Jhor Mahankal

History:
The ancient name of the Jhor Mahankal was ‘Hile Dada’. According to the legend, there was maximum rain fall in the perimeter of the village. According to typical Nepali word the long period of rain is called ‘Jhari’. The transformation of the word 'Jhari' lead to the present day ‘Jhor’. In this way the name of this place is recorded as Jhor. There is one religious place in village known as ‘Mahankalsthan’ which is added with the ‘Jhor’ and it’s recorded as ‘Jhor Mahankal’. Therefore the name of the place itself reflects the combination of natural & cultural aspects. In another word, the place is covered by huge hills in three directions & one part is opened with cultivation able land, valley type of land is known as ‘Jhor’. This name is meaningful for the village according to the geographical point of view. According to the Large Nepalese Dictionary (National Academy) Mr. Basanta Kumar Sharma has pointed the meaning of Jhor is ‘The marsh land between the forests’. Baundeshwor cave & water falls: -
The main attraction of Jhor is Baundeshwor cave
& water falls with it. The real name of this place is
Shree Krishna Barundeshwor Mahadevsthan which is
located at between 1 & 8 no ward of Jhor Mahankal
in the lap of Shivapuri national park. This place is
covered with huge rocks where water is falling from
top of rock & cave is inside between rocks where we
can see the image of lord Mahadev. This place is also
mentioned on one of the holy book of Hindus called (Swosthani Brata Katha). The story is that the left part of the chest of goddess Sati Devi (wife of lord Mahadev) has fallen at this place & hence the place became a religious place. As per another story when lord Mahadev drank the Kalkut poison, he wanted to go to Gosainkunda & on the way he took rest in this cave. There is yet on other story about the place, when the demon Bhasmasur came in the power by the blessing from lord Mahadev, demon wanted to kill him & lord Mahadev hided in this cave, lord Bishnu killed the demon. We can see many ditches in around the stones of the cave which is also believed as the foot prints of one demon & two gods. There is seasonal water falls, it comes out mainly in monsoon season but in other season the water is diverted for supply to agriculture & drinking purpose. This water falls is 50 meters long & add more beauties to this place. Most of the visitors come here for scenic beauty. It is most popular place to visit in Jhor V.D.C. Shivapuri National park: -
Shivapuri national park is only one national park
touching with Kathmandu valley & it covers
mostly hilly area of capital city. It was
established in 2033 B.S (1976A.D) as a Wildlife
Reserved. The total area of this park is 144square
km. In 2001, it was converted into National park. In the context of Jhor VDC, all 9 wards of the
village touch the national park. In the park there
are many holy temples, flora & fauna etc. Belt
road (inside N.P) & Tokha Chahare high ways are
popular for cycling purpose. Water Resources: -
There are two big water sources in Jhor Mahankal V.D.C, which cover 20 percent of drinking water supply of capital. It was started by Bhim Shamser in 1960s B.S for the people of capital city. Bhandare Khola: - This is a big stream of the village & most beautiful water resource. The scene & locality of this place is naturally beautiful. It flows from Shivapuri national park in low land area. There is a beautiful ravine in this place. Kali Dha: - It is also one of the most important water sources for the capital. It also comes from the national park in west-northern top land area. It is located at head of Baundeshwor cave & it is also a source of water falls. The local's belief is that the stream used to provide kitchenware & utensils for local people whenever needed for ceremonies by offering special prayer. Dhapay Aal: - This is another important water source in Shivapuri national park with clean & fresh water. The environment of the place is fresh with green panoramic views which can attract all the people who visit this place. Flora & Fauna: -
Shivapuri national park is most interesting place near
Kathmandu valley. It provides habitat for many
species of plants & animals. It is estimated that there
are about 129 species of mushroom, 150 species of
butterfly, 120 species of birds & 25species of animals. Combination of Natural and Cultural Feature: -
Baundeshwor is one of the religious places like other places such as Gupteshwor, Mahankalsthan, Kalikasthan, Goutameshwor. These places are not built by people but these are nature made with rocks, soil & trees. All these places are located at the top of the village & there fore it is also good for scenic views apart from its religious significance. Views of Kathmandu valley & Nuwakot: -
Jhor Mahankal is also popular for the panoramic view of the Kathmandu valley, Nuwakot & many mountain ranges of north belt. There are many places to see the views from the top level of village. Some of the points from where we can enjoy good views are:
• Gurujebhanjyang
• Suirachour
• Mahankalsthan
• Jagat
• Dadagaun etc. Picnic spots:-
This place is also popular as the picnic spot, because there are places for the picnic purpose. In the village there are many picnic spots, but only one place is well managed for picnic purpose, which is Baundeshwor picnic spot. The other spots are also better, but not managed well. These places are only famous in the village. The main picnic spots of the village are as follow;

• Baundeshwor cave
• Mahankalsthan
• Suirachour
• Pateshwara
• Alechour
• Bhandare Khola etc. Paragliding: -
Jhor Mahankal is only one spot for paragliding purpose in Kathmandu district. It is not popular in the tourism market, just only one travel agency operated the program 8 to 9 times in the previous years. This program used to operate in the months of January to May. Trekking & Hiking routes: -
Trekking is the main tourism potential of the Nepal. There are many trekking region in the nation as well as hiking area. Kathmandu is also popular for the short trek & hike. Jhor Mahankal also has possibility for trekking & hiking, because there are many routes link with Shivapuri national park for this purpose. Other sites of Attraction & Activities: -
Jhor Mahankal is also good for any other tourist activities like camping, jungle or nature walking, cycling etc. In case of nature or jungle walking, we can visit all parts of the Shivapuri national park & hilly area of the Jhor Mahankal village. For the camping purpose, there are flat land at the top of the village & National Park. Cycling or mountain biking is also potential tourism product of the village. There are mainly two routes uses for Mountain biking. There are also other two routes available for the purpose. The routes are as;
• Tokha Chhahare highway
• Shivapuri belt road
• Ring road of village area (Jhor - Sangla- Balaju - Samakhushi - Tokha - Jhor)
• Internal routes etc. Accessibility :
Jhor Mahankal VDC is near by the capital city Kathmandu. It is just 8.5 km far from the ring road & 13 km far from 0 km of Hanumandhoka Durbar. There is well graveled road for transportation with scheduled local bus service. We can easily reach through any surface transport means such coaches, vans, microbuses, cars, motorbikes, taxis, cycles etc. Accommodation :
There are no lodging facilities available yet in the village. There we can find only local restaurants, teashops, snack houses etc. But the concept of home stay can be developed for fulfillment of accommodation facility. The awareness campaign should be lunched so that the concept about the home stay facilities can be developed to meet the immediate requirement of visitors. But in between the Shivapuri national park (3km up from the village) there is Shivapuri Village Resort which provides standard lodging & fooding facilities. Amenities:
In the village we can find facilities for tourist as follows;
Telephone (Local, STD,ISD & Internet)
Fresh Fruit & Vegetables, village products
Fresh water & Peaceful environment etc.