How can I spend two weeks in Nepal?

February 19, 2021, while on my way to Singapore I stayed for 16 days in Nepal. That was a mandatory vacation for me during COVID days. Me and my daughter were packed with good quantity of masks and sanitisers for our travel and stay in the respective country.

My target cities for that period were Kathmandu, Pokhara and Lumbini in Nepal.
I was fortunate to land first in Kathmandu because to see the capital is always my foremost priority in order to understand the country.
Then Pokhara because I wanted to touch one range of Himalayas that is Annapurna mountain range.
And then Lumbini, as I heard a lot about Buddha’s birth place in stories and was eager to visit it.

The New Delhi airport was empty. The process was quick and easy except a bit more of documentation than before.

Met fellow passengers on the way to Kathmandu.

There was a beautiful view of Himalayas from the aeroplane at the time of landing.

Some of the things I noticed when I landed Kathmandu were

Glimpse of #TribhuvanInternationalAirport,
Got #smart4g for local mobile number from the airport,
Surprisingly, car number plates were in Hindi n Nepalese language.
My suggestion is to download Pathao app Taxi Service in Nepal. This will make you free to travel anywhere in Kathmandu and other cities of Nepal. They have justified charges.
We stayed in Shankar hotel which is highly recommended because of it’s central location in the Lazimpat, is an upmarket residential neighbourhood with an international vibe, embassies and some popular expat hangouts, restaurants, cafes etc. Indian restaurant “Mughal Empire Multi-Cuisine” was just across the street.

On the day of our arrival we went to “Wellness Organic Club”. We saw cultural programs like Tandav of Lord Shiva, Hindu Aarti, Tamang dance-main festival of the Hindu Nepalese)

, Buddhist Dance etc and ate authentic Nepalese food Maas Ko Daal (black gram beans) and famous Jhol (traditional momos/dumplings).

On Feb 20, we visited to Bouddha Stupa at Boudhanath.

It’s a massive mandala and makes it one of the largest spherical stupas in Nepal and in the world#unescoworldheritage.
Stupa contains the relics and remaining of Buddha.
The stupa is on the ancient trade route from Tibet.
The flags on the mandala denote five elements, the two eyes symbol of method and wisdom, the nose symbol of nirvana.
Visited Gotama Rooftop Restaurant located inside Boudhanath

Good to know that Nepalese love to eat sweet yogurt as desserts. We tried #buddhistnoodles #freshvegtofu as well.

On February 21 we visited Thamel. It is visitor-friendly area, and is the city’s main nightlife zone.

We had Lunch at #sweetrix in Market Mall in Thamel, Kathmandu

Ate Jhol momos (very famous and much loved steamed Nepali dumplings served with Jhol) and Sizzler.

On Feb 22, we had lunch nepali dal bhat thali at dal bhat Nepali restaurant and explored #bigmart (is the retail chain of Nepal which is currently operating 65 outlets within Kathmandu Valley).

Then we visited famous Pashupatinath Hindu temple of Lord Shiva famous for

Pilgrimage,
known for one of the rudras and
13^th jyotirlinga of Hindus
on the famous Bhagmati river (just like river Ganga in India used for ash immersion ritual).
It’s famous for cremation ground (just like Mankarnika and Harishchandra Ghat in Varanasi, India).
There was Aarti (prayer) Sandhaya in the evening. The Aarti ceremony lasts about 60 minutes and takes you through the customs and traditions of Hinduism in a very structured way. When I was there for the Aarti ceremony, I felt a stronger connection with the local people who sang their heart out and danced in the steps of Lord Shiva and at the same time cremation ceremonies taking place at the opposite bank. The best time to get to the other bank is at 6pm and to find yourself a nice seat from where you can see the entire Aarti ceremony, listen to the chants, dance with the Sadhus and make a connection with your spiritual self. And before the entire ceremony starts, you can watch the cremation ceremonies taking place at the opposite bank.

Feb 23, morning we visited Swayambunath temple.Swayambhu literally means “self-existent one”. The temple is Believed to date back to 460 A.D., it was built by King Manadeva and by the 13th century, it had become an important center of Buddhism.#unescoworldheritage.Swayambhunath occupies a central position, it is probably the most sacred among Buddhist pilgrimage sites. For Tibetans and followers of Tibetan Buddhism, it is second only to Boudha. Swayambhunath is the Hindu name.

Then visited Himalayan Java Coffee, a famous café restaurant in Kathmandu. The beans are grown locally and are roasted to perfection in the ideal Himalayan air.

After that we were in Darbar Square. Kathmandu Durbar Square(Basantapur Durbar Kshetra) is located in front of the old royal palace of the former Kathmandu Kingdom and is one of three Durbar (royal palace) Squaresin the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Several buildings in the Square collapsed due to a major earthquake on 25 April 2015.

The construction of darbar square or hanuman dokha known as royal palaces at this site dates back to as early as the Licchavi period in the third century in Kathmandu. It consists of temples of Narasimha, Kaal Bhairav, Hanuman etc

Then we visited the house of Kumari, or Kumari Devi, or Living Goddess – Nepal. It is the tradition of worshiping young prepubescent girls as manifestations of the divine female energy or devi in Hindu and Buddhist. Durbar High School oldest school in Nepal since 1854.

#unescoworldheritage #durbarsquare #durbarhighschool.

We visited Chandragiri hills on Feb 24. There is panoramic view of the Himalayan ranges and Mount Everest on a clear day.

Though I was not able to visit the Mt. Everest base camp this time but had view of Mt. Everest. It gives the beautiful scenic view of the Kathmandu Valley and 180 degree panoramic view of the Himalayan ranges. 9 Himalayan ranges can be seen from here (out of the 13 ranges we have in Nepal). We visited Holy temple of God Shiva “Bhaleshwor Mahadev” on Chandragiri Hills.
There is a viewpoint for Gorkha’s King statue of the king Prithivi Narayan Shah was the last ruler of the Gorkha Kingdom and founder of modern Nepal.

On Feb 25 there was around 8hrs drive from Kathmandu to Pokhara. Pokhara is a city on Phewa Lake, in central Nepal. Pokhara is amazing in terms of scenic landscapes. The Annapurna range in the backdrop is the jewel of the city.

Annapurna is the tenth highest mountain in the world at 8,091 metres (26,545 ft) above sea level. There was a beautiful glimpse of the respective Himalayan range from our room. We stayed in the hotel “Himalayan Front” by kgh group.

Feb 26 we visited-

Must visit places in Pokhara:

#shreebindhyabhasinitemple

#setirivergorge

#hangingbridgeofpokhara

#deviwaterfalls

#phewalakeboating

#openhousepokhara – lunch

#disneylandpokhara..

I highly recommend trekking in Pokhara if you have time.

On Feb 27 we travelled on the road for 9hrs from Pokhara to Lumbini. Lumbini is the “birth place of Buddha”.

We stayed in a beautiful hotel “Buddha maya garden” resort by KGH.

We visited Maya Devi (name of the mother of Gautam buddha or Siddhartha) temple. It is situated at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lumbini, Nepal and very close to the Indo–Nepal border.

The archaeological remains in the area were previously dated to the third-century BCE brick buildings constructed by king Ashoka. The temple area is the earliest proof of the Buddhist structures and the first archaeological evidence of Gautama Buddha‘s life. Gautam Buddha (Siddhartha) was born at this place and there is a pond (sacred pool) known as Puskarni and a sacred garden where maya devi took bath after birth of Siddhartha. The Ashoka Pillar is located next to the Maya Devi Temple. This Ashoka pillar is 3rd century old pillar when he converted to Buddhism. It is around 563 BCE site (very old site ever seen). There is a Brahmi script, written on the pillar and the inscription is said to be the oldest in Nepal.

#unescoworldheritage.

On March 1, 2021 – Lumbini – we visited #worldpeacepagoda which had the relics of buddha and saw different monasteries -#germanmonasterylumbini etc. Every Country has their temple/monastery in Lumbini, and most of them are open for visitors. Lumbini has always been significant spiritual destination, starting with the famous visit by Emperor Asoka in 249 BC. All the time many pilgrims and monks come for prayers and their chants resonates the area with extremely powerful positive vibes.

March 2 – Back to Kathmandu-Highly recommended purchase – Today I purchased wonderful Thangka painting serve as important teaching tools depicting the life of the Buddha. The most important subject is the Bhavachakra (Wheel of Life) which is how the Art of Enlightenment is visually depicted. It is evolved between the 7th and 12th century in Tibet. The oldest thangkas in Nepal date back to the 14th century.

Had lunch at #himalayanjavacoffee

#thamel.

Visited –

#tribhuvanuniversity

#nepalsansad

#shankerhotel

#fizzgin

#trisarathebakingfactory

March 3 – Again we went to Pashupatinath temple. Rudra Abhishek pooja (prayer) was performed for my family by a priest in the temple.

I bought some Rudraksha beads (is a seed that is used as a prayer bead in Hinduism) to wear as it’s a symbol of spiritual life and positivity.

We ate…

#soupnoodles

#pitavegsandwich

#whitechocolate

#greentea

Dinner time!!!!

Last picture clicked by Aadya our best photographer.

March 4 – Visited Basantapur kathmandu and a local café and listened to lovely Nepali song “mari jau”. It is a best place to buy souvenir.

There is a lovely coffee culture in Nepal especially Kathmandu…can see cafes n bakery everywhere

Had Dinner at Mughal Empire in Lazimpat just opposite Shankar hotel. There was a live Bollywood music. Tried daal makhana, paneer makhana and #khukurirum -local (iconic Nepalese oak vatted dark rum launched in 1959).

March 5

We visited Garden of dreams. The Garden of Six Seasons, is a neo-classical garden in Kaiser Mahal Kathmandu, Nepal, built in 1920.
Then we had Lunch at #roadhousecafe

The Roadhouse Café in Thamel was the first and original and has been a popular choice for locals and tourists for years.