The Changu Narayan mandir (temple) is right on top of the Changu hill and is part of the Bhaktapur VDC (Village Development Community). I went up there along with the rest of the Photowalk group in late September last year. We all met up at Koteshwor and biked up the hill all the while enjoying the lack of traffic and dust which has become a part of Kathmandu life.
I honestly don’t remember everything from this trip since it was last year but it was a fun and pleasant trip (as all of our Photowalks usually are). Anyway we wandered around the village around the temple and took photos of the people.
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- Ding
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- Golden tower
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- Holy man
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- His holy tools
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- Time for breakfast
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- Even shadows cannot hide the wrinkles of old age
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- A glint of mischief
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- Even the statues put on eye-liner!
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- A godly couple
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- Abandoned
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- Curiousity
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- Ringing in the wind
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- Shiny!
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- Banglefish
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- A leisurely stroll
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- A praying mantis makes a visit to the temple
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- Afternoon siesta
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- Why so serious?
Eh, where’s the temple?
While I was uploading this album I realised that I hadn’t processed any photos of the Changu Narayan temple itself. This was because at the time I only had a 50 mm lens and this lens is best for focusing on a single subjects e.g. for portraits. It does not let you shoot those wide angle photos to capture an entire building unless you stand really, really, really far back. I did take photos of statues and sculptures but they didn’t come out so well.
I do have a 16-85 mm now though so I’m ready for another trip to Changu Narayan and click photos of the temple itself! 😀
What is Photowalk and how can I join?
Photowalk is a group “event” where a bunch of amateurs, beginners and professional photographers meet up and travel to a certain location to take photos and practice photography. We usually travel somewhere near Kathmandu and the common mode of transport is a motorcycle.
This is a casual gathering and everyone is welcome to join. We all learn and talk and have fun and most importantly end up trying out the local delicacies of that day’s destination. 🙂
If you would like to know more about these Photowalks then please check out Om (dai) Yadav’s Facebook page – he’s the one who organises this usually every Saturday. Just check his Facebook timeline every Thursday or Friday for any news about the upcoming weekend’s photowalk and reply to the relevant post if you would like to come.
Photowalks are a mixture of fun, learning and most importantly making friends. It also gets you into the habit of practising photography and you get to visit and learn more about Nepal. If you have a DSLR and it’s gathering dust then this is just what you need!
Fun fact
This was actually my second time visiting Changu Narayan because I had gone there on a school field trip when I was in Grade 4 or 5 (don’t remember). I definitely did not have a DSLR back then though 😀
For more information about the Changu Narayan temple you can check out this Wikipedia article.