 M tall!

Down we went again!

It was time to meet our driver and head onto our next town to explore, Bhaktipur!

We drove for about 1/2 an hour or so, and arrived as close as we could get to our hotel. Tonight we stay in a guest house in the old city. Cars can only get so far, and then you need to drag your luggage a ways to get to the Guest house. All in a day’s work, but once we got here it was lovely!

We got settled into our room, got a load of laundry out to the staff, got cleaned up and had a little r and r before doing a recon of this city.

Our guesthouse is just off of one of the main city squares called Tachupal Tole. Each square features temples, with the Durbar, or “royal” square containing the most. While Bhaktapur suffered a great loss of life during the 2015 earthquake, only 2 of many temples were destroyed. Here we see one off Durbar Square.

But a number remain standing and thriving…more on that tomorrow. For today we took some time to explore the old city streets and alleys, and took advantage of minimal traffic in the streets!

we decided to make an early night of it, as we would have the whole day tomorrow to explore the town. Off we went to find dinner, and chose a restaurant with a lovely view over the square!

Well it’s been a long day. Tomorrow we have a free day to explore without a guide. We think we might like to see the potter’s square, some famous woodcarvers shops, and the three main squares. Lots to do! Until tomorrow!