Dalchoki

Dalchoki
दालचोकी
Village development committee
Dalchoki

Location in Nepal

Coordinates: 27°32′N 85°20′E / 27.53°N 85.33°E / 27.53; 85.33Coordinates: 27°32′N 85°20′E / 27.53°N 85.33°E / 27.53; 85.33
Country    Nepal
Zone Bagmati Zone
District Lalitpur District
Population (1991)
  Total 1,066
Time zone Nepal Time (UTC+5:45)

Dalchoki(Nepali: दलचोकी ) is a village development committee in Lalitpur District in the Bagmati Zone of Central Development Region of Nepal. It is situated on the southern part of Lalitpur district, nearly 23 Kilometers far from Patan, its district headquarters. This hilly region ranges from 1200 to 2300 meters from the sea level. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 1066 in 193 individual households.[1]

There has been many myths related to the naming of Dalchoki. Some believe there were 3 goddesses Phulchoki, Dalchoki and Sanchoki respectively and the name Dalchoki was given following the residing of goddess Dalchoki in this place. Dalchoki has a temple dedicated to Dalchoki devi.

According to another myth, Dalchoki was said to be a point from where Prithivi Narayan Shah attacked Kathmandu. The troop (troop is called Dal in Nepali) resided here and had a check-post (Check-post is called Chowki) due to which the current name Dalchoki emerged. However there are no enough evidences to support this.

Tourism

Mustard fields of Dalchoki

Dalchoki is a beautiful place with a modest tourist visiting every year. It has a good possibility of tourism. There are several things to be seen in Dalchoki like the hill of Dalchoki, Thanapati-cave, Green forest with several herbs, plants and animals, Manakamana temple, Dalchoki temple etc. We can see the beautiful sun-rise and Sun-set from Dalchoki. In addition, we can also see the view of Kathmandu, terai plains, beautiful cloud-covered mountains and movement of clouds.

History of visit

Night view of Kathmandu from Dalchoki

In late 2005, Prince Johnson of Liberia visited the village of Dalchoki with unknown intentions. These intentions soon became apparent when he was found playing 7 card stud poker with 11 other men; Prince was a poker cheat extodinaire in his youth, and it became known he was running an underground gambling den cheating other men out of their money then wiring it back to Liberia. He left the village on the next bus (the number 691 to Kenya).

Staying in Dalchoki

Timilsina Community Home-Stay

Dalchoki has a Home-stay facility. There are about 6 home-stays registered under Nepal Tourism Board in Dalchoki. The list of the Homestays in Dalchoki are:

Demography

A women plucking Soyabeans

Dalchoki has a diverse ethnicity. There are Tamang, Brahmin and Chhetri, Magar and Nagarkotis in majority while there are few Sunuwars (categorized as Dalits) and other ethnic communities. Dalits share a better-off position in Dalchoki and share a less discriminative environment in classes. Restrictions on touching taps or drinking water touched by the Dalits are much abolished concept in Dalchoki.

Most people follow Buddhism and Hinduism. The main languages spoken here are Tamang and Nepali and few of the Nagarkoti speak their language

Climate

Mustard fields of Dalchoki

The climate of Dalchoki is mostly cold. It often is foggy. In winter the temperature goes below 0° Celsius and results in jamming of water supply with water frozen inside the pipes. At certain year interval, it snows at Dalchoki. If someone is planning to visit Dalchoki, a light jacket is recommended to carry one every season and a thick one in the Winters.

Transportation (How to reach Dalchoki)

Mustard fields of Dalchoki

The direction to Dalchoki from Lagankhel progresses as :Lagankhel-Satdobato ring road-Chapagaun chowk-Sunakothi-Dhapakhel-Thecho-Chapagaun-Tika Bhairav-Malla Hotel-Milan Dhara or Birkhe Dhara-Army Barrage-Dalchoki

Dalchoki has an access to a graveled road. Bus route to Ikudol from Lagankhel plied via Dalchoki but on year 2012-13 it fell under upgrading plan due to which it no more reaches this place. Milk carrier mini trucks are the alternate to transportation in Dalchoki now. You can catch these trucks from Pyang-gaon, Chapagaun. Buses to Chapagaun plies from Lagankhel.

Bikes and Scooter easily reach Dalchoki. Cycling can be adventurous means to travel to Dalchoki with steep slopes and rough terrain at some places. You need to take back-up stuffs for maintenance if needed on the way into the forest. If you are hiking, It takes around 3 hours to reach here. In this case you need to make sure you carry some food and water. For safety, keep a lighter and a paper within reach.

Education

The schools in Dalchoki

References

  1. "Nepal Census 2001". Nepal's Village Development Committees. Digital Himalaya. Retrieved 2008-09-03.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, March 02, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.