Nepal: Kathmandu Valley

It is a strange feeling writing this only 12 days after leaving Nepal.  We had a wonderful time visiting Kathmandu and Dhulikhel and enjoyed learning about the Nepalese culture.  Now it is a different place as a result of several days of protests and riots.  I am writing about my experience, and I hope that this version of Nepal is accessible once again in the near future. 

The Kathmandu Valley has around 1.5 million people (some say 2 million) and is a thriving town with a mix of modern and traditional architecture and practices.  I try to stay or see several different hotels in each location to better help you plan your travel, so we started with the Hyatt in Kathmandu.  It is close to the famous Boudhanath Stupa but tucked away from the main road in an enclave of quiet.   There are sprawling grounds with a walking path, gardens and a pool. It can be nice to come back to a quiet and familiar place after hours of exploring a new place.  
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We spent our first full day seeing all of the cultural highlights of Kathmandu starting with Durbar Square.  The first thing we noticed were the pigeons---many people feed the pigeons in this area as part of their Buddhist practice and there were areas where the ground was completely covered with birds.  The birds flying through the smoke of incense burning gave the place a magical feeling.  Durbar Squares are found through out Nepal and they are homes to old Royal Palaces.  Construction at this particular square began as far back as the 3rd century and is one of several UNESCO World Heritage sights in and near Kathmandu.   Nepal has been impacted by many earthquakes over the years with the most recent large one happening in 2015.   Many of the historic buildings were severely damaged and needed restoration---I would say that process is probably 75% complete.  The restoration is done as sensitively as possible and with as many of the original materials as possible. ​

In one building in Durbar square there is young girl called a Kumari who is worshipped as a living embodiment of the Hindu goddess Durga. She comes to an interior balcony at set time intervals and pilgrims pray and worship her.   Ther are no photos allowed of the Kumari, but we were able to observe the practice.  
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After Durbar, we headed to Swaymbhunath Stupa….aka the Monkey Temple.  This temple has several stupas on ground level and then additional stupas in a small community at the top of a hillside.  Your entrance ticket includes both areas.  I think you can imagine why this temple complex has the nickname----there are monkeys around, but compared with other temple complexes I’ve visited in other areas, it isn’t overrun with monkeys.   In our visit, the monkeys were better behaved than some of the tourists.  There are a few rules to follow during your visit and there were many people ignoring all of them.  Please be respectful when visiting religious sites during your travels.
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Our next stop was the Padupatinath Temple. In the Hindu religion, people are cremated after death and the ashes are put into a sacred river.  This temple in Kathmandu is where many people are cremated every day and the ashes are put into the sacred Bagmati River.  This is similar practice to what is done in India on the Ganges river. We observed the practice from the other side of the river---this is where observers are allowed and you don’t see anything in great detail.  Our guide was an excellent resource as we had many questions about the practice and how it worked.   This is a funeral pyre for all---there is no VIP or level for those living in poverty---people are more equal in death.

Our last stop was at the large Boudhanath Stupa which is in a more touristy area than the other sites.  There are stores and restaurants surrounding the stupa, but there are also plenty of pilgrims practicing circumambulation…meaning an intentional walk in a circle around the stupa as a form or worship and/or meditation.   We ate at a restaurant with a rooftop and the view looking down over the stupa was impressive.  This lunch was also our first introduction to a momo---a dumpling filled with meat, cheese and/or veggies.   There is typically at least one vegetarian version so this become one of my go to foods in Nepal and Bhutan.  Who doesn’t love dumplings?  ​

I know many people who hear the name Nepal instantly think of Mt. Everest…..and yes, that is a famous landmark here.  Even if you aren’t fit enough or don’t have enough time to make it to base camp (or the summit), there are what are called mountain flights that leave and return to Kathmandu most mornings.   Essentially flights to nowhere where you can (if the weather cooperates) see the top of Everest.  My husband was fixated on seeing Mt Everest so he got up and was on his way to the airport at 5am.   It was cloudy and a bit rainy in Kathmandu so I wasn’t sure how good the chances were going to be…..but since Everest is so tall, he was able to see the mountain peak after all and was back in the hotel room by 9:30am.
I’m sure I could have Googled this in advance, but we learned a few days later, that en route to Bhutan (or back to Kathmandu from Bhutan) you fly right by Mt. Everest ☺  He said the views were better on the Bhutan flight than the mountain flight.  He was happy to be able to see it again.  It is a game of odds---we only saw the absolute tiny little top of Everest on the way back, so if this is a bucket list item, you may want to have as many flight options as possible.

The next day we headed about 2 hours outside the city to Dhulikhel---it isn’t a long distance, but many of the roads are terrible, so I will tell you the truth as to how long it really takes to get there. ☺  We stayed at a wellness retreat called Dwarika’s.   The setting is beautiful in the forest and is vertical…..meaning that if you want to go from one part of the resort to another, you are mostly going up stairs.  The resort includes a consultation with an Ayurvedic doctor and many on-site activities like several types of meditation, yoga and things like pottery and painting (and a 50 minute massage per person for booking with me).  This was a nice change from the city, but was less relaxing than we expected because we wanted to experience many of the activities, so our schedule was pretty packed.  Two nights was perhaps too quick a visit to really enjoy everything the resort has to offer. ​ I loved that there were random inspiring thoughts/ideas/sayings along the pathways. 

We headed back to Kathmandu and stayed in the famous Thamel district---this area is known for its variety of stores and restaurants (including big names like North Face and Columbia in case you are coming to Nepal to climb or hike).  We stayed at the Aloft hotel which is in a great location and new and modern.  We chose it because it is also close to the airport and we had a 7am departure to Bhutan the next morning (more on that trip in another blog post).
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 A little bit of fast forwarding as we had to come back to Nepal for a night after Bhutan.   It is an early flight back from Bhutan as well, so we arrived by 8:30am.  Our guide picked us up and took us to Bhaktapur and that famous Durbar Square.  Bhaktapur is about 45 minutes from the Kathmandu airport.  This square is a bit smaller than the one in Kathmandu, but is no less impressive.  We had the square nearly to ourselves which allowed us to really look at all of the fine little details.  The craftsmanship is really impressive in all of these historic buildings----these were also damaged in the 2015 earthquake and some buildings are still being propped up with pillars until there is time and money to repair them.

The area around Durbar square has several historic craft quarters---for example, an area where ceramics and pottery have been made for hundreds of years and where items are still placed in kilns even today.  There are other areas where woodworking is done and you can watch the artisans or join a class to create your own masterpieces.  For the most part, the items you buy in these stores are local and not the typical tourist “junk”.  
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After exploring for several hours, we headed to the Dwarika’s Hotel in Kathmandu.  Same owners as the wellness retreat, but this hotel is right in the city center.  The owners used salvaged old timber and items from historic buildings to create a nice combination of a hotel and museum.  We felt far away from the city when we were actually right in the middle and only a few minutes away from the airport for our late night departure home.

I hope that Nepals bounces back stronger and that they will be welcoming visitors back in the near future.