Kathmandu Day Tour
Dropping everything happening around you and alighting into a place which makes you feel like you are in a whole different planet, with almost zero resemblance with where you have come from is not just limited to fantasy anymore.
Presenting you the metropolis of Nepal; Kathmandu, a chaotic yet an exciting place, a city filled with lower to middle class people yet the happiest souls in the whole planet. A place with 7 UNESCO world heritages, consisting of people with diverging backgrounds, popularly considered as a melting pot of ethnicities; a single day visit to the capital has often left people with an exciting flavor of all cultures. While some people claim to have an experience like they have entered some type of video game, this city never fails to thrill any of its visitors.
Provided with an opportunity to wake up to a morning with a subtle sound of birds chirping, muffled sound of the busy streets filled with early risers and a heart-warming glow of the sun; words like aesthetic, historical, colorful, crazy, enticing, are never enough to describe the capital.
Presenting you the best places to visit in this bustling city, amidst all of the places, we are here to make the most out of your day in Kathmandu. With a visit to a heighted place in the valley during the crack of the dawn in order to get the best view of the city, followed by a visit to one of the Durbars listed in the World Heritage Site, we shall complete the first half of our day tour. The second half of the day starts with a visit to the Pashupatinath Temple, a place which portrays the Hindi religion; followed by a visit to the Boudhanath Stupa, a place that automatically gives you the peaceful warmth, with a local taste of everything and witnessing the craziness that this vibrant city has to offer.
• The Swayambhunath Stupa:
Peace and prayers are something that you can expect while visiting the stupa, which is believed to be the center of prestige that the valley holds. Resting on the top of a small hill west of the valley, providing you with the best view of the busy city, the perfect time to visit the stupa shall be during the crack of the dawn.
Walking up the 365 stairs, getting accompanied by monkeys all the way up and having to witness the purity of what the place has to offer is always a good idea and is one of the must-visit places in the Kathmandu valley.
The Nepalese call it Swayambhunath, but the word being a bit mouthful, tourists often call it a monkey temple; due to the territory of abundant of monkeys.
Being one of the most religious sites in the valley, it consists of a globular stupa. A sight of the stupa shows the breathtakingly alluring view of the ornate set-up, with various monasteries and shrines, beautifully portraying the Hindu and Buddhist tradition. The stupa is believed to be standing tall and strong since the 5th century, keeping up with the meaning of the word itself as “self existing”.
Additional flourish of spirituous aroma of the butter candles guiding your way to the top, with prayer flags hovering in the wind up in the top and a constant humming sound of the religious mantra (as believed by Hindus and Buddhists, a special sound to bring inner peace), provides you with the indescribably spiritual and glorified feeling.
Surrounded by numerous prayer wheels, the stupa itself holds a meaningful structure; the globular structure representing the earth and the 13 classed gold structures representing the 13 stages of serenity, nirvana, the path to heaven. The Buddhists believe the end of 13 staged-paths to be heaven, which is the final goal of Buddhism.
Observing the devotees and monks circumvent the stupa enjoying the smell of the candles and the touch of the gentle wind with the best view of the city during sunrise, praying for peace; with the environment of the stupa already bringing inner peace; the Swayambhunath is definitely a must-visit place.
DETAILS:
Entry: NRs 150 per person
Location: Western suburb of Kathmandu, 20 min away from Thamel.
• Patan Durbar Square:
Briefly mentioning about the history of Nepal, Patan is one of the three kingdoms that Nepal was split into. While each of the three kingdoms i.e. Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan had royal palaces of their own; the palace in Patan is popularly known as Patan Durbar Square.
Being one of the 7 UNESCO world heritage sites of the valley, visitors often visit the durbar for its relaxing ambience with friendly locals. Observing the craziness of the local market, occupied by old local people sitting together sharing their experiences about life, chitchatting about everything around and giggling like kids; the feeling is of a whole different world. Waiting for the time to pass by and keeping an eye on everything happening around you, witnessing a normal day in Patan gives you a more soothing feeling than your imagination.
Patan can be described as a place with impressively catchy artistry which compels you to visualize and appreciate the talented creators during the Malla period. With a charismatic view, totally different from where you have come from, this place and its streets never fails to impress any of its visitors, may it be Nepalese or foreigners.
Patan, being one of the major crowd-appeals of the valley, the attractions of the place are:
Patan Museum:
Displaying thousand years’ old designs and sculptures, viewed as special in the entire world, the structure of the museum speaks for itself. Being a residence of the royal family, the structure has been designed with bronze and copper for most part, carved with meaningful designs signifying the rich Nepali tradition.
Krishna Mandir:
Considered as the most important temple present in the Patan area, it is said and believed that the King back then saw Lord Krishna and ordered to make a temple in the exact same spot, which was later named as Krishna Mandir. The pillars of the temple are carved symbolizing the Mahabharata and Ramayana (two major Sanskrit histories). Developing a spiritual believe in your eyes, presenting you the considerably satisfying visual carvings, Krishna Mandir is surely a place worth-visiting.
The Golden Temple:
Resting in a narrow alley, The Golden Temple is a Newari Buddhist monastery. A temple covered thinly with gold for most of its parts is something extra special that one can observe. Popularly known as “Kwa Bahal” amongst Nepalese, with hundreds of rats inside it, the golden temple attracts a lot of visitors.
Pim Bahal Pond:
A lot of visitors miss the opportunity to visit the pond, as it is considered as a hidden gem of the area. In spite of the pond being located approximately 15 min walk away from the Patan museum, the destination is totally worth it. With a temple named Chandeshwari and a white stupa which is said to be more than 300 years old surrounding the pond, one can have a great time appreciating the environment, feeding the ducks, interacting with what the local people have to say about the place and enjoying a normal day in Patan.
In spite of the massive earthquake of 2015, the sites still stand strong. A single visit to Patan, strolling around its streets and tasting new flavor of Newari dishes, will surely be a worthwhile experience to share with your friends after you return from Nepal.
DETAILS:
Entry: NRs 1000 per person
Location: South of Kathmandu, 30 min away from Thamel.
• Pashupatinath:
Experiencing something spiritual, something other-worldly and gaining inner peace with what you have got in life is a feeling easily unattainable. Being the center of faith of a lot of people from around the globe, positivity would be an understatement for what you feel after a visit to Pashupatinath.
Blessing the country and the people with its existence since 400 A.D, Pashupatinath is the most sacred temple in the region of Nepal. Along with being one of the UNESCO world heritage sites in the valley, the temple is considered as the heart of Kathmandu. With Pagoda styled architecture and beautifully carved wooden gates, windows and doors; the area consists of 518 temples along with the main temple of Lord Shiva, where westerners are not allowed.
Stating the facts, there are very limited temples around the world which is worshipped by both Buddhists and Hindus and Pashupatinath is one of them; which makes it very special.
“Finding peace amidst the chaos” would be the perfect phrase for a literal representation of what one feels in the hubbub of Nepalese lifestyle in the Pashupatinath area. A perfect blend of the humming chanting sound, light smoke coming from incense sticks and colorful artistry everywhere around; sums up to make your visit a remarkable one.
Resting and observing the view from the top of a chain of shrines in the other side of the river is very calming. The front view while resting there would be Ghat(steps leading to the river); where the Hindus and some Buddhists conduct their cremation ceremony. Observing them bid goodbye to their loved ones, having to witness the cremation of someone’s body is a true life-changing experience. Until those bodies turn completely into ashes, a feeling of realization strikes. Realization about the journey of life being uncertain makes you want to make the best out of what you have now.
As the day approaches towards the end, during the dusk, the crowd increases alongside the river with an increasingly humming chanting of some mantra; this is understood to be the initiation of the Aarti ceremony.
Aarti ceremony, one of the best things that happen around the Pashupatinath area, is irresistibly indulging. This ceremony includes light, with pilgrims gathering together to worship, chanting mantras, singing songs in the name of god and praying for world peace.
Witnessing the Aarti ceremony is one of the most glorifying part of visiting Nepal. Providing you with life-long lessons and uplifting your perspective towards life without uttering a single word; Pashupatinath is truly an angelic life-changing place.
DETAILS:
Entry: NRs 1000 per person.
Location: Northeast of Kathmandu, 20 min away from Thamel.
• Boudhanath Stupa:
The first thing you notice before landing in the valley, from the air itself, is the Boudhanath Stupa. With its unique structure and a peaceful aura, Boudhanath has been standing 36 meters high since the 14th century.
Eye catching white domed structure with a pair of eyes gazing at the whole city and colorful prayer flags hovering in the wind conveying prayers skyward to the heaven; Boudhanath is the center of the Buddhist circle and is one of the most attractive tourist destinations. Locals often interpret the pair of eyes of Boudhanath signifying awareness and the complete structure signifying Buddha’s path to the end of Buddhism i.e. heaven.
Being one of the UNESCO world heritage sites, Kathmandu tour is incomplete without a visit to Boudhanath. Observing and walking with the devotees encircling the central dome, spinning the prayer wheels and uttering mantras; time passes by real quick when you are in Boudha. Hiding behind the dusty city, Boudhanath is an absolute treasure.
Surrounded by rooftop restaurants, souvenir shops and butter candle stalls, Boudhanath is considered to be a wish full-filling stupa, with lots of real life stories of locals of the area.
The stupa looks undeniably perfect during the night time with the lights. Dining while having the perfect scene in front of you sounds appealing. But words like appealing do not give justice to what it feels like in reality; sipping a cup of coffee or just grabbing a drink from any rooftop in Boudha feeling the time passing by, gives you a true incentive to come back to Nepal just for the same soothing feeling.
DETAILS:
Entry: NRs 300 per person.
Location: Northeast of Kathmandu, 35 min away from Thamel.
To make the best out of your invested time and money, proper planning is required. That is why we are here; to facilitate you. We, Encounters Nepal, provide you with the facilities like tour guidance, transport services (car/ bus) etc. to make your day tour worthwhile. Aiming for complete customer satisfaction, we are here to make the best out of your day in Kathmandu.
