Swargadwari Temple Nepal , Find your way to Heaven

Among many holy places in Nepal, Swargadwari is one of them. Swargadwari temple is situated at an elevation of 2121 meters from sea level. This temple is located in the famous district “Pyuthan”. Visitors and trekkers believe the Pyuthan district is the gateway to heaven. The name Swargadwari is a Nepali word in which “Swarga” means “Heaven” and “Dwar” means “Gate or Door”. Swargadwari falls on the western side of Nepal so people-visiting Swargadwari is comparatively lesser than other sites in Nepal.

Mostly Hindu Devotees of Nepal and India visit Swargadwari. Swargadwari trek will give you the experience of both worshipping the god and observing the beauty of Pyuthan.  Swargadwari is an amazing temple surrounded by beautiful Himalayan peaks like Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, and Manaslu. You will be thrilled to watch the high Himalayan peaks from the temple. People mostly visit the Swargadwari temple on Baishakh Purnima and during Laxmi puja in Tihar. During this festival, there occurs a grand fest with different kinds of cultural programs. You should visit Swargadwari during these festivals.

History of Swargadwari Temple

Swargadwari hold lots of belief among Hindu devotees, which have the special honor of the role of Cows in Hinduism. People of Pyuthan district believe Guru Maharaj Narayan Khatri often called Swami Hamsananda found the Swargadwari temple. In the earlier days, cow grazing was the main occupation of the people in the Pyuthan district. According to the traditional stories and locals, guru Maharaj dug the land and found curd mixed with rice and fire. Then he explained to the locals that the Pandavs buried these things. Then people decide to build a Temple in that places. The fire from the ground has been burning until now. Not only that the holy fire cures disorders aches in the body.

Locals believe that although the physical body of the guru has left his disciplines and his good work will be carried forward. The place where the dead body of the guru was buried, is now a meditation spot.

Another history of Swargadwari arises from the Rolpa. Narayan Gautama was a leprosy patient. He arrived at Swargadwari temple and started living there. He was also practicing yoga and meditation. After that, his leprosy was slowly cured. Therefore, he started the sacrificial fire on the full moon day on the month of Bishak, which is burning until today. People entitled Narayan Gautama as a yogi and he also establish an ashram to graze cows. The ashram has been home to more than 300 cows until today.

People also believe that there was a person named Swargadwari Mahapravu who was god-sent to restore and protect the Dharma in today’s world. He followed the footsteps of guru Maharaj. Therefore, he spent his entire life doing yoga and taking care of the cows. He even took his last breath on the very spot where guru Maharaj was buried.

Access/Transportation/Road condition

Bhalubang (Daang) –Bhingri-Swargadwari

This route is the most visited route to Swargadwari. For this route, you will start your tour to Swargadwari from Bhalubang. Bhalubang is located on the western side of Butwal, which is 360km from Kathmandu. For this, you will easily get vehicles from the Mahendra Highway. After getting off at Bhalubang, you will find a public bus, which will directly take you to Swargadwari. Normally, vehicles cost from Bhalubang to Swargadwari is NRs. 250 to NRs 300.

There is another alternative t route, for which you will have to take the public bus from Rolpa to Bhingri, which is two hours.  This bus ride can cost around NRs 240. A huge board says ‘Welcome to Swargadwari. The road until Bhingri is blacktopped but the route has lots of twists and turns. If you do not feel comfortable traveling in public vehicles then you should not take this route. This route involves hiking from the Bhingri to the main temple itself.  You will have to hike for about 4 to 5 hours until you reach Swargadwari temple. On the way, you can enjoy the magnificent view of Jhimruk and Madi valley. In addition, if you cannot hike then you can take a bus or other vehicles, as hiking is very difficult. The road from Bhingri is very difficult.

Ghorahi (Dang) – Swargadwari:

Another road to Swargadwari temple is from Ghorahi to Swargadwari. This is a harder road, which takes about 7 to 8 hours. The trek begins from Kathmandu to Dang, which goes through a cement factory. The road is almost packed every day because of the trippers. Because of that, the road seems dusty and bumpy so you should prepare yourself for this.  The bus will stop you right at the bus park in Dharmapani on the left side of the ashram. From here, you can explore the ashram.  From the ashram, you will have to walk to bit.

Locals believe that it will take 300 normal steps from the ashram to reach the great Swargadwari temple. No vehicles are allowed from the ashram to the temple, as people believe that vehicles decrease the importance of going to visiting the temple. For this, horses are available which will take charge of NRs 200.

What to eat during the tour?

There are many options for food and accommodation during the travel. The ashram of Swargadwari manages the faculty of food and accommodation for the devotee. If the visitor wants then they can cook their food and the ashram will provide the utensils and fire for the food. However, if you do not feel comfortable then you can choose to stay in a hotel or lodge. Dhal Bhat and Takari is the most common food that you can find all over Nepal.  However, you can get the desirable dishes in the hotels.

Why visit Swargadwari temple?

According to the Historic Puran, the Swargadwari temple is believed to be 110 years old.  This is the beautiful temple decorated with the idols and statues of God Ganesh, Shiva, and Vishnu on its premises. Hindus of Nepal and India consider Swargadwari as the center of faith. They come here every year on Maghe Sankranti, Gai Tihar, and full moon day of Baishakh, Vijayadashami, and other festivals. Along with the cultural beauty, Swargadwari also reaches the natural beauty.  The plethora of beauty has made Swargadwari one of the top tourist destinations in Nepal. The forest and the giant peaks around the temple add beauty to the temple.

What are the things to see and do in Swargadwari?

Scenic beauty

Swargadwari tour in itself provides the spectacular scenery of the Jhimruk and Madi from the top hill. In addition to this will also get the most stunning view of various high snow-capped mountains including Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, and Manaslu, and May more. His route to Swargadwari goes through the dense coniferous forest, which is full of beautiful Rhododendron and flowers during the spring season. Here are many small and big temples, ponds, and caves on the route that you can visit.

Batukas

They are the students who live in the ashram and learn spiritual training from the gurus. Batukas and gurus worship the temple every day following the holy rituals. The morning prayers and ariti are important so you must see them. Hundreds of the pandits perform the Hawan and carry out the ariti on the temple. The ritual flam inside the temple has been burning for ages, so Pujari put butter and gee into the fire with Vedic mantras.  Local’s people and visitors do bhajans and kirtan on the temple daily.   The ashram gives permission and arranges Lakh Batti, Rudri, and any other rituals on request. For these rituals, the ashram takes certain charges, rates for each ritual.

Gufa Mandir

The main temple where daily rituals and puja are carried out is the Gufa Mandir. The burning flame inside this temple. If you move uphill from the ashram there is a cave from where the Maha Guru is, travel to Madi valley. Inside the rhododendron, coniferous forest there is a temple of Siddha baba that you can visit. You can get to witness how the ashram has managed hundreds of cows inside it. In addition, the milk, ghee, and butter for the Hawan and ariti are bought from the ashram itself. The pujari of the temple believes that only pure ghee and butter do the ariti.  There is a huge trace of land on the ashram where the cows often graze. You can get a magnificent view of the sunrise from the terraced land with high mount Annapurna and Dhaulagiri from here.

Itinerary

Here is the detailed itinerary of the Swargadwari temple visit.

Day 1: Arrival at Kathmandu

Swargadwari tour starts from your arrival in Kathmandu. Our team above the Himalayas will pick you up at the airport and transfer you to the hotel. You can fresh up and rest for a bit after that if you have time left then you can roam around the road of Kathmandu. You can also try the street food of Kathmandu where you will discover the local taste

Day 2: Sightseeing around Kathmandu

The second day of your travel is sightseeing around Kathmandu valley. There are various places that you can visit in Kathmandu but trekkers prefer to visit the cultural and religious sites. For that, you can visit some famous sites like Pashupatinath temple, Swayambunath stupa, BasantaPur temple, Boudhanath stupa, Patan durbar square, and many more. You can also go around Thamel Bazar where you can explore the Nepali product.

Day 3: Kathmandu to Nepalgunj

You can take either airway or the roadway to reach Nepalgunj. The airway takes about 30 to 40 minutes of flight and if you take the roadway then it will probably take 4 to 5 hours of the ride. On the road travel to Nepalgunj, you can explore the beautiful villages and see the lifestyle of the local people staying there. You will stay overnight at the hotel in Nepalgunj.

Day 4: Drive from Swargadwari

This is the most important day of our travel. From Nepalgunj, your first destination will be dang which is at the distance of 178km.  Swargadwari travel is mostly the drive on the western part of Nepal. The drive will serve you an excellent view of nature, which will refresh your body. After reach at Dand (Gorahi), have some food there and head toward Swargadwari. After visiting the temple, you will have to travel back to Dang and stay overnight there.

Day 5: Dang to Kathmandu via Nepalgunj

It is now time to travel back to Kathmandu. You can take the same route from dang to Kathmandu. we need to drive from dang and reach Nepalgunj enjoying his exhilarating view of the hills. You will get a break in Nepalgunj for lunch. After that, you can take a flight from Nepalgunj to Kathmandu.  If your flight is late then you can explore the roads of Nepalgunj.

Day 6: Final departure

As you land in Kathmandu, you will have to get ready for the departure from Kathmandu. We hope you liked trekking with us. Happy trekking!

Here is some trip fact that you should know before traveling to Swargadwari.

• Among many religious and pilgrimage sites in Nepal, Swargadwari is on the top and is even on the list of the national inventory of culture and heritage sites.
• Guru Maharaj found the Swargadwari temple and spend his life herding and taking care of the cows. He believed cows are the most scared animals and form of the goddess.
• During the spring, season the entire trail and the hills around the Swargadwari temple are full of rhododendron. The route also goes through the oak and pine forests.
• Swargadwari temple the Toposthal means place for mediation. Every morning you will see many people doing yoga and meditation.
• Meditation here will keep you refreshed as the Himalayas and mountains surround this place.
• The king of God Indra Bhagwan once performed Yagyan during the Satya Yuga in Swargadwari.
• The best time to visit the Swargadwari temple is during June and July.