Kathmandu, a capital city of Nepal is nestled in the middle of the snow-caped Himalayan mountains, surrounded by the lush green agricultural hills, and ancient temples and shrines. Kathmandu is rich in its culture and tradition. One can find splendid art and architecture all over the city and interesting culture of Buddhist and Hindu culture.
Nepal was once in accessible to the outer world, but now a day travel arrangements can be made very easy. There are many tour groups available that operates in this region and you do not have to worry much. The best months to visit Kathmandu for vacationing are October-November and March-April. During this time of the year, the weather is warm and mostly sunny. November -February are the winter months which are excessively cold. May-June are the summer months which is hot and humid. It mostly rains here in June-September. Kathmandu mostly attracts adventurous travelers of the world as it is a great place for trekking, rafting and off course mountain climbing.
Places to go around in Kathmandu:
Many visitors fly to Kathmandu primarily for trekking and mountaineering purposes on Mount Everest. Kathmandu is the entering point to top of the world. Visitors usually spend sometime in the city then go on their way to the mountains.
1. Durbar Square
Durbar Square is located in the older city area. It is a popular place as it is home to Kathmandu’s old Royal Palace and breathtaking temples. The buildings in the Durbar Square area symbolize the Newari style architecture. The Durbar square area is declared as the World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is an interesting ancient area of the city to explore beautiful temples and palaces.
Just little away from the Durbar Square is Jhocchen, which is very well known as the Freak Street. It was once the place where hippies used to stay in the past.
2. Pashupathinath Temple
It is one of the most famous Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva. It is situated on the banks of the sacred river Bagmati. Pashupathinath temple attracts thousands of devotees from all over Nepal and India. Celebrations of Shivratri festival in the Pasupatinath temple is world famous. People other than hindus are not permitted to enter into some areas of worship, however tourists are allowed to walk around different areas of the temple compound.
3. Boudhanath Stupa
Boudhanath Stupa is one of the most popular images to see in the city. The major attraction is the eyes of the Buddha which is set above the white stupa of Boudhanath. It is one of the biggest Buddhist stupas in Asia. Hundreds and thousands of Buddhist and Hindu devotees visit this place every year.
4. Swayambhunath Stupa
Swayambhunath Stupa is yet another legendary Buddhist temple situated on top of the hill in west Kathmandu. On a clear sunny days, the view of the Kathmandu valley looks amazing. There is a long and steep stairway to reach on top to the stupa. It is a sacred sites for Buddhist in Nepal. Swayambhunath Stupa is well known locally as the “Monkey Temple” because of the huge colony of monkeys living in the region.
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