Places to visit in Kathmandu
Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal is famous for its religious, heritage and cultural values. While we were on a road trip from Delhi to Kathmandu with ScoutMyTrip, our base was Kathmandu for 3 nights. During our 2 days stay in the city, we explored it to fullest and experienced both the day and night life of the city. While the days were spent in visiting temples, stupas and markets, the nights were spent understanding the culture and cuisines of the city through cultural programme and Nepalese dinner. Here we bring the places to visit in Kathmandu on your next visit to Nepal.
The damage caused by earthquake
The offerings at Pashupatinath Temple
1) Pashupatinath Temple:
The biggest temple in Nepal, this temple of Lord Shiva is considered to be one of the most important temple in the world. Standing on the banks of the river Bagmati, the temple is allows only Hindus devotee the right to enter. Other people can only take a look at the temple from a certain distance. There is a fee charged from the foreigners who wish to take a look at the temple from outside. Photography isn’t allowed inside the temple.
The entrance of the main temple
Built in the pagoda style, this temple only accepts the beads of Rudraksha as offerings to the God which are sold on the shops outside the temple. When the earthquake hit Nepal in 2015, the area surrounding the temple was damaged mostly but the temple remained unscathed. The banks of the river Bagmati is also used as the funeral site and is used to perform the last tires of the Hindus.
2) Swayambhunath Stupa:
Swayambhunath Stupa is considered as one of the holiest sites for the followers of Buddha. A UNESCO world heritage site, the Swayambhunath has a stupa in the shape of a mind which is considered to be Buddha’s mind. The area of Swayambhunath Stupa is full of monkeys and one should be careful of their belongings and food.
Swayambhunath Stupa
The view of Kathmandu city from the stupa!
3) Budhanilkantha Temple:
Lord Vishnu’s temple, Budhanilkantha has a large statue of Lord Vishnu in a sleeping position. The statue looks magnificent and is one of the best Vishnu statues we have seen. Only the Hindus are allowed to go down and touch the feet of Lord Vishnu’s statue while the foreigners can look at it from a distance. Located close to the main city, this temple should be visited for its architectural excellence.
4) Pattan Durbar Square:
Patan Durbar Square is famous for the Four Ashoka Stupas built in the four points of Patan. Also known as Lalitpur, Patan was one of the three royal cities of the Kathmandu Valley. Patan Durbar square is an artistic hub. Most of the cultural festivals are celebrated here. There are many shops which sell handmade paintings and is a house of many art galleries too. A place good for souvenir shopping, Pattan Durbar Square is a must visit place in Kathmandu for every traveler. The entry fee to the Pattan Durbar Square Heritage Site is 250 Nepalese rupee for SAARC countries visitors and 1000 Nepalese rupee for non SAARC countries. In the image below, the temple on the left is Krishna temple, it is the only octagonal shaped temple in Patan durbar square. Taleju temple and Char Narayan temple are other main temples in Patan Durbar square.
Patan Durbar Square
5) Bhaktapur Durbar Square:
Bhaktapur is one the three medieval cities of Nepal. It was the capital of whole of Kathandu till by 1484 A.D. until death of king Yakshya Malla, after which the Kathmandu valley was divided into three independent kingdoms, namely, Bhaktapur, Kathmandu and Patan. The entrance to the square is through a majestic gate but as soon as you enter you find the ruins of the earthquake as it has fallen buildings. A house of potters and pottery, this place has different styles of pots for sale.
The Big bell at Bhaktapur Square
The buildings of the Bhaktapur Durbar Square are built in the Pagoda style and is a good place to interact with the locals. Bhaktapur, Bhakt– a devotee, pur— place so, Bhaktapur can be said to be a place of devotees. As you enter the city, it welcomes you with an array of temples. The main temples in Bhaktapur Durbar square is Taleju Bhawani(Goddess Durga) temple and Lakshmi temple. A beautiful golden gate welcomes you at the entrance of the Taleju Bhawani temple, no photography is allowed beyond this gate. Taleju Devi is worshiped in Patan, Basantpur as well but this temple is the oldest among them.
Nyatapola or Lakshmi temple is tallest pagoda style five-storied temple in Kathmandu valley. Our guide told us, Nyata means five tiered among the Newars. The steps leading have two meter stone statues of wrestlers called Jaimal and Phattu, a pair each of elephants, lions, beaked griffons and goddesses Singhini and Baghini. They are arranged in increasing order of their strengths. Each figure above is ten times stronger than the one below. The view from the temple is mesmerizing.
Nyatapola or Lakshmi temple
6) Thamel:
Thamel is the main market area of Kathmandu. It has different kinds of shops for all your needs including hiking and mountaineering gear. A place also famous for its night life, Thamel has many casinos and bars for the people who love partying while traveling.
Thamel
There are other activities which can be taken up during the visit to Kathmandu. A trek to the Everest base camp or taking a flight to go around the Mount Everest or a visit to the Kathmandu Durbar Square are few of them. You can also visit the Chitvan National Park, also the first National Park of Nepal, to see the one horn Rhino’s and Bengal Tigers.
PS: This trip was sponsored for RoadtoTaste by Scout My Trip and OYO and the experiences or views shared are solely of the author and is not influenced in any way.
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