Where We Be
Tansen's three-tiered temple is considered one of
the most beautiful outside the Kathmandu Valley
Newa architecture is an indigenous style of architecture used by the Newari people in the
Kathmandu valley. It typically incorporates
wooden balconies, window frames, and roof struts.
We had the best egg pakodas here (hard-boiled egg slices in fried batter)
This steep street is typical of Tansen with its rows of small
shops and friendly locals hanging out on porch stoops
Terraced rice fields near Tansen on the way to Pokhara
Intricate wooden carvings make Amar Narayan Temple worth the steep walk
Newari doors can be intricately carved and quite elaborate
Tansen, Nepal
We left the heat and mosquitoes of the low
country behind, journeying into the Himalayan
foothills to the medieval hill town of Tansen.
The bus ride
only took 2 hours (we'd expected
4), but then again
our bus driver drove like a
maniac
! When he passed another bus on an
S-curve, honking like crazy, we just shut our
eyes and hoped for the best. To get off,
we had
to maneuver around a kid goat in the aisle!

The streets of Tansen are steep and cobbled,
and the wooden homes have a medieval look.
Within each cool, dark shop you see tailors
working on their sewing machines or hear the
clack of looms
. We puzzled over numerous
items we'd never seen before. The small shops
reminded us of the penny candy stores we
used to visit as kids, each having its own
collection of soft drinks, chips, candies, etc.

We only had one afternoon
here so our photos
only scratch the surface of this picturesque
little town with foothill
s views in all directions
(hazy on the day we were there). We did see
Tansen's premier attraction
: Amar Narayan
(left)
. This classic three-tiered pagoda-style
wooden temple is considered one of the most
beautiful temples outside the Kathmandu Valley.
Odd-looking temple iguana (we think)