Tansen is a village located in southern Nepal between the Nepal-India border (Sonauli) and Pokhara, in the Palpa district. This village has a rich architectural and cultural heritage, and is mainly inhabited by the Newari community. Are you travelling to Nepal, and want information on which city to visit, or would you like to learn more about Nepalese culture? Mindfultrotter takes you to discover Tansen!
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In this article :
Tips for ethical and sustainable travel
A few reminders about how to visit with a positive impact:
Avoid plastic: take your own water bottle and a cotton bag + tupperware for your purchases and snacks (in Nepal, the norm is still to use plastic bags for purchases, so remember to Refuse, Reduce and Reuse).
Choose your accommodation carefully: choosing to sleep with local people in a homestay ensures that your money will be used locally and will benefit the local economy.
Eat local food: it's great to try local dishes! Vegetables and specialities cooked locally are fresher and don't encourage the import of products from other countries.
Take a rubbish bag with you when you go for a walk. It's a small gesture that sets an example and ensures that our carbon footprint is smaller if we sort more waste than we produce/consume.
Tansen, introduction
As you wander through its narrow streets, you'll come across all the typical Nepalese scopes, dried fish vendors, loose pulses and a beautiful square with a café overlooking the entrance to the Palpa Durbar & Museum.
The entrance is through a remarkable, huge gate. Supposed to guard the entrance to the temple and palace, it is made up of spikes reminiscent of the entrance to a fort.
The museum (250 rupees for foreigners) has a fine array of instruments of all kinds dating back to an uncertain period (information is lacking in English for the first part of the museum), but upstairs you have access to beautiful paintings illustrating typical Nepalese life, explanations of the Dashain festival and the various tools (clay pots, ancient weapons, traditional dress...).
In addition to the information and the approach that the museum can provide, the building itself is splendid and bears witness to a style built in 1927 and formerly a palace during the Rana reign, with a beautiful inner courtyard conducive to meditation and a well-deserved rest of the mind after exploring a museum.
Staying in a guest house Horizon Homestay, run by a Nepalese couple (who also chair an association to protect the environment in Tansen), the opportunity arose to visit a weaving workshop in the village, accompanied by our host, to learn about the textile manufacturing process.
Tansen developed in the 12th century through its textile and copper production.
All kinds of skilfully designed machines fill the various workshops, where Nepalese men and women from the community work with remarkable weaving machines and techniques.
The choices we make about what we buy when we travel are important for leaving a positive mark on our journey. Favouring the purchase of a local product and enabling the community to live decently and pay a fair price to the employees is one of the solutions for ethical and sustainable travel.
Understanding where the products we consume come from and taking an interest in the manufacturing processes also enables these local workshops to promote their products.
What to see and do ?
Strolling through the streets of Tansen is a great introduction to Nepalese culture.
The museum will provide you with a wealth of cultural and historical information.
Visit a weaving workshop to immerse yourself in the local culture.
Rani Mahal, a temple built in the image of a queen, known as the Nepalese Taj Mahal, is located 45 minutes from Tansen.
Tansen is a small village in Nepal, yet it is packed with cultural and natural treasures. The town is perched on the side of a hill and the view from the road is magnificent. It's when you get off the beaten track that you discover traditional Nepalese life and come into contact with the locals.