Manakamana Temple by cable car!!! Life time experience!!!!

Manakamana temple is situated in the small village of gorkha is situated atop the 1302 metre hill that lies just north-east of the town of Mugling, some three and a half hours by bus east from Pokhara, or about the same time by bus west from Kathmandu. It  is surrounded by  the river valleys of Trisuli (south) and Marsyangdi (west). The unique location of the place is dramatized during winter when the ridge appears as an island above the sea of morning mist. People believe Manakamana Devi fulfills the wishes of her devotees, thus called the wish fulfilling deity.Spectacular views include deep valleys, terraced fields and the Manaslu-Himalchuli and Annapurna ranges. There are lots of ways to reach the manakamana but the most used way is by a cable car that runs from the cable station of Cheres, just 5 kms east of Mugling to Manakamana in fifteen minutes. . It is an exhilarating ride as you pass the river and up two ridges to the top. If you want, you can return by walking down the former well-used track down to its exit on the Gorkha road, just 1 km north of the town of Abu Khareini.

View of cable car 

The cable car operates from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., stopping for lunch break from 12.00 p.m. to 13.30 p.m. On Saturdays and holidays it starts operations an hour earlier.The cost for the cable car will be given in the last of this page. Hindu devotees believe that a visit to this temple will bring good luck, so expect to see many animal sacrifices at the temple entrance. If you are not hindu then also you can have life time experience on ride of cable car and see the range of Himalayas from the manakamana , If you want to enjoy trekking there is trekking routes from gorkha to manakamna and the autumn season is best for the trek as you can enjoy locally available oranges .

Manakaman Temple

There are many simple hotels and lodges in the village, all charging about Rs 100 to Rs 400 per room. Some even advertise hot water in attached bathrooms but if you want luxury you can come down to cheress and may get good hotels in kuringhat.you can buy different hand made products specially wooden craft near the temple for the memory.

View of village from cable car

Manakamana is the name of a Hindu Goddess. It is believed that the Goddess fulfils the wishes of the people. The term ‘mana’ means the ‘heart’ or ‘soul’ and ‘kamana’ means the ‘wish’. There are other temples having same name in nepal but the most popular one is from gorkha. It is said that a King of Gorkha was blessed by the goddess to get victory over small kingdoms and make a big Gorkha. Manakamana of gorkha is a popular place for a specific fair called Panchami.

The queen of Ram Shah, the king of Gorkha born in 1614 AD, was a goddess known to only her devotee, Lakhan Thapa. One day the king saw his queen in the form of a goddess. 

Cable car seen from other cable car

He told about it to the queen and he died instantly, in 1636 AD. The queen committed Sati (commit cremation with the husband's pyre as per custom of that time). Lakhan Thapa lamented on her Sati.The queen consoled him to reappear again. Six months later, a farmer hit a stone while ploughing his field. Blood and milk came out from the stone. Lakhan Thapa came to know the news. He worshipped the place with 'tantric' rituals. The flow of blood and milk ceased. The site became the foundation of the present-day shrine- Manakamana Temple. Manakamana meaning wishes fulfilling goddess. The current pujari, Priest, is the 17th generation descendant of Lakhan Thapa. 

View of cable car station 

Here is the fare for the cable car:

Catagory One Way Two Way Normal NPR.235.00 NPR 390.00 Child NPR.140.00 NPR 230.00 Student NPR.185.00 NPR 310.00 Elderly NPR 185.00 NPR 310.00 Disabled NPR 175.00 NPR 290.00 Foreigner USD 9.00 USD 15.00 Foreigner Child USD 6.00 USD 10.00 SAARC National NPR 235.00 Nrs. 390.00