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Located on a hillside a few kilometres off the Siddharta Highway
between Pokhara and Lumbini, Tansen is definitely off the
beaten track. This attractive little hill station boasts a
marvelous climate, a lively ambience and remarkably friendly
and open people.
The town’s predominantly Newari
and Magar population has long been known for its warrior skills.
The rulers of Tansen wielded great power over western Nepal
in the 15th century. Their kingdom, Palpa, was
the last to be defeated by the conquering Gorkhas, who unified
Nepal into the kingdom it is today. The people became even
more famous during the Anglo-Nepal war of the early 1800s,
when their army emerged victorious despite being outnumbered
four to one.
Tansen is the largest of the
trading posts established by the Newars in Nepal’s middle
Hills. It remains an important bazaar town, with people coming
in to buy cooking oil, salt, tea, cloth and other provisions,
and to enjoy the teashops and sociability. Tansen’s boldly
patterned dhaka cloth, used for topis and shawls,
is considered the finest in Nepal.
There are potters and metal workers
in Tansen too. As earthen pottery is still used in many houses
in Tansen, jugs, basins and even filters are made from clay
for local use. Chang, the local liquor, is wonderfully
cool when stored in earthenware. Metal workers make hookahs,
plates, jugs and utensils for worship.
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There are great views over the bowl-shaped
Madi Valley from the town itself and a spectacular
view of the Himalayas from the nearby hill, Srinagar Danda.
The hilltop was once the site of an ancient fortified city,
but a few old Rana summer cottages and a pine plantation that
makes an ideal picnic site are all that can be seen today.
Further east is the exceptionally
fine Amar Narayan Temple, considered to be one
of the most beautiful outside the Kathmandu Valley. The temple
was built in 1806 CE by Amar Singh Thapa, the general who
annexed Tansen to Nepal. Drums, bells and horns are sounded
in worship every morning and evening.
The centre of town is dominated
by the rambling pink Tansen Durbar, the former
seat of the Rana governor, today housing government offices.
Its entrance gate, called Baggi Dhoka or Mul Dhoka, is meant
to be the biggest and tallest gate in Nepal, with dimensions
that allow the governor to make an impressive entry atop an
elephant. A public square called Sitalpati lies
just outside the gate. The Bhagwati Temple,
which has been renovated twice, was originally built in 1815
to commemorate the Nepali victory over the British at Butwal.
There are also smaller temples in the vicinity, dedicated
to Shiva, Ganesh and Saraswati.
Probably the best day trip out
of Tansen is the all-day hike to the eerie, abandoned Ranighat
Palace overlooking the Kali Gandaki River. It was
built at the turn of the 19th century for the wife
of a Rana governor of Palpa: unruly Ranas were often exiled
to high positions in remote districts like this. Another choice
is the 13-kilometre hike to the bazaar town of Ridi,
with its important Rishikesh Mandir.
Tansen is charming because it
is unspoiled by modernity, pollution and the urban bustle.
On clear days, mountain views from the town reveal Dhaulagiri,
Annapurna, Manaslu, Gauri Shankar and other peaks. Indeed,
Tansen is the perfect answer for those who wish to get an
overall taste of Nepal.
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