Bandīpur (Nepal)

My arrival in Bandipur wasn't very enjoyable because I found myself accosted by an extremely insistent guesthouse owner, which was very off-putting frankly.

I also didn't have much luck with the weather when I was here: the sky was very clouded over for around three-quarters of the day. I therefore didn't get the chance to enjoy the views as I'd planned to, or go walking in the surrounding area: the mist was just too thick.

However, I did find this tiny town to be full of charm. The architecture here is very typical of the sort of thing I generally encountered during my trip to Nepal. Something I really enjoyed doing was strolling casually through the town's little streets, simply observing the local people going about their daily lives. The atmosphere here is really quiet and peaceful, and I felt as if I'd stepped back in time to another era.

In the old days merchants from China, Tibet and India met there. The medieval "town" with its colourful houses is built on a ridge and nowadays is just a peaceful village that's nice to stroll around, admiring the view of the eternal snows of Annapurna and listening to the birds sing. Unfortunately the repeated shocks of the earthquakes in the spring of 2015 badly affected this serenity, destroying many of the houses. 

During my visit I loved its special atmosphere: the children playing football on the main road, restaurant tables around the temple dedicated to Ganesh, women washing their hair in the public laundry... I enjoyed walking up the mountain paths to explore temples nestling in nature. In the evenings the young people meet at Tundikhel, on the corniche, an enormous plateau that used to be the fair ground. We were lucky because while we were there the schools had organised a big picnic on it that they invited us to, while the young girls gave a dance exhibition on the grass. 

The next day we planned to do the most well-known trip from Bandipur: Siddha Gufa, of which we still don't have any news since the earthquake. The walk through the forest was all downhill and difficult, but after a trek we were used to Nepal's landscapes. The butterflies were as colourful as the spiders were impressive! Visiting the cave wasn't very reassuring although its depth is very impressive. If you haven't got the energy or the interest in going back up the forest I suggest you do as we did - continue down until you reach Bimalnagar, where you can have something to eat while waiting for a bus to Dumre, where you can get another one for Bandipur.