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Namo
Buddha means 'Greetings to the Buddha'. It is the symbol
of human sacrifice at the highest possible level. A legend has it
that a prince while hunting in the forest saw a hungry tigress with
her cubs. The compassionate prince seeing the pitiable conditions of
the starving animals cut the flesh of his body and feed them. Such
an extra ordinary deed of the priced led him to be a Buddha at the
site where he feed his flesh to the animals. The main stupa
dedicated to Namo Buddha depicts this story of self-less action of
the prince. Namo buddha has always drawn reverent pilgrims. You can
drive up to Dhullikhel or Panauti from Kathmandu then hike up to
Namo Buddha.
Panauti:
Standing in a
peaceful valley roughly 8 Km south of Banepa, the small beautiful
town of Panauti is at a junction of the rivers Roshi and Pungmati.
Similar to that of Ilahabad in India, a third ‘invisible’ river
is declared to join the other two at the confluence point. This Town
is relatively untouched but where festivals preserving tradition of
the indigenous Newars are held. It possesses a number of interesting
temples, one of which perhaps be the oldest in Nepal. Besides it is
famous for magnificent woodcarvings. Panauti once stood at the
junction of important trading routes and had a royal palace in its
principal square. Today it’s just a quiet backwater, yet all the
more interesting for that. Concerning trek, an interesting walk
leads from Dhulikhel to Panouti. The pleasant two-hour stroll starts
off south from Dhulikhel, then turns west crossing rice-fields and
running along the course of tiny stream. It eventually hits the
Banepa - Panauti road a little north of the town.
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