-A Blog by Binod Khadka, Immediate Past Chairperson- PATA Nepal Student Chapter

Hike to Tindhare Jharana

Introduction:

Tindhare Jharana (तिनधारे झरना) is a wonderful hidden gem located in Kavre District of Bagmati Province in Nepal. It has recently been quite popular in the local social media thanks to several TikToks, however, the waterfall has stood strong since time immemorial, being only recently rediscovered. The waterfall gets its name from the fact that it is made from three streams. It was discovered by a researcher of the water supply project while looking for a new source of freshwater water for the historical town of Banepa. It hasn’t been long since he first posted about this place and since then, the area has been highly popular, receiving thousands of visitors every day.

Significance:

The major attraction of the location is the magnificent waterfall with a 400m drop, however, there is so much more to explore and understand about the place. The surrounding villages are inhabited mostly by Tamang people but a sizable minority of Newa, Thakuri, Brahmin, Kami, Damai people are also present. The location can provide a stepping stone to start a smart village or city. The land is still fertile and has been untouched by the cement industries and gives us the opportunity of seeing the unique cultural life in the villages. Traditionally brewed Nepalese drinks like Chhyang (rice beer) and raksi (distilled millet alcohol) from this area are highly popular.

 

Our experience:

We started our trip from Kathmandu at 5:30 A.M and since this was our first trip to this wonderful hidden land, we decided to hire a taxi (which was our first and big mistake). It took us around 3 and a half hours to reach Falamechhango, Kavre. 

On the way, we passed through the towns of Banepa, Dhulikhel, Namobuddha, Dopcha and Pangu. From Kathmandu all the way to Dhulikhel, we had a very smooth drive, the road was clean and quiet. Due to measures in place for Covid-19, we could feast our eyes on the beauty around Kathmandu Valley, which we usually ignored during normal hustling days. We saw those beautiful hills, traditionally built houses and rice fields just below the magnificent Kailashnath Mahadev (Shiva) statue of Sanga. It seemed as if we were travelling somewhere outside Nepal. 

After reaching Dhulikhel, everything changed. The route was rough and dusty, the weather felt super cold and all you could see were beautiful hills, mountains and houses. No one had dared to be there on a taxi, looking like we were the insane travellers who had no idea how the road was. But the beautiful part was that our driver was super friendly, brilliant at short conversations. Besides, the gratitude-filled smiles of children waving at us with, made the rough and bumpy road absolutely worth it. (If you are the lover of organic vegetables, stop and grab some at Pangu).

We reached Falamechhango at 9:00 A.M, as the drive there was super slow. However, if you are riding on a motorbike, the destination can be reached by 8:00 A.M. There we stopped for our late breakfast and a short rest before we headed off on our long hike. The food was affordable and very deliciously satisfying. (Do not eat foreign-influenced foods like momo or chowmein here, instead, try to eat local delicacies).

While we were having our breakfast, we interacted with locals and talked about the place and its current situation. We learnt so much about the people and culture there, about the village and how it was isolated from Kathmandu, despite being so close in the same province. The local people were super friendly and even offered us help if we wanted to ride all the way to the waterfall. But we were not there just for the waterfall, so we thanked them and decided to rather hike for a few hours exploring the village.

As we entered the village we encountered a wonderful man, who was also a villager of the same community. As we approached and started a conversation, he offered to guide us to his village and escort us all the way to the waterfall, which was an undeniably good idea. We talked about the stories of the village, lifestyle and its development. He explained to us how isolated and untouched the village is. We also talked about his family, and how parents should be. He said that the place still works in a barter system when it’s about working on the farm. In the end, he offered us a chance to visit his house to have a cup of tea and introduced us to his beautiful wife. Now we were no more strangers in the village, as we were introduced to half of the villagers on the way. We felt like we were travelling through our own village, with everyone we knew. Oh……! How beautiful an experience it was….

After bidding farewell to that wonderful man and heading on our way, we again came to a conversation with lots of children going to school, old grandmas who were carrying huge bundles of grass and dried sticks for their cattle and women harvesting rice. Each one of them had a beautiful story to share, they all had love to give us. It was just amazing. 

After walking for 3 hours and getting experiences of our lifetimes, we finally reach Kafal Danda. This is up-to where people would normally come by on motorbike or four-wheelers like Scorpio or Bolero. From Kafal Danda, the hike to Tindare Jharna was an hour’s hike away. On the way, we could see all kinds of food stalls and if you go there, do not miss out on the yoghurt, it's simply the best. From this point on, the paths are tiny with steep slopes, so we were reminded of Tilicho a little bit. 

Finally, we were in front of the waterfall, and Oh MY GOD….! I had never seen such a beautiful waterfall in my entire lifetime, It felt as if we were watching a 3D movie. It was so huge, cool and refreshing that I could not stop myself and I just jumped into it and started swimming towards the bottom. Finally, we made it happen, we so wanted to be in this place and now I can actually say “Yes We DID IT!”.

 

Prospects of Tindhare:

Tindhare is an emerging destination which has gained huge popularity just recently. Since this place is very much isolated from development projects, I can visualize its high possibility to serve the tourism industry. Currently, there are no restaurants or hotel facilities for visitors. Establishment of any resort or restaurants could prove to be of high success. The routes in this destination are a wonderful choice to start hiking trails and adventure tourism.

I can also imagine the possibility of different tourism activities such as hiking, rock climbing, honey hunting and agricultural tourism. At the moment, there are only a few stalls that serve basic snacks or Nepalese food such as dal bhat and tarkari. 

 

TRAVELLING DETAILS:

• One can either travel on a personal motorbike/scooter or a four-wheeler like Scorpio or Bolero if they have.
• There are different busses that go from Banepa Bus park. The first one leaves the bus stop at 8 in the morning and the last one at 2:30 P.M in the afternoon.
• Similarly, from Falamechhango, the bus leaves at 8:30 A.M in the morning and the last one leaves at 2:30 P.M everyday. 

(Normally, there are 5 busses that run every day, however, due to Covid-19, very few are in operation)