Manichud is a hiking destination located in North-East of Kathmandu Valley. It lies in the Shivapuri-Nagarjung National Park area. It’s historical and religious factor is one of the main reason for attracting tourists and pilgrimages. It is known as Manichud and also as Khadgajogini.
Manichud is not a new destination for domestic tourists. People have been coming here for pilgrimages, hiking and recreation for a long time. This place holds tremendous potential of religious tourism. The historic site has statue of King Manichud, three stupas, Manichud pond, Mahadev temple, Ganesh temple, statue of Lord Buddha, Pancha Buddha. Distance between Kathmandu and Manichud is 21 km.
Manichud hiking
From Sankhu there is a hiking route to Manichud via Bajrayogini. It is popular for one day short hiking. Manichud Hiking starts from Sankhu visiting Bajrayogini Temple and to Manichud walking through villages, farms and green forests with beautiful landscapes. Walking uphill will take about 3 hours.
There are many popular trekking and hiking routes in the area. It is also one of the less visited tourist destinations gifted with natural beauty. This area has also a trail for mountain biking and offers panoramic views of Manaslu, Ganesh himal, Langtang and Jugal himal. Bird watching in Manichud Danda is another thing to enjoy.
Main attraction of this place are temples, panaromic views of mountain ranges, natural flora and fauna.
Manichud daha
Manichud daha (Manichud Kund) is located at Shankharapur Municipality and Shankarpur itself is a famous tourist destination known for Salindi. It is 6 km from Sankhu, an ancient Newari town. Once it was an important stop on the old trade route from Kathmandu to Lhasa. It is rich in cultural heritage.
Manichud daha (pond) is a very holy pond for Buddhists pilgrimages and Hindus as well. This pond is one of the main attractions of the site. It is situated at an altitude of 2,378 meters from the sea level. During the day of Janai Purnima a big fair (mela) is organized every year.
The history of Manichud dates back to the century long Buddhist era 2514 (Buddha Sambat 2514). Manichud area has one of the oldest inscriptions of Maharani Ganga (Queen Ganga). According to mythology, Manichud Daha name came from the king of Sanketu known as Manichud. In the ancient time, King Manichud was on meditation in a cave near the pond. King saw villagers suffering from plague and to cure the disease he dip the mani (crystal stone) from his forehead to the pond knowing that if he took crystal from his forehead he would die instantly. The king decided to sacrifies his life for the betterment of the people He used the pond water to heal people from plague. The king died after taking the crystal from his forehead but he was transformed into shila (sclupture) which still exists here.
It is believed that if anyone takes bath here during Sangrantis, Chaitrapurnima, Falgun krishna Saptami he/she will be free from all fears and gets blessing as of performing Ashwamegh.
How to reach Manichud ? – Manichud dada location
There are many roads to Manichud but the easiest one via Sankhu then reach the Bajrayogini temple and the journey starts from Bajrayogini to Manichud. Other route is via Gagalfedi. Bajrayogini is a Buddhist tantric deity. Vajrayogini or Bajrayogini temple was built in sixteenth century by King Prakash Malla. It is a Tantrik temple, one of the tourist attraction of Sankhu.
There you’ll find a kind of steep off roads and some cemented road as well which will be no issue for off-road bikes but scooters might be difficult to climb the steep. You’ll reach Manichud Daha after climbing for 15-20 minutes from the road. Walking through the beautiful forest tourists can view Kathmandu and mountains as well.
It is also reachable through the following routes:
- 9 km hiking from Kathmandu to Sankhu-Bajrayogini-Ghumarichowk.
- Kathmandu-Panipokhari, Sundarijal route.
- Kathmandu-Sankhu-Jarshingpauwa, Jhule and Nagarkot’s Kartike Bhanjyang, Jarshing pauwa-Jhule.
