A Trip to Kulekhani

KULEKHANI

And who knows sometimes a time with nature will be the precious.

Our small group decides to travel Kulekhani, the place which offers nature and natural beauty. We, the group of six people set out for an adventure to a place near the capital. A one day ride to Kulekhani was awesome.

Kulekhani is one of the nearest places to Kathmandu which is suitable for hiking as well as one can enjoy the ride over there similarly a drive can be done to Kulekhani, Markhu. Markhu is a village in Makwanpur district in the Narayani zone of Southern Nepal. Markhu is popular for Kulekhani Dam which is an artificial dam made with the purpose of generating electricity which is also known as Indra Sarovar.

We start our journey at 6 am in the morning from Jawalakhel and stopped at Chovar for Breakfast. It only took us about 15 min from Jawalakhel to Chovar. We have early morning breakfast at Chovar and set out for a ride to Kulekhani.after certain Minutes of the ride we stopped at Taudha, the lake where we spend some time observing the lake and the fishes over there. The weather was cold and the fact that we set out for Kulekhani In a motorbike ride was undeniable which is why we had to stop at certain places so that we could enjoy some hot teas in the cold weather as well as explore some beautiful places along the way. After Taudha we crossed Pharping and continue our ride the Kulekhani and till then the weather seems a bit warmer than early morning. We went on a continuous ride and reach salle. Our way to salle offers us the views of hills with Rhododendron and the small villages with the culture and tradition. We stopped at salle to explore the places and have some morning snacks. From salle our drive to Markhu starts along the hillside road. And finally, at 10 we reached the destination of the day, Markhu. It will take even shorter if you choose to drive or ride continuously but we make a stop in Between to explore nature which is why it takes long hours for us to reach Kulekhani.

The weather was windy yet sunny. Finally, we reached Kulekhani dam the artificial dam created for hydroelectricity generation. The lake was beautiful yeah! Beautiful. Nature was clean and fresh, the place was peaceful unlike in big cities. We head towards Kulekhani Dam. The water was green and the lake was pretty much large. After descending down from the road for about 5 min we reached the bank of the dam. The bank of the dam was a spot for a picnic and a starting point for boating. There were some shootings going on near the bank of the dam as well. We, the group of six people did boating as boating was indeed the most exciting adventurer ever. After boating we sat at the bank of the lake enjoying ourself by our talks and seeing nature. There were several lodges and hotels and the cottage at the bank of the lake. The cottage was a place where most of the people take photographs and enjoy some dry picnics as well. It was our lunch time so we went to a nearby hotel and enjoy the fish dish of Markhu with some local dishes as well. We spend some time at the hotel making a friend’s talks and again set out at the bank of the lake. It was already afternoon and the weather was windy yet warm and then a friend of ours take us to the suspension bridge which was a few minutes from the bank of the lake. We went to suspension bridge from where we were able to catch a whole glance of Kulekhani dam. I realized how big the dam was and how beautiful and peaceful Markhu was. We just stayed at the bridge for some minutes as we can’t take off our eyes from the natures view over there. it was nearly 4 pm in the evening when we were on the bridge and after that, we walked down from the bridge to the bank side of the lake ascend up in the stairs for few minutes and reached the main road. it was a one day trip which is why we head back towards Kathmandu biding Kulekhani a warm farewell and unlike in the morning, we make a continuous ride which is why we were back to Balkhu, Kathmandu at 7 pm.

It was fun, it was exciting and moreover, it was adventurous. The trial was a bit offroad in some places. it was tiring but still, the view of kulekhani make it worth.W e were exhausted after a long drive but still the scenes along the way make us brighten. And for the people who love adventure fun and nature kulekhani can be the best option for them