This Sunday I got a chance to finally visit ICIMOD’s Knowledge Park @ Godavari. Being exhausted and a little sore from the long hike to Sundarijal the day before, I was looking forward to a leisurely stroll in the knowledge park in Godavari. And the friend who accompanied us was well-versed with a lot of the flora in the area and in general about the biodiversity of the region - so that was an added bonus.
We first caught a taxi to Satdobato (and for the first time in two months, the driver actually charged by the meter!… getting a hang of this place, I’d say!) Then we caught a micro to Godavari which was the last stop. After a good breakfast, where I was taught the art of flawlessly peeling boiled eggs, we set out towards the knowledge park.
The gate seemed locked but in reality wasn’t!!! After working out the lock meant to fool the novice, we headed in to the beautifully maintained park.
The main entry way
The main office
The map of the area
The cicada camouflaged on the bark
Giant earthworms
Cicada exoskeleton
Some sort of solar heating equipment
Loads of mushrooms around there
Bricks and cook stoves
There were a whole lot of slippery mossy stairs...
Beautiful flowers out there!
Beautiful flowers with nectar for butterflies...
We also ran into a naturalist, Karen Conniff, who has published some handy guides on:
We took a long break from an overlook where we could view the snow clad mountains far away in the distance. It was an almost clear day so we got some very good views with a layer of smog just below.
We ventured a little bit into the thick canopied forest always on the lookout for leeches, which we did encounter!
The cicadas were everywhere but there were also some birds… beautiful and serene even in the midst of the cacophony… the thick canopy was beautiful.
The cicadas were everywhere but there were also some birds… beautiful and serene even in the midst of the cacophony… the thick canopy was beautiful.
Thanks to a dear dear friend, I got to check this off my list of places to visit before the end of my first trip to Nepal!
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