Where beauty reaches the skies

Nepal, the land of the Living Goddess or better known as the land of the mighty Himalayas (Mount Everest) is a country of amazing extremes. It is a destination for nature lovers with its stunning mountain views, ancient cultural heritage, numerous pilgrimage sites, national parks and wildlife reserves. 

During our eight-day tour, not only did we experience Nepal's variety and diversity of its living culture, but also carried unforgettable memories of its magnificent snow-capped mountains.

Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal is the largest and one of the oldest cities lying at an altitude of 1300m. The Valley of Kathmandu which was once ruled by Lichchavi and Malla Kings during 1600s and 1700s, consists of three main cities - Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. Hundreds of temples, shrines, terraced paddy fields and traditional villages are scattered around the valley. Nepal is one of the few countries in the world where seven world heritage sites are situated within a 20-kilometre radius. 

Bouddhuath Stupa, Kathmandu

The Kathmandu Durbar Square was the first place we visited as it was a short distance from our hotel. We walked through a narrow road, which was dusty and congested with pedestrians, vehicles and small shops along the way. The Durbar Square (a world heritage site) is a complex of palaces, courtyards and temples, built between the 12th and 18th centuries. The Kings of Nepal were crowned here and their coronation ceremonies had been held here in the ancient days. 

A statue of Hanuman stands at the entrance (Dhoka) to the old Royal Palace (Hanumandhoka) which had given the palace its name. It is believed to have been built during the Lichchavi period, but later re-constructed by King Pratap Malla. There were many tiered buildings inside the Durbar Square. The intricately carved wooden doors, windows and pillars were very impressive and something unique in Nepal and small replicas of these window frames were sold in shops. 

We also saw a huge 500-year-old triangular shaped three storied building called "Kasthamandu" (Pavilion of Wood). It is believed that this whole structure had been built from the wood of a single tree, and the city of Kathmandu also has derived its name from this. 

The Palace of the "Living Goddess"- Kumari was near the Durbar Square. The Living Goddess is selected from the highest class (Newar) when she's about three and lives in this palace until she attains age. 

The palace is a three storied ancient building with elaborately carved wooden doors and windows. In front of the entrance, was a small courtyard where visitors gather to get a glimpse of the "Living Goddess" . A Japanese tour group was already there when we arrived. After about 10 minutes, 'Kumari' appeared from the window, greeted us very shyly and quickly retreated. She stood there only for a second, much to our disappointment, and although I couldn't see her dress in detail, she certainly wore lots of bead necklaces and makeup on her face. 

The second day was the most interesting day of our whole tour as we had planned to go on a mountain tour by plane. We boarded the domestic airliner " Buddha Air", a 19-seater Beech aircraft. At 8.00 a.m. we were heading East of Kathmandu, towards the famous mountain range from the Lantang upto Kanchenjunga. We saw 18 peaks of the highest mountains in the whole range. As we passed each one, the pilot announced the name of the mountain and the flight stewardess came up to us and showed it on the map. 

We saw the Gosainthan mountain at an enormous height of 26,290 ft. on to our left. Next was the Dorje Lakpa (22,854 ft) which looked like the number 8 lying horizontally. Chhoba-Bhamare, although the smallest (1958 ft.) of the whole range has still not been climbed. The majestic Everest (29,028 ft.) was really an awesome sight! It is called "Sagarmatha" in Nepalese which means - Top of the World. Each one of us had a chance of viewing it from the cockpit, as we came closer. Even though I have heard so much about Mount Everest, actually seeing it was an unforgettable experience! 

The view of the snow-capped peaks from up there was so gorgeous, that the magical feeling lingered for quite some time even after we came down to earth!! At the end of the tour, we were surprised to receive a certificate with a picture of Mount Everest in the background, which says: "Mr/Mrs... had a once-in-a-lifetime experience on board Buddha Air's Everest Experience Flight to Mt.Everest............signed by the flight commanders at the bottom. But I loved the line across the top which says "I did not climb Mt. Everest.... but touched it with my Heart !" 

After our mountain tour, we visited a few other famous places around Kathmandu. Pashupatinath Temple (a world heritage site) is one of the holiest Hindu temples in Nepal. Devotees and holy men from all over the world come here to worship the sacred lingam of Lord Shiva which is inside the temple. There are a few other Hindu temples surrounding it. The Bagmati river flows by the side of the Pashupatinath temple. When we looked over the side wall, we saw people bathing near the " Ghats" - the steps leading to the river. Similar to the Ganges River at Varnasi, India, Hindus come to the Bagmati River for ritual bathing. Cremation of dead bodies too takes place on the bank near by. We watched a body being cremated, and my friend who was more observant than I, pointed out the two feet of the corpse protruding through the burning wood!! 

Then we visited Budhanilkantha about 8 kilometres north of Kathmandu. It is a huge statue of Lord Vishnu reclining on a snake, which was floating in a small pond. It is supposed to be one of the masterpieces of stone sculpture done during the Lichchavi Period. There were many Hindus who were making offerings and poojas etc. 

We also visited the huge 2000-year-old Swayambhunath stupa, one of the holiest and most ancient stupas in Nepal, situated on top of Nagarijun hill. It is also a world heritage site. There were small prayer wheels fixed around the base of the stupa (cylindrical metal objects with prayers carved on them, which spin around as you touch them). People spin them as they walk round the stupa and we too did the same. An excellent view of the Kathmandu Valley could be seen from the Swayambhunath Stupa. Worshippers from diverse religions (Buddhists, Hindus, Tibetan monks, Brahmin priests etc.) visit Swyambhunath, which shows the religious harmony prevailing in Nepal. 

Bouddhanath, another Buddhist stupa (the largest in the valley) is situated 6kms. east of Kathmandu. Most of the Tibetan Buddhists live around this place and there are about 45 Buddhist monasteries in the area. Unlike our stupas, there were huge eyes painted (on the square on top of the stupa) on all four sides which is believed to be Lord Buddha's all seeing eyes, looking over the valley in each direction. The sign similar to a question mark below the eyes represents the Nepali number 'ek' or one - considered as the symbol of unity. 

That evening, we visited Patan (Lalitpur) known as the city of fine arts. This is the second largest city in the valley, and also listed as a world heritage cultural site. The Durbar Square is in the heart of the city. It was full of ancient palaces, temples and shrines, mostly built during the reign of the Malla Kings. 

On the following day we headed towards South East of Kathmandu (about 35 kms and visited Bhaktapur (the City of Devotees) - another world heritage site. It had been the capital of the whole valley during 14th to 16th centuries. Although the famous Durbar Square was quite congested, it was much cleaner than Katmandu and Patan. There was a huge Palace with 55 windows, and Nyatapola temple (a 5-storied pagoda) famous for its structure and subtle workmanship. It had been build in 1702 AD by King Bhupatindra Malla. The golden lion gate and the statue of King Bhupatindra Malla placed on a high column facing the palace are considered to be architectural masterpieces. Infact, it is believed that the sculptor's hands had been cut off after he finished the Ugrachandi and Bhairab Statues, so that he would not be able to create a similar masterpiece. The potters' square nearby seemed like a small village. It was quite interesting watching the potters turning out terra-cotta pottery and glazed earthenware as well as delicate wooden handicrafts and souvenirs, seated in front of their houses. 

We also visited a few shops selling the famous "Thangka" paintings and watched the painters in action. The Thangka paintings have evolved in Tibet in the ancient days and are considered as traditional sacred paintings. These paintings are done on cotton or silk scrolls or on canvas. Some have sacred mantras and symbols drawn on them. Nepalese believe that the possession of a Thangka is beneficial to them to avoid suffering and obstacles in life. Most of these paintings were so intricate that we were given a magnifying glass to observe them in detail. 

Our next destination was Nagarkot - a popular tourist resort, which was about 32 kilometres away from Katmandu. On the way to Nagarkot, we visited another famous temple 'Changu Narayan' dedicated to the Hindu God Vishnu. It is said to have been built in 323 A.D. and is the oldest temple in the valley.

On the following morning, around 6.00 a.m. it was still very cold and quite misty, and we couldn't see anything around us. At about 8.00 a.m., it cleared and we were really dazzled by the beauty of the place. Sprawled across were lovely trees of all varieties, with the famous eastern range of Himalayas slightly visible in the distance. Unfortunately, the spectacular scenery which we expected to see, was not visible due to the mist. As a souvenir of this wonderful place, I bought a beautiful photograph of the mountain range taken by a professional photographer. We left Nagarkot in the morning and came back to Kathmandu and then headed towards west of Kathmandu, to Lumbini (an 8-hour journey from Kathmandu). Again, the scenery along the way was really beautiful. We saw white water rafting and kayaking (a favourite sport among the tourists) as we passed the Trisuli river. 

Lumbini is situated in the Terai plains of Southern Nepal. We visited the famous Lumbini Garden where Prince Siddhartha was born. The stone pillar erected by Emperor Ashoka in 249 BC with the inscription that he himself had visited this place and erected the pillar to commemorate the birthplace of Lord Buddha - still stands in the sacred garden. Closer to the Ashokan pillar is the "Pushkarni Pond" where Queen Mayadevi took her bath before the birth of Prince Siddhartha. There were ruins of ancient stupas and monasteries scattered around. 

We also visited the newly constructed Sri Lankan Buddhist temple (Mahamaya Vishwa Shanthi Temple) and met with Rev. Revatha and the Architect Mr. Gunadasa. On the way, we visited the Korean temple as well. There were many other temples and monasteries near the Lumbini sacred garden, constructed by Japan, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar etc. depicting the traditional architectural style of each country. 

In the afternoon we left for Pokhara, the most popular trekking and rafting destination in Nepal. Situated 200 kms. west of Kathmandu, the three lakes - Phewa, Begnas and Rupa, enhance the beauty of the Pokhara Valley. The scenery along the way was truly fantastic. Sometimes, we felt as though we were travelling in Nuwara Eliya - with the enchanting views of mountains and winding roads etc. On the way we stopped to take photographs of the sunset over the Trisuli river in Dasdunga. We also saw the Nepal's first cable car service to the "Manakamana" temple which lies on top of a 1,302m. hill, enroute to Pokhara. It is a sacred place and devotees come here to venerate the Manakamana Devi who is believed to fulfill all wishes. 

We had a full day city tour in Pokhara the next day, visiting the famous Phewa lake (the second largest lake in Nepal), Devi's Water Fall, Seti Gandaki (another famous river), Gupteswar Gupha (a huge cave with a sacred Shiva Lingam inside) and Bindhyabasini Hindu Temple - dedicated to Goddess Bhagawati, another manifestation of Shakti. 

Early in the morning the next day, we travelled to Sarangkot to view the sunrise over the Annapurna range of mountains (a mighty cluster of peaks rising 26,000 feet) from the top of a small hill. Even at 5.30 a.m. many tourists had already gathered there. A beautiful view of the Pokhara valley was seen from the top of the hill. Although we expected to see the spectacular panorama of the Annapurna mountain range as well as the Machchapuchare (the fish-tailed pinnacle), they were only slightly visible. The Annapurna valley is home to the Thakalis, one of the most disciplined, organized and far-sighted communities in the history of Nepal. 

After the tour in Pokhara and Sarangkot, we returned to Kathmandu to take our flight back to Colombo. As we ended our tour not only did we carry a lot of Nepalese traditional souvenirs, but also memories of the beautiful places we visited, including the unforgettable sights of the snow-capped mountains. But above all, the cassettes with the most haunting, magical melodies - which transport you into another world - are my most treasured souvenirs of Nepal.