The Wish-fulfilling Temple of Manakamana

Nepal is known not only for the world's highest mountain or for being the birthplace of Lord Buddha but also for its unique and outstanding cultural heritage, its scenic beauty and the always ready to welcome attitude of Nepali people. This is what encourages a visitor to make a frequent visits to this awesome land. And speaking of pilgrimage, there are a plenty of sacred and beautiful temples all over the country. One such most revered temple is the temple of Manakamana Mai, one of the mighty Hindu goddess who is revered by Nepalese as the defender of good, destructor of evil and, most importantly, a wish-fulfilling goddess. Manakamana temple lies on a hilltop in Gorkha District, some 125 km West of Kathmandu. There are two options to reach the temple. One is by foot and the other is by Cable Car. So, its up to the visitor to select his option.
The walking option A four-hour bus journey from the capital city will drop you at a place called Abu Khaireni which is just 25km
away from the well known histo town of Gorkha. The ascent to temple starts only after crossing a and somewhat scary suspension IR that undulates over a river. After I crossing the bridge a stone stairw4 lead the pilgrim right to the Manakamana temple. However, di trek leading up to the temple is ang and exhausting. There are numeral bends that seem determined to e that the pilgrim has a tough time reaching his/her destination. On way to the temple, one can enco devotees lagging along goats while others with roosters and ducks undi their arms and yet others with item vermillion, rice, fruits etc in plastic happily walking along the strenuou trail to make offering to Goddess Manakamana. Usually the climb te temple begins early in the morning The approximately four hours wi take the pilgrim through breathtak greenery and sparkling streams. AL the path one can see school childre their way to school, herdsman case looking after their cow, and villageidling to offer drinking water to y passerby. -ther uphill, one comes across local ails stuffed with cigarettes, soft and drinks and cookeries, chautaras, a if rest places, usually under the tree are really refreshing and enating in between the exhausting After reaching the Manakaman ;e which consists of some resi-and small shops, one can find !mple situated in the center of the yard-type space. One can also see ras feeding themselves with rice zrn seeds brought by the devotees. kmples two tired pagoda cut roofs emarkablc from artistic point of . The temple, closed down in most of the time, is surrounded by ral lodges, a police station and shops puja material. The ringing of the lie bells generate a mystic feeling Peoples mind. The main puja is !acted between 9 am and noon. The lees form queue at the temple gate the priest inside it takes the offer-the pilgrim has brought and rates them to Goddess nkamana. Those who want to hip the Goddess by sacrificing L Is have more rituals to perform. Priest chants holy mantra while the ficial beast is beheaded and the J. img blood is splashed all over the id idol of the Goddess. ie duration of the puja ceremony rids on the period of the year and Towd gathered there. Normally the est period is between November to nary of every year. Besides Tues-mod saturdays arc also relatively ded throughout the year. Kroll in and around the gamma village will ensure a  of the Himalayan ranges like ipuma, Himalchuli and Manslu. ra time for the descent, which takes it one hour. The steepness is overwhelming but care should be taken on maintaining an even pace, preferably only a couple of steps at a time. One has again to cross the same suspension bridge and reach onto the highway at Abu Khaireni, and hop onto a bus coming for Pokhara or Gorkha city to return back to kathmandu. It is believed that goddess Manakamana has chosen the top of a rugged hill as her earthly abode as if to test the determination of her devotees. It is also believed that if ones prayers are unheard by the Goddess, one has to keep trying by going there again and again. It is said that the third trip is rewarding. This belief keep devotees repeating their visits.

By Cable Car

 The arduous pilgrimage to the temple Manakamana was finally made easy when Manakamana Cable Car, a gondola lift transportation system, started its operation in 1998. Today a great number of visitors avail them-selves of the cable car facility to reach the temple. The old trail from Khaireni is now almost deserted. The construction of this Cable Car, which started from 4th January, 1998, completed in October 1998. The distance covered by the Cable Car is 28 kilometers. The fleet of the cable car consists of 31 passenger cars called gondola and 3 cargo carriers. Each cable car can carry 6 people and takes about 8 minutes to reach the other end. But since the speed of the car can be regulated, it has been designed so as to cover the distance in 10 minutes, which in turn will give more entertainment to passengers. The project station of this Cable Car which has the capacity to carry 600 people an hour, is situated at Cheres - midway between Mugling and Kuringhat. The cable car runs between Cheres, Chitwan and Manakamana temple, Gorkha. The 2,772.2 m (9,095 ft) line has two stations. The cable car system was imported from Austria. The Cable Car station is within two and a half hour driving distance from Kathmandu, 2 hours from Pokhara and 1 hour from Chitwan.

 For the elderly and those who are not able to visit the temple due to frail health, the cable car has come as a relief. Gone are the days when they had to sadly abandon their wish to visit the temple to worship the famous deity.

 The cable car transport system is said to be cent-percent safe and reliable. No misfortune has ever occured since its inception. In case of sudden power failure, the l000-KVA generator will be activated automatically within 8 seconds. In the absence of generator, the cable car will be operated through diesel-run Emergency Hydraulic Drive. In case this emergency drive too is interrupted, then the passengers will be transported to the station by rescue device. The door of the cable car opens and shuts automatically as soon as the car reaches the station.