Palpa, an ancient hill town tour from Pokhara

Itinerary

Day 1: Hotel pick up and drive to Palpa (5 hrs drive)

Stop At: Ranighat Palace, Tansen Nepal
Your English speaking driver will pick you up from your Hotel in Pokhara and takes you for a drive to Palpa.
Duration: 5 hours

Meals included:
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight at hotel

Day 2: Full day Palpa sightseeing

Stop At: Shree Amar Narayan Temple, Tundikhel Road, Tansen 32500 Nepal
Early morning hike to Shreenagar Tower, enjoy view of glorious mountains and Palpa town and after breakfast Visit these sites:
• Bhagwati Temple: Bhagawati Temple was rebuilt by Colonel Ujir Singh Thapa, the governor of Palpa in 1815 in commemoration of the victory over colonial British Indian Forces in the battle fought at Butwal. He took oath to build a large temple and organize chariot processions to Goddess Mahis Mardini if he gets victory in the battle.
• Bhagawati Temple is three small temples of Shiva, Ganesh and Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom. Every August, a chariot procession of deities is paraded through the town with military honor to observe the historic battle.
• Shital Pati: Literally known as “Cool Resting Place’’ this octagonal landmark was built by General Khadga Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana during his tenure (1891-1902 AD) as western commanding chief of Nepal, based in Tansen, Palpa. Built in Mughal style, its unique architecture resembles a fort or a rook- shaped castle tower piece in a chess board. Shital Pati is believed to have been built a few years earlier than the Rani Mahal.
• The Mul Dhoka (main gate) or Baggi Dhoka (gate for horse drawn carriage) as the locals call it, is probably the only one of this size and dimension in Nepal. The gateway leads to the famous Ranaujieshwori Bhagwati temple, regarded as the guardian deity of Tansen and to the Tansen Durbar square which since accommodated various district level government offices. There are fine woodcarvings on the buildings on both sides of the gate, examples of the fine Newari craftsmanship.
• Tansen Durbar was built in 1927 AD by Pratap Shamsher Jung Bahadur Rana and formed the grand palace that was the seat of the Rana governors. Though in January 2006 during the Maoist insurgency it was destroyed, after the abdication of the king a few months later, the palace was one of the first government buildings to be restored
• Amar Narayan Mandir: The large classic three-tiered pagoda style temple is sacred to the Lord Vishnu. It was built in 1807 AD by the first governor of Tansen, Amar Singh Thapa and is very beautiful with its carved wood deities. The erotic carvings on the wooden struts are remarkable. The temple is surrounded by one meter wide stone wall locally known as the Great wall of Palpa. In the vicinity of the temple, there are two other temples. Mahadev Mandir is found just below, sacred to Shiva and the other is to Vishnu Paduka.

Duration: 5 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Overnight at hotel

Day 3: Rani Mahal sightseeing and drive back to Pokhara

Stop At: Ranighat Palace, Tansen Nepal
After breakfast, drive for Rani Mahal:
• Rani Mahal is a Rana palace located in the banks of Kali Gandaki River in Palpa district of Nepal. This palace was constructed by General Khadga Samsher Rana JBR in 1893, named after his wife as Rani Mahal (Literary translates as Queens Palace.

After sightseeing, drive back to Pokhara.

Duration: 6 hours

Meals included:
• Breakfast
No accommodation included on this day.