LB Thapa

The other day I had decided to trek from Devi's Falls to the peak of Pumdikot. The purpose of this trek was to see a 51-ft tall idol of Lord Shiva. The trek from Devi’s falls up to Pumdikot is about 13 km and the place lies in Pokhara Metropolitan city-22.

I planned to visit Pumdikot on foot. I'm well aware of the highway road to Pumdikot but I wanted to explore the foot trail which starts from Devi’s falls to Pumdikot. This foot trail is very old as the local people of Pumdikot would regularly use this path before the construction of the Siddhartha Highway in 1971.

Nowadays many foreigners and trekking lovers follow this path to walk through the craggy hills and mountains to see the famous World Peace Pagoda or White Stupa. The same route spirals up to Pumdikot, where Lord Shiva’s gigantic idol is erected.

A 13 km long trail from Devi’s falls to Pumdikot is a complete uphill. About two to three-kilometre road has been blacktopped, otherwise, the trekkers will have to walk through a dusty foot trail. After having walked for about one hour in a relaxed manner you will reach the World Peace Pagoda. This is also one of the most iconic places of tourist’s interest. The World Peace Pagoda is a perfect vantage point to catch the heavenly beauty of the Pokhara valley.

Before you resume your trek from the World Peace Pagoda to Pumdikot, do not miss taking the local curd of this place. The local curd available here is of amazing taste and it is a famous delicacy of this area. Continue walking from the World Peace Pagoda for another hour and you will find yourself on the top of Pumdikot. Though construction work is still going on, a huge crowd of people has already started visiting this place every day.
"The construction work for the entire project has not yet been completed, therefore formally we have not opened it for the visitors. But we are so surprised at seeing such a large number of visitors every day," said Chandra Kant Baral, the chairman of the Pumdikot Development Committee.

This is massive construction work. According to the chairman, Mr Baral, the entire project will cost about Rs. 400 million.
“Out of Rs.400 million till date, we have spent Rs.200 million on the project and the task is still going on”, said chairman Baral and added, “The idol of Lord Shiva is incomplete without Shiva Lingas. Therefore, we have also constructed 108 Shiva Lingas. These Shiva Lingas have been constructed around Lord Shiva’s statue. Most of Shiva's devotees are seen paying their respects to the Lingas with complete devotion".
The government of Nepal has allotted 22 ropanis of land to the committee and this land can be used for 30 years. To reach up to the Lord Shiva statue there is 108 stepped stairway. These small steps make ascending much easier for elderly people.

When this scribe was at the premises of the Lord Shiva’s idol, the construction of a martyr’s memorial park, a senior citizen meeting centre, and a model of Mt. Sumeru Parbat were under construction. However, a water fountain has just been completed.

While speaking with the scribe, Mr Baral said: "The main statue of Lord Shiva did cost Rs.350,000. This amount was donated by Kamal Jayan who is the managing director of Hill Tank Pvt. Ltd. We are also grateful to the federal government for the financial assistance of Rs.40 million. Similarly, the provincial government helped us with Rs. 15 million and Pokhara Metropolitan city did also make available Rs.15 million. Apart from this, various organisations did help us with Rs.15 million to complete the project”.

It was a pleasant surprise to know that there are still many people who are always ready to help with religious and tourism causes. "I have donated Rs. 10 million for the construction of the statue of Lord Shiva. This is my hard-earned money but I'm happy that my money is being used for a good cause", said Murlidhar Rukmagat to this scribe.
The list of people who have made their financial and other contributions is long. "I'm grateful to the government, different organisations and several individuals who freely donated cash and items to help construct such a mega construction," added Mr Baral.

When asked about the completion of the construction project, Mr Baral said: "The entire project would have been completed by now. But owing to the Corona pandemic, construction work has become much slower for over one year or so. Had there been no Corona pandemic, the entire project would have been ready now”.

There is an unravelled, narrow, dusty road leading to Pumdikot where the idol of Lord Shiva has been installed. On Saturdays, traffic will be so intense that getting stuck in a traffic jam is quite normal. Tourist vans, motorcycles, cars, jeeps and several other kinds of vehicles throng in large numbers from different parts of the country. However, there are only a few places from where two vehicles can pass, otherwise, this narrow dusty pathway is suitable for only one way drive. On top, there is no single traffic police to manage the traffic. To mitigate the traffic owes, some local people have started parking facilities on their lands, but these lands are quite small and parking is highly unsystematic.
“Several times we have requested with the Chhorepatan traffic police to send traffic police to manage the traffic on Saturdays but our request fell on their deaf ears," said Ram Prasad Gaire, who was running a parking facility on his land.

On the way, I met many frustrated visitors who were badly stuck in the jam. “I did not know about the condition of the road. No one told me about the traffic jam on the way to Pumdikot. The road is full of dust and it is too narrow to pass two vehicles and there are already too many vehicles on this road. Things would have been better if there were fewer traffic policemen to maintain the traffic," said Gajendra Man Shakya, who had come with his family to his vehicle to see the tall statue of Lord Shiva.

Maybe later things might improve but right now everything is in hotchpotch, especially the condition of the road and ever-increasing traffic jams.
If you want to avoid such a nerve-wrecking experience then you should better follow a few tips. If you plan to visit the place then set up your programme any day except Saturdays. Traffic will be extremely intense on Saturdays. It is inevitable to get stuck in a jam if you visit the place on Saturdays. However, if you want to visit on Saturdays then leave your vehicle at the big parking space at World Peace Pagoda then take a leisurely walk up to Pumdikot. While walking you can enjoy the amazing beauty of the surrounding area. Pumdikot is not far from this place. In less than one hour you can easily reach the peak of Pumdikot where the idol of Lord Shiva perches magnificently.

Please note that if you want to visit the area with your vehicle then follow the Siddharta highway road. A little ahead of Pokhara viewpoint, a popular hill to see Pokhara valley, there is a big signboard indicating the path to Pumdikot. Turn right to follow a cemented road. Until the end of the cemented road, the path is good but the driver must be careful. Because the road is narrow and wide open on both sides. If a vehicle skids off the road, it will tumble several metres down to the hill.
When the cemented road ends, you should park your vehicle there and walk up to the Lord Shiva idol. Except for Saturdays, there is no such uncontrollable traffic on the road and you can easily take your vehicle up to the foothill of Lord Shiva idol.

The local people of Pumdikot look extremely enthusiastic about the construction of Lord Shiva's impressive idol. Pumdikot, a relatively unknown village until recently, now hundreds of thousands of visitors visit Pumdikot every day. This has elevated the village economy to a large extent.

“Before the construction of the statue of Lord Shiva, the prices of our lands were at the bottom. Now many rich people from Pokhara and Kathmandu offer a very good price for our lands. Most importantly now our children need not go abroad for employment as they can make enough money by utilising available resources in the village," said Harihar Adhikari, a resident of Pumdikot.
Harihar Adhikari and many other people of Pumdikot look at the future with many possibilities. The way the statue of Lord Shiva has pulled domestic and international tourists alike, it is certain that Pokhara tourism will benefit in general and the local people of Pumdikot in particular.

(Thapa is a Pokhara-based freelance writer and author. writerlbthapa@gmail.com.)