I love to share my travel experiences to like minded people who love exploring exotic places in the word. This time I am sharing my spiritual sojourn visiting Himalayan Kingdom - Kathmandu, Nepal, a perfect combination of spiritual awakening and adventures!
Also the breathtaking majestic Himalayan mountain range viewing from the aeroplane window before landing at Kathmandu, Nepal was one of my memorable moments of Kathmandu visit.
Kathmandu is the capital of Nepal set in a valley surrounded by the Himalayan mountains at an elevation of 4600 ft above sea level and assure blissful climate round the year. As understand, the word Kathmandu is derived from Pahari Word "Wood Shelter" and is abound with ancient Hindu temples and Buddhist monasteries/stupas alike.
Nepal has 10 UNESCO World Heritage sites and out of these 7 world heritage sites are located in and around Kathmandu itself & I think Kathmandu has highest number of world heritage sites compared to any other cities in the world. The world heritage sites at Kathmandu includes 1. Pashupatinath Temple , 2Kathmandu Darbar Square, 3. Bhaktapur Darbar Square, 4Patan Durbar Square, 5Changunarayan Temple, 6Swayambhunath Temple & 7Boudhanath Stupa I could visit few of world heritage sites in and around Kathmandu during my stay at this blissful city which I am sharing in todays post..
Pashupatinath Temple : One of the oldest ancient and sacred Hindu Temple (Lord Shiva - Supreme God of Hindu mythology) situated on the banks of holy Bagmati river. Legend has it that the temple serves as the seat of Pashupatinath built by the Malla King in 17th century and has been in the same form since then.
Kathmandu Durbar Square
Situated at the center of the Kathmandu valley and is popularly known as Hanuman Dhoka Palace which means the Gateway of Hanuman – the monkey God in Hindu mythology. The Palace is named after the Hindu Monkey God and he is believed as the guardian of the entire Durbar Square area. The Durbar square features temples, palaces, courtyards and statues from the 17th century.
Swyambunath - The Monkey Temple
Swayambhunath is also known as the Monkey Temple because of the presence of massive number of monkeys around the temple and the perfect location to observe the religious harmony in Nepal. The stupa is among the most ancient stupa of Kathmandu valley. The temple provides amazing view of the Kathmandu valley.
Boudhanath Stupa
Boudhanath is one of the largest stupas in South Asia, and it is one of the attraction points of Tibetan Buddhism in Nepal. This Little Tibet remains the best location in the Valley to celebrate Tibetan lifestyle. Monks walk around in maroon robes. The stupa was built around the 5th century & stands 36 meters with a highly unique three level mandala style structure.
The other attractive places I visited are Budhanilkantha Temple & Manokamana Temple and the popular Thamel Market duringt my stay at Kathmandu, Nepal.
Budhanilkantha Temple - Located in Budhanilkantha, Nepal, is a unique Hindu open air temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu with large inclining/sleeping floating statue of Lord Vishnu on snake on the water pond. Budhanalikantha means "Old Blue Throat* and the temple is few miles away from the outskirt of Kathmandu.
Mankamana Temple
The Manakamana Temple situated in the Gorkha district of Nepal is the sacred place of the Hindu Goddess Bhagwati (Incarnation of Parvati - Wife of Lord Shiva) . The name Manakamana originates from two words, “mana” meaning heart and “kamana” meaning wish so this temples recognises as "Wish Fulfilling" temple by the blessings of Goddess Bhagwati to visiting worshippers. The temple is located on the distinguished ridge more than 4200 fts above the sea level and is around 100 miles from Kathmandu. There is a facility of cable car to reach the temple from the cable station at the foothill and takes 10-15 minutes cable drive to reach.
Thamel Market : Thamel is the main market & happening place of Kathmandu with lots of hotels eateries, budget guest houses, bars and pubs. The street so called "Bargain Street" is full of hustle and bustle , crowded and abound with innumerable small shops from umbrellas to souveniers to Rudraksha malas & crystals to Nepali Kukaries (Knives) and so. Thamel is the only place in Nepal to have so called night life with lots of pubs & bars open till midnight/wee hours.
Hope you will like the post and those who want to explore ancient temples, monasteries , Spiritual awakening & wish to boost adrenaline levels by adventures , Kathmandu/Nepal is the right place to visit.
Enjoy your Sunday guys...….
