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Attending a traditional Newari feast (lapate bhoye) in Kathmandu is one of the best ways to try Newari food. In fact, the Newar cuisine is famed in the country for its range of different dishes.

At a lapate bhoye, all the guests sit on long, narrow straw mats (sukuls) facing each other. A lapate (leaf plate) is placed before each guest, accompanied by a pala (small clay bowl). The eldest are served first, and the feast begins with two handfuls of baji(beaten rice) followed by curries like gainda gudi (a mix of different lentils), hariyo saag (green spinach), and alu tama (curry of potatoes and bamboo shoots). Alu tama has a unique aroma and you’ll surely love its taste. Spicy achaar (pickles) follow: alu kerau is a spicy mixture of radish, potatoes, and green and small brown peas, and tamatar ko achaar which is a ripe tomato pickle. Now that the groundwork has been prepared, the buffalo meat curry is served and the guests will start eating. The feast is on.

More dishes follow in succession. These include a selection of a dozen or so tasty morsels of meat from different parts of the animal. Hakuchoila (broiled spiced ground meat), senla mu (liver that’s steamed and then sautéed), swanpuka (lungs stuffed and fried), bhuttan (fried intestine and other abdominal parts), and mainh (fried pieces of tongue) are some of the tongue tingling dishes that you might be served. While these delectable tidbits are being served, someone else will be busy pouring aila (homemade liquor) into your pala.

The next item on the menu is something called chhuse musse that is a mix of raw carrot, radish, cucumber, onion, and tomato slices, and soaked peas. Towards the end of the feast, a handful of beaten rice is again served, followed by yogurt and some sweetmeats. The yogurt served at such feasts will probably be from Bhaktapur, known famously as juju dhau (king curd). It is really delicious yogurt. That’s dessert and signifies the end of the lapate bhoye.

Chyola, one of the popular Newari foods. Photo: Sudeep Singh

Here are some must try Newari foods:

Alu tama: curry made of potatoes and bamboo shoots

Hakuchoila: spiced ground meat, broiled

Senla mu: liver, steamed and sautéed

Swanpuka: lungs filled and fried

Bhuttan: fried intestine and other abdominal parts

Mainh: tongue pieces, fried

Juju dhau: delicious curd made in Bhaktapur

Egg bara, one of the popular newari dishes. Photo: Sudeep Singh

Besides these, there are many other delicacies that you might want to try out:

Masyoura: black lentils and shredded vegetables that are sun dried and used to make tasty curry

Mamacha (Momo): meat dumplings, practically the new staple food of Nepal

Chatamari: rice pancake which can have different toppings

Bara: lentil based fried doughnut type snack

Wo: another lentil based cake type snack

Kinema: a popular dish of the eastern hills, made from fermented soybean

Khatte: a dish of the hills that is popular for breakfast, made from brown rice

Poko: also from the hills, juicy and with a sweet and sour taste and slightly alcoholic, aromatic flavor

Dheedo: a porridge-like substance made from maize and wheat

Gundruk: made from dried leafy green vegetables that are slightly fermented

Sinki: pickle of fermented root parts of carrots; goes with dheedo gundruk

Most of these dishes are quite unique to Nepal and should feature in your list of must try foods when visiting Nepal.

Source: InsideHimalaya 

Bisket Jatra-Unique Newari Festival Only Celebrated In Bhaktapur is one of the most important festival that is celebrated in Bhaktapur every once a year in the month of April on the 1st day of Nepali month Baisakh. The day is also celebrated as the New Year festival of Nepal.

The term Bisket Jatra is derived from Newari word Bi and Syaku which meaning snake laughter. One day before the festival the people of Bhaktapur install a long pole with two plain white flags near Bhadrakali Pit and Chunpit Ghat. These two plain flags symbolize the commitment of two snakes.
In this regard there is found two popular stories that speaks about the king, his daughter princess and her wedding and the death of the her prince as well as the next stories talk about the Trantic power of the local people invasion suppression and the death of the snake. So both the story centralized towards the snake.

The legend say that when the king daughter marry to any prince the prince will died after the first night of marry but no one can find any problem. So in the same time one brave prince from another country came in this place and he told he will marry the princess. At the night princess slept but the prince as not sleeping because to find the reason behind that but suddenly from the nose of the princess one thread like structure came out and turn into the snake and the brave prince killed the snake and they lived a happy life and the people of this area also became happy. Then from that day onwards people have celebrated this destroy of iniquity through the ceremony crash of chariots symbolizing the consummation of marriage and this festival. Thus till today you can see that this Bisket Jatra is celebrated with great enjoy.
Source Ohso Travel

KATHMANDU, March 28 : The climbing season in Nepal has started with the departure of the Spring Climbers off to Mount Everest. The team of climberson Tuesday set off to the Khumbu region, with the season started the government has expected that the number of climbers to expedite the Everest will top 500 this year.

Being the first to obtain climbing permit from the Department of Tourism for Mt Everest this climbing season, a 15-member team led by American mountaineer Dallas Glass of International Mountain Guides left for Lukla to begin acclimatization, Ang Jangbu Sherpa of Beyul Adventure Pvt Ltd said, adding that 17 more foreign climbers will obtain permits in a couple of days.

“I am happy to return to Mt Everest this season,” Jim Davidson, a seasoned mountaineer from Colorado, told this daily. Davidson, also co-author of The New York Times bestseller The Ledge left for Lukla and plans to be in Khumbu region for over two months. “The season will be quite interesting,” Davidson, who abandoned his last attempt on Mt Everest following the devastating April earthquake in 2015, added.

Mingma Sherpa, managing director of Seven Summits Treks, claimed that his company would be leading 15 expeditions including eight on Mt Everest this season. “At least 65 climbers will attempt Mt Everest from Nepal side while more than 100 others will be on other peaks, including Mt Kanchenjunga, Mt Makalu, Mt Lhotse, Mt Nuptse, Mt Annapurna and Mt Dhaulagiri, this season,” he said.

Himalayan Guides will also have four expeditions comprising over 50 climbers for Mt Everest,the company’s MD Iswari Paudel said, adding that his company would also run a few expeditions on other mountains.

“There will be more than 500 foreign climbers on Mt Everest this season,” Paudel, who is also secretary of the Expedition Operators Association Nepal, said.

There will be two expeditions of British Gurkhas, according to Summit Nepal Trek, which is also handling an expedition for Min Bahadur Sherchan, 85, this season. “Most of the companies have already transported logistics and gear to Khumbu region to set up base camp,” owner of Sherpa Khangri Outdoor Temba Tsheri Sherpa, who is also the youngest person to ever reach the summit of Mt Everest, said.

DoT has received applications from over 130 climbers representing 10 teams for Mt Everest till date and it expects more expeditions to seek climbing permits in the coming days.

This season too the government has failed to revise the existing act and regulations to make necessary improvement in the mountaineering sector. “Interestingly, none of the climbers will be getting a single GPS tracking device from DoT this season, as the department has done nothing in that
regard,” a senior DoT officer said, adding that liaison officers would also continue to enjoy impunity.

According to Ang Dorjee Sherpa, chairman, Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, a team of eight icefall doctors has already reached the icefall section to fix the route up to Camp II. “The route fixing work is making steady progress,” he told THT over phone from Namche.

Global Rescue will also have its highly trained personnel on the ground, ready to perform life-saving rescue and evacuation missions.

“Physicians and paramedic rescue specialists are deployed in Nepal to assist climbers who are ill, injured or need to be evacuated,” Dan Richards, CEO and founder of Global Rescue, said in a statement.

Published On: Tuesday, March 28, 2017 Time : 17:44:51