Nepal Chautaara

Nepal Travel Itinerary

Chautaara

A uniquely Nepali institution, the chautaara is more than just a resting place - it serves important social and religious functions as well. Every hill village has its chautaara, and you'll find them at appropriate intervals along any reasonably busy trail. The standard design consists of a rectangular flagstoned platform, built at just the right height for porters easily to set down their doko, and sometimes a smaller platform atop that. Two trees planted in the earthen centre provide shade for all who gather underneath: passing strangers, old friends, couples, village assemblies.

Chautaara are erected and maintained by individuals as an act of public service, often to earn religious merit or in memory of a deceased parent. Commonly they'll be found on sites associated with animist deities, indicated by sindur -coloured stones. The trees, too, are considered sacred. Invariably, one will be a pipal , whose Latin name ( Ficus religiosa) recalls its role as the bodhi tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. Nepalis regard the pipal, with its heart-shaped leaves, as a female symbol, and women

will sometimes fast and pray before one for children, or for success for the children they already have. Its male counterpart is the banyan ( bar in Nepali), another member of the fig genus that sends down Tarzan-vine-like aerial roots which, if not pruned, will eventually take root and establish satellite trunks. A chautaara is incomplete without the pair; occasionally you'll see one with a single tree, but sooner or later someone will get around to planting the other.

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