Windows

Microsoft launched its first retail version of  Microsoft Windows on November 20, 1985, and in August, the company struck a deal with IBM to develop a separate operating system called  OS/2. Although the two companies successfully developed the first version of the new system, mounting creative differences caused the partnership to deteriorate.It ended in 1991, when Gates led Microsoft to develop a version of OS/2 independently from IBM.

Microsoft BASIC

After reading the January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics that demonstrated the Altair 8800, Gates contacted Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), the creators of the new microcomputer, to inform them that he and others were working on a BASICinterpreter for the platform. In reality, Gates and Allen did not have an Altair and had not written code for it; they merely wanted to gauge MITS's interest. MITS president Ed Robertsagreed to meet them for a demo, and over the course of a few weeks they developed an Altair emulator that ran on a minicomputer, and then the BASIC interpreter. The demonstration, held at MITS's offices in Albuquerque was a success and resulted in a deal with MITS to distribute the interpreter as Altair BASIC. Paul Allen was hired into MITS,and Gates took a leave of absence from Harvard to work with Allen at MITS in Albuquerque in November 1975. They named their partnership "Micro-Soft" and had their first office located in Albuquerque. Within a year, the hyphen was dropped, and on November 26, 1976, the trade name "Microsoft" was registered with the Office of the Secretary of the State of New Mexico. Gates never returned to Harvard to complete his studies.

Microsoft's BASIC was popular with computer hobbyists, but Gates discovered that a pre-market copy had leaked into the community and was being widely copied and distributed. In February 1976, Gates wrote an Open Letter to Hobbyists in the MITS newsletter saying that MITS could not continue to produce, distribute, and maintain high-quality software without payment. This letter was unpopular with many computer hobbyists, but Gates persisted in his belief that software developers should be able to demand payment. Microsoft became independent of MITS in late 1976, and it continued to develop programming language software for various systems. The company moved from Albuquerque to its new home in Bellevue, Washington on January 1, 1979.

During Microsoft's early years, all employees had broad responsibility for the company's business. Gates oversaw the business details, but continued to write code as well. In the first five years, Gates personally reviewed every line of code the company shipped, and often rewrote parts of it as he saw fit.

Bill Gates

William Henry "Bill" Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate, investor, programmer, inventor and philanthropist. Gates is the former chief executive and current chairman of Microsoft, the world’s largest personal-computersoftware company, which he co-founded with Paul Allen.

He is consistently ranked in the Forbes list of the world's wealthiest people and was the wealthiest overall from 1995 to 2009—excluding 2008, when he was ranked third; in 2011 he was the wealthiest American and the world's second wealthiest person. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires List, Gates is the world's richest person in 2013, a position that he last held on the list in 2007.

During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions of CEO and chief software architect, and remains the largest individual shareholder, with 6.4 percent of the common stock.He has also authored and co-authored several books.

Gates is one of the best-known entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution. Gates has been criticized for his business tactics, which have been considered anti-competitive, an opinion which has in some cases been upheld by the courts. In the later stages of his career, Gates has pursued a number of philanthropic endeavors, donating large amounts of money to various charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established in 2000.

Gates stepped down as chief executive officer of Microsoft in January 2000. He remained as chairman and created the position of chief software architect for himself. In June 2006, Gates announced that he would be transitioning from full-time work at Microsoft to part-time work, and full-time work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He gradually transferred his duties to Ray Ozzie, chief software architect, and Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer. Gates's last full-time day at Microsoft was June 27, 2008. He remains at Microsoft as chairman.

WELCOME TO SIKKIM

Small but beautiful. Sikkim is situated in the eastern Himalayas . Spread below the Mount Khanchendzonga (8534 mts), the third highest mountain in the world, and revered by the Sikkimese as their protective deity. With an area of 7,300 sq kms and measuring approx. 114 kms from the north to south and 64 kms from east to west, the elevation ranges from 300 mts to over 8540 mts above sea level.

Amidst the grandeur of the mountain peaks, lush valleys, fast flowing rivers, hills, Sikkim offers her visitors a rare and singular experience. Within a matter of hours one can move from the sub tropical heat of the lower valleys to the cold of the rugged mountain slopes that reach up to the area of perpetual snow .

Darjeeling

Darjeeling  is a town in the Indian state of West Bengal. A popular tourist destination, it is located in the Mahabharat Range or Lesser Himalaya at an average elevation of 6,710 ft (2,045.2 m). It is noted for its tea industry and the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Darjeeling is the headquarters of Darjeeling district which has a partially autonomous status within the state of West Bengal.

The development of the town dates back to the mid-19th century, when the colonial British administration set up a sanatorium and a military depot. Subsequently, extensive tea plantations were established in the region, and tea growers developed hybrids of black tea and created new fermentationtechniques. The resultant distinctive Darjeeling tea is internationally recognised and ranks among the most popular of the black teas. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway connects the town with the plains and has one of the fewsteam locomotives still in service in India.

Darjeeling has several British-style public schools, which attract students from India and neighbouring countries. The varied culture of the town reflects its diverse demographic milieu consisting of Nepalese, Tibetan, Bengali and other ethno-linguistic groups. Darjeeling, with its neighbouring town of Kalimpong, was a centre of the Gorkhaland movement in the 1980s. The town's fragile ecology has been threatened by a rising demand for environmental resources, stemming from growing tourist traffic and poorly planned urbanisation.

Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council

The Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council was the result of the signing of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council Agreement between the Central Government of India, the West Bengal Government and the Gorkha National Liberation Front in Kolkata on August 22, 1988. The ceremony took place at the Banquet Hall, Raj Bhavan (The Governor's Palace) at 10 A.M. The signatories to this tripartite agreement were: C.G. Somaih, Union Home Secretary (on the behalf of the Central Government of India), R.N. Sengupta, the State Chief Secretary (on the behalf of the Government of West Bengal) and Subhash Ghisingh (on the behalf of Gorkha National Liberation Front as the representative of the people of Darjeeling District). The Union Home Minister, Buta Singh, and the West Bengal Chief Minister, Jyoti Basu, also put their signatures on the agreement.

The Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council Act, 1988 (West Bengal Act XIII of 1988) was enacted by the West Bengal legislature which was assented to by the President of India and was first published in the Calcutta Gazette, Extraordinary of 15 October 1988.

Raksha Bandhan

Raksha Bandhan, (the bond of protection) or Rakhi is a Hindu festival primarily observed in India, Mauritius and Nepal (Madheshis only), which celebrates the relationship between brothers (shaurya), cousins and sisters (shreya). It is also called Rakhi Purnima in most of India.It is also celebrated in some parts of Pakistan. The festival is observed by Hindus, Jains, and some Sikhs.

In fact, the popular practice of Raksha Bandhan has its historical associations also. The Rajput queens practised the custom of sending rakhi threads to neighbouring rulers as token of brotherhood. The central ceremony involves the tying of a rakhi (sacred thread) by a sister on her brother's wrist. This symbolizes the sister's love and prayers for her brother's well-being, and the brother's lifelong vow to protect her. The festival falls on the full moon day (Shravan Poornima) of the Shravan month of the Hindu lunisolar calendar.One Islamic Scholar believes that Raksha Bandhan grew in popularity after Rani Karnavati, the widowed queen of Chittor, sent a rakhi to the Mughal emperor Humayun when she required his help.

Festivity is synonym to the Nepalese Culture

Festivity is synonym to the Nepalese Culture. For the Nepalese, festivals are not merely the annual spectacles, but also are a living part of their rich cultural heritage. Festivals effectively bind together the Nepalese people of diverse cultural backgrounds and beliefs into one nation. Most Nepalese festivals are related to different Hindu and Buddhist deities. They are celebrated on days consecrated for them by religion and tradition.

Month	Festival
Jan-Feb	·    Sweta Manchhendra Snan ·    Swasthani Puja ·    Maghe Sankranti ·    Basanta Panchmi & Saraswati Puja
Feb-March	Maha Shivaratri Losar Fagu Purnima or Holi
March-April	Chaitra Dasain Ghode Jatra
April-May	Biska Jatra New Year's Day Red Machhendranath Jatra Buddha Jayanti
July-August	Gunla Krishna Astami Janai Purnima
August-Sept	·    Gai Jatra ·    Teej
Sept-Oct	Indra Jatra Dasain or Durga Puja
Oct-Nov	Mani Rimdu Tihar or Deepali
Nov-Dec	·    Balachaturdarsi ·    Bibah Panchani ·    Yomari Punhi

A BRIEF COMPUTER HISTORY

The computer as we know it today had its beginning with a 19th century English mathematics professor name Charles Babbage.
He designed the Analytical Engine and it was this design that the basic framework of the computers of today are based on. 
Generally speaking, computers can be classified into three generations. Each generation lasted for a certain period of
time,and each gave us either a new and improved computer or an improvement to the existing computer. 

First generation: 1937 – 1946 – In 1937 the first electronic digital computer was built by Dr. John V. Atanasoff and Clifford Berry. It was called the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC). In 1943 an electronic computer name the Colossus was built for the military. Other developments continued until in 1946 the first general– purpose digital computer, the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) was built. It is said that this computer weighed 30 tons, and had 18,000 vacuum tubes which was used for processing. When this computer was turned on for the first time lights dim in sections of Philadelphia. Computers of this generation could only perform single task, and they had no operating system. 
Second generation: 1947 – 1962 - This generation of computers used transistors instead of vacuum tubes which were more reliable. In 1951 the first computer for commercial use was introduced to the public; the Universal Automatic Computer (UNIVAC 1). In 1953 the International Business Machine (IBM) 650 and 700 series computers made their mark in the computer world. During this generation of computers over 100 computer programming languages were developed, computers had memory and operating systems. Storage media such as tape and disk were in use also were printers for output. 
Third generation: 1963 - present - The invention of integrated circuit brought us the third generation of computers. With this invention computers became smaller, more powerful more reliable and they are able to run many different programs at the same time. In1980 Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-Dos) was born and in 1981 IBM introduced the personal computer (PC) for home and office use. Three years later Apple gave us the Macintosh computer with its icon driven interface and the 90s gave us Windows operating system. 
As a result of the various improvements to the development of the computer we have seen the computer being used in all areas of life. It is a very useful tool that will continue to experience new development as time passes. 

Fourth Generation of Computers (1972-1984) 
In this generation, there were developments of large-scale integration or LSI (1000 devices per chip) and very large-scale integration or VLSI (10000 devices per chip). These developments enabled the entire processor to fit into a single chip and in fact, for simple systems, the entire computer with processor; main memory and I/O controllers could fit on a single chip. 
Core memories now were replaced by semiconductor memories and high-speed vectors dominated the scenario. Names of few such vectors were Cray1, Cray X-MP and Cyber205. A variety of parallel architectures developed too, but they were mostly in the experimental stage. 
As far as programming languages are concerned, there were development of high-level languages like FP or functional programming and PROLOG (programming in logic). Declarative programming style was the basis of these languages where a programmer could leave many details to the compiler or runtime system. Alternatively languages like PASCAL, C used imperative style. Two other conspicuous developments of this era were the C programming language and UNIX operating system. Ritchie, the writer of C and Thompson together used C to write a particular type of UNIX for DEC PDP 11. This C based UNIX was then widely used in many computers. 
Another event that is mention worthy was the publication of the report by Peter D. Lax in 1982, which was sponsored by the US department and National Scientific Foundation. The Lax report, as it was called, emphasized on the need of initiatives and coordinated national attention in the arena of high performing computing in the US. The immediate response to the Lax report was the establishment of NSF Supercomputing Centers. Other centers that came up later were San Diego Supercomputing Center, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, John von Neumann Center and Cornell Theory Center. These institutes had really been instrumental in providing computing time on super computers to the students, training them and also helping in the development of software packages. 
Fourth Generation of Computers (1972-1984) 
In this generation, there were developments of large-scale integration or LSI (1000 devices per chip) and very large-scale integration or VLSI (10000 devices per chip). These developments enabled the entire processor to fit into a single chip and in fact, for simple systems, the entire computer with processor; main memory and I/O controllers could fit on a single chip. 
Core memories now were replaced by semiconductor memories and high-speed vectors dominated the scenario. Names of few such vectors were Cray1, Cray X-MP and Cyber205. A variety of parallel architectures developed too, but they were mostly in the experimental stage. 
As far as programming languages are concerned, there were development of high-level languages like FP or functional programming and PROLOG (programming in logic). Declarative programming style was the basis of these languages where a programmer could leave many details to the compiler or runtime system. Alternatively languages like PASCAL, C used imperative style. Two other conspicuous developments of this era were the C programming language and UNIX operating system. Ritchie, the writer of C and Thompson together used C to write a particular type of UNIX for DEC PDP 11. This C based UNIX was then widely used in many computers. 
Another event that is mention worthy was the publication of the report by Peter D. Lax in 1982, which was sponsored by the US department and National Scientific Foundation. The Lax report, as it was called, emphasized on the need of initiatives and coordinated national attention in the arena of high performing computing in the US. The immediate response to the Lax report was the establishment of NSF Supercomputing Centers. Other centers that came up later were San Diego Supercomputing Center, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, John von Neumann Center and Cornell Theory Center. These institutes had really been instrumental in providing computing time on super computers to the students, training them and also helping in the development of software packages. 
Fourth Generation of Computers (1972-1984) 
In this generation, there were developments of large-scale integration or LSI (1000 devices per chip) and very large-scale integration or VLSI (10000 devices per chip). These developments enabled the entire processor to fit into a single chip and in fact, for simple systems, the entire computer with processor; main memory and I/O controllers could fit on a single chip. 
Core memories now were replaced by semiconductor memories and high-speed vectors dominated the scenario. Names of few such vectors were Cray1, Cray X-MP and Cyber205. A variety of parallel architectures developed too, but they were mostly in the experimental stage. 
As far as programming languages are concerned, there were development of high-level languages like FP or functional programming and PROLOG (programming in logic). Declarative programming style was the basis of these languages where a programmer could leave many details to the compiler or runtime system. Alternatively languages like PASCAL, C used imperative style. Two other conspicuous developments of this era were the C programming language and UNIX operating system. Ritchie, the writer of C and Thompson together used C to write a particular type of UNIX for DEC PDP 11. This C based UNIX was then widely used in many computers. 
Another event that is mention worthy was the publication of the report by Peter D. Lax in 1982, which was sponsored by the US department and National Scientific Foundation. The Lax report, as it was called, emphasized on the need of initiatives and coordinated national attention in the arena of high performing computing in the US. The immediate response to the Lax report was the establishment of NSF Supercomputing Centers. Other centers that came up later were San Diego Supercomputing Center, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, John von Neumann Center and Cornell Theory Center. These institutes had really been instrumental in providing computing time on super computers to the students, training them and also helping in the development of software packages. 
Fifth generation of computers (1984-1990) 
In this period, computer technology achieved more superiority and parallel processing, which was until limited to vector processing and pipelining, where hundreds of processors could all work on various parts of a single program. There were introduction of systems like the Sequent Balance 8000, which connected up to twenty processors to one shared memory module. 
This machine was as competent as the DEC VAX-780 in the context that it had a general purpose UNIX system and each processor worked on a different user's job. On the other hand, INTEL IPSC-I or Hypercube, as it was called, connected each processor to its own memory and used a network interface to connect the processors. With the concept of distributed network coming in, memory posed no further problem and the largest IPSC-I was built with 128 processors. Towards the end of the fifth generation, another parallel processing was introduced in the devices, which were called Data parallel or SIMD. In this system, all the processors operate under the instruction of a single control unit. 
In this generation semiconductor memories became the standard were pursued vigorously. Other developments were the increasing use of single user workstations and widespread use of computer networks. Both wide area network (WAN) and local area network (LAN) developed at an incredible pace and led to a distributed computing environment. RISC technology i.e. a particular technique for the internal organization of CPU and the plunging cost of RAM ushered in huge gains in computational power of comparatively cheaper servers and workstations. This generation also witnessed a sharp increase in both quantitative and qualitative aspects of scientific visualization. 

Samsung Galaxy S4

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is a high-end, Android smartphone produced bySamsung Electronics. First unveiled on March 13, 2013 at Samsung Mobile Unpacked in New York City, it is a successor to the Galaxy S III which maintains a similar design, but with upgraded hardware and an increased focus on software features that take advantage of its hardware capabilities—such as the ability to detect when a finger is hovered over the screen, and expanded eye trackingfunctionality (which includes scrolling). A hardware variant of the Galaxy S4 also became the first ever smartphone to support the emerging LTE Advancedmobile network standard.

The S4 was made available in late April 2013 on 327 carriers in 155 countries. Upon its release, it became the fastest selling smartphone in Samsung's history; the company sold 20 million Galaxy S4 units worldwide in the two months following the device's launch.

he screen features a 5-inch (130 mm) (sometimes stated as 4.99-inch) PenTile RGBG Full HD Super AMOLED screen with 441 pixels per inch andCorning Gorilla Glass 3.

The S4 comes with either 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB of internal storage, which can be supplemented with up to an additional 64 GB with a microSD card slot.

The S4 GT-I9505 includes a multiband LTE transceiver and both models feature an infrared LED that can serve as a universal remote control.In June 2013, a version of the S4 was released in South Korea with support for LTE Advancednetworks. It is the first smartphone ever produced with support for LTE Advanced. This model includes a quad-core 2.3GHz Krait Snapdragon 800 processor.

Built into the 2600 mAh battery is near field communication (NFC) connectivity, which allows users to perform non-touch payments at shops that employ specially equipped NFC cash registers. The SC-04E model has a FeliCa secure element, unlike other models which contain an NFC-A secure element. The NFC-A secure element on the SC-04E is provided on the SIM card. The battery also supports wireless charging through the Qi standard.

The Galaxy S4 supports the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) video format.

In addition to the touchscreen, the S4 has several physical user inputs including a home button located near the bottom of the screen, at the bottom of the S4 is the primary microphone and the microUSB port for both data connections and charging; it also supports USB host and MHL 2.0. There are volume keys on the left side and a power/lock key on the right. At the top there is a 0.14-inch (3.6 mm) headphone jack, the secondary microphone, and infrared blaster. The backside of the S4 has the 13-megapixel camera lens and LED flash, and at the bottom left edge has the loudspeaker.

Samsung's official accessory for the S4, the S-View Cover, utilizes a hall effect sensor in the phone which detects when the cover is closed and displays battery status, time, and other phone statuses in an area of the screen visible through a window on the cover.

Notably, the S4 does not include an FM radio receiver, as previous models did.

The S4 is widely available in two color finishes, black mist and white frost, however selected regions have gold pink and gold brown. The S4 comes in two variants that differ primarily in the internal hardware:

Windows 8

Windows 8 is a personal computer operating system developed by Microsoft. Development of Windows 8 started before the release of its predecessor,Windows 7, in 2009. It was announced at CES 2011, and followed by the release of three pre-release versions from September 2011 to May 2012. The operating system was released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012, and was released for general availability on October 26, 2012.

Windows 8 introduced major changes to the operating system's platform anduser interface to improve its user experience on devices such as tablets, where Windows was now competing with mobile operating systems such as Androidand iOS. In particular, these changes included a touch-optimized Windows shell based on Microsoft's "Metro" design language, the Start screen (which displays programs and dynamically updated content on a grid of tiles), a new platform for developing apps with an emphasis on touchscreen input, integration with online services (including the ability to sync apps and settings between devices), and Windows Store, an online store for downloading and purchasing new software. Windows 8 added support for new and emerging technologies such as USB 3.0, Advanced Format hard drives, near field communications, and cloud computing. Additional security features were introduced, such as built-in antivirus software, integration with Microsoft SmartScreen phishing filtering service and support for UEFI Secure Boot on supported devices with UEFI firmware, to prevent malware from infecting the boot process.

Windows 8 was released to mixed reception. Although reaction towards its performance improvements, security enhancements, and improved support for touchscreen devices was positive, the new user interface of the operating system was widely criticized for being potentially confusing and difficult to learn (especially when used with a keyboard and mouse instead of a touchscreen). Despite these shortcomings, 60 million Windows 8 licenses have been sold through January 2013, a number which included both upgrades and sales to OEMs for new PCs.

On June 26, 2013, Microsoft released a public beta of the first major update to the operating system, Windows 8.1, to be officially released on October 18, 2013. The update is intended to address aspects of Windows 8 that were criticized by reviewers and early adopters (such as the removal of the Start button from the desktop interface), and will also incorporate additional improvements to various aspects of the operating system.

Science City, Kolkata

Science City, Kolkata is the largest science centre in the Indian subcontinent underNational Council of Science Museums (NCSM), Ministry of Culture, Government of India, is at the crossing of Eastern Metropolitan Bypass and J B S Haldane avenue, Kolkata. It is considered by some people as the most distinguished landmark in post-independence Kolkata.Saroj Ghose, the first director general of NCSM, who is credited with having conceptualized this centre in 1997.This centre was inaugurated by two parts: the ‘Convention Centre Complex’ was unveiled on 21 December 1996 by Paul Jozef Crutzenin presence of the then chief minister Jyoti Basu and the whole centre was opened by the then prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral on 1 July 1997. On 10 January 2010, prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for the second phase of Science City in presence of the then chief minister of West Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.The centre is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. IST, every day of the year except Holi.

माइती नेपाल

Maiti Nepal is a non-profit organization in Nepal dedicated to helping victims of sex trafficking. Currently, it operates a rehabilitation home in Kathmandu, as well as transit homes at the Indo-Nepal border towns, preventive homes in the countryside and an academy in Kathmandu .

The word ‘Maiti’ has no literal interpretation in english but in the Nepali language the word ‘maiti’ means the home of the girl’s birth parents. The word itself holds sentimental value for the women population of Nepal “especially for a married Nepali woman who has no longer any right towards her parents or their property”.Once a girl is married to another man, she becomes a perpetual member of her husband’s family. She has all obligations to her husband and her new family. As this organization is a home to all the girls, women and children who are not accepted into their family and society, therefore this NGO has been named as ‘Maiti’ Nepal to symbolize the love and affection that a girl receives in her birth parents place. Maiti Nepal was established in 1993 by a group of socially committed professionals in order “to protect Nepali girls and women from crimes like domestic violence, trafficking for flesh trade, child prostitution, child labor and various other forms of exploitation and torture”.Since 1993, this organization has been working towards “preventing trafficking for forced prostitution, rescuing flesh trade victims and rehabilitating them”.After rescuing women and children, this organization also works vigorously towards finding “justice for the victimized girls and women by engaging in criminal investigation and waging legal battles against the criminals”.Due to continuous efforts, this organization has been able to raise awareness regarding this crucial issue of girl trafficking at international levels. The main objective of Maiti Nepal is to provide comprehensive prevention from sex trafficking, rescuing and rehabilitating the survivors, advocating for justice in the cases of the rescued women and girls and ensuring that effective immediate action is taken against their traffickers.

Crystal Cave

This cave was discovered in the Armala VDC (7 km north of Pokhara) of Kaski district by Yam Bahadur Sunar and Graig. It got its name from the crystals found hanging down from the ceilings inside the cave. Through the length of the crystals, the history of the cave has been dated back to seven lakhs years before. Its major attractions are the highly priced crystal that measures about one centimeter in length, hanging down from its ceiling. Also, the walls of the caves have engraved statues of Gods and Goddess. It takes about 1 hour to tour around the cave.

Gupteshwar Gupha

Situated at a distance of 2km from the Pokhara airport on the Siddhartha Highway, Gupteshwar Gupha is a sacred cave dedicated to Lord Shiva. Almost 3km in length, this cave has its entrance right across the Devi’s Fall. There are big hall-size rooms and some small passages where one has to craw on all four limbs. It is of great religious significance to the Hindu devotees for the phallic symbol of Lord Shiva is present here. Taking pictures inside the cave is prohibited.

Patale Chhango

Patale Chhango or Hell’s Falls, has accumulated many different names over the years. Located near the Pokhara airport, this attraction has become one of the most popular sights in Nepal. Also known as Devi’s Falls, David’s Falls, Devin Falls and Devis Falls, the name might take on different forms, but the sight remains the same. It is an area that is known for its beauty and tranquility, and the legend of the Devi’s Falls adds a touch of mystery and adventure to this sight.

Trying to put your finger on the correct version of the legend is like trying to understand which nickname was the original given to Patale Chhango. As with most legends that are connected to sights in Nepal and around the world, the story has been retold so many times, that the correct tale has been lost. One of the versions tells of a trekker or hiker that went by the name of David, Devin, Devi or Davis. The unfortunate hiker was swept away suddenly by the water and carried down into the underground passages and caves that run below the waterfall. The other tells the story of a Mrs Davi, a Swiss tourist in Nepal, who was swimming in the Fewa Lake. The dam unexpectedly started to overflow and Davi’s husband helplessly looked on while the waters swept his wife down the waterfall. This version took place in the year 1961 and the body of Mrs Davi was never recovered.

The water that feeds the Devi’s Falls comes from the Fewa (Phewa) Lake, which follows a rocky stream to eventually rush down the waterfall and disappear. This might sound unbelievable, but the passages that run under the ground are connected to the hole below the waterfall. The best times to view this spectacular sight is during the monsoon season when there is a high rainfall and the summer season. During these periods the water runs and plunges over rocks and through gorges, giving visitors a breathtaking show.

The landscape and nature that surrounds the Devi’s Falls is as spectacular as the waterfall and visitors will find many photographic opportunities at this sight. Visitors to thePokhara region are recommended to take a trip to Patale Chhango to hear the legend of the falls and enjoy a peaceful afternoon near the foaming water.

Mahendra Guffa

10 minute drive from the central market place of the Pokhara city takes you to the place called Batulechaur where the Mahendracave resides. The cave has been named after the Late KingMahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev. It is also one of the most visited tourist destinations in Pokhara. The cave is a natural tunnel and is provided with the artificial lighting system for the ease of the visitors. The Mahendra cave is popular for its rock types and different stones that glitters when a beam of light strikes. This cave consists of big boulders of rock and the tunnels leading to different places like Kali Khola.