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Sight Seeing in Nepal
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Sight Seeing in and
around Kathmandu valley
Kathmandu valley is
the hub of Nepal for its political,
commercial and cultural activities, and
is the first stop for the majority of
visitors to the country. Once a separate
kingdom in itself, it consists of three
cities of great history. Each one
exceeds in graceful temples, elegant
palaces, brick-paved courtyards and
quaint streets. History begins with the
Buddhist saint Manjushree who slashed a
passage through the surrounding hills to
drain out primordial water and to make
the region. Over the centuries, a
refined urban civilization emerged,
built on a unique synthesis of Hinduism
and Buddhism. Dynasties came and went,
trade and the arts flourished. The
deeply religious Newar inhabitants built
fabulous cities and artistic temples
that attracted devout pilgrims as well
as ramping invaders. In the late 18th
century, following the founding of
modern Nepal, Kathmandu was made the
capital within more or less the present
boundaries. It is said that Kathmandu
was named after Kasthamandap, an
imposing pagoda next to Hanumandhoka
palace. The city have been its present
form by Gunakama Dev in 724 AD.
Following are the major tourist
attractions in the Kathmandu Valley.
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Kathmandu Valley
Kathmandu valley is a legendary land where
gods mingle with mortal, ancient
pagoda-roofed temples fill the skyline and
where a devout population have created one
of the finest human cultures on earth. The
valley was originally a lake and its history
begins with the Buddhist saint, Manjushree,
who sliced a passage in the surrounding
hills to drain out the water and made it
inhabitable. Extremely fertile agricultural
land, flourishing trade and a deeply
religious population worked together to
transform the valley into an enchanting
center of art and culture unparalleled in
the Himalayan region.
Kathmandu valley has an exotic setting. It
is surrounded by a tier of green mountain
wall above which tower mighty snow- capped
peaks. It consists of three main towns of
great historic, artistic and cultural
interest: Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur.
Kathmandu valley covers an area of 218
sq.miles. It is situated 4,423 ft. above sea
level. The architecture started here by the
Lichhavi and Mall Kings is marvellous.
The seventh World Heritage Sites in the
Kathmandu valley -designated by the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization ( UNESCO ) are the highlights
of the valley.
Kathmandu Durbar Square
It is easy to be overwhelmed by the
seemingly uncountable moments in the
Kathmandu Durbar Square. The house of living
Goddess, the ferocious Kal Bhairab, the red
monkey god and hundreds of erotic carvings
are a few examples of the sights at the
square! The building here are the greatest
achievements of the Malla dynasty and they
resulted from the great rivalry between the
three palaces of Kathmandu, Patan and
Bhaktapur. A visitor who wanders around the
square will see a round temple in the Pagoda
architectural style, the temple of Goddess
Taleju (who played dice with king Jaya
Prakash Malla,) and an image of Shiva and
Parbati sitting together among the many
monuments. All woodcarving, statues and
architecture in this area are exceptionally
fine and Kathmandu Durbar Square is among
the most important sights for travelers to
see.
Swayambhunath Stupa
Some 5 kilometers west from the heart of
Kathmandu lies the oldest Buddhist stupa of
Swyambhunath on the top of a green hillock.
For the Buddhist pilgrims, Swyambhunath has
a very great significance. Many Buddhist
pilgrims still have the same reverence as
they had in the 12th century when it became
the main center for learning Buddhism and
other philosophy.
What strikes us is the history of existence
even well before 2500 years or before the
emergence of Buddhism itself. It's assumed
that there may have been a projecting stone
which was given much reverence by the people
and later on became the center element of
the stupa. History also says that it was
erected by Monday I and King Ashoka may have
visited the place in 2nd century B.C.
The stupa was destroyed by one of the
Sultans' invasion of India in 1346which
later on was reconstructed by one of the
Malla Kings- Pratap Malla. Actually most of
the renovations on the stupa were made by
Pratap Malla. The stairway for example was
one of his works. The 13 gilded rings on the
spire are the 13 degrees of knowledge and
they make an entire ladder of themselves to
Nirvana; enlightenment which is symbolized
by the umbrella on the top. The two eyes are
symbols of justice, peace and calmness and
the nose-like thing between the eye is the
virtue to join earth and heaven and the
point or probably the third eye just above
the two eyes is said to be symbol of
farsightedness.
Pashupatinath Temple
Pashupatinath temple as its name suggests is
the Lord of the beasts- Pashu and pati mean
beasts and lord respectively. It's about 6
kilometers east of Kathmandu by the side of
the holy river "Bagmati" where pilgrims
purify themselves before entering the
sanctuary. This temple is completely
dedicated to Lord Shiva who is a composite
god. He is Bahairav in anger, Rudra , Ugra
or Shava ( the corpse), Mahadeva ( the great
god ) in peaceful motion and above all ,
Pashupati - the lord god of the beasts. He's
also considered as the shepherd of animals
and human beings. He is angry and wise. He
is good and bad. He is both a destroyer and
creator. Built in 1696 AD, it stands as a
major pilgrimage in Nepal and India for
Hindus. Nandi, the bull, the vehicle of Lord
Shiva, which stands in front of the main
center of Pashupatinath is also the symbol
of fecundity (fertility). His Lingam
,Phallus, is worshipped to gain fertility.
The large gilded triple roofed temple can be
viewed from the opposite side of the holy
river very easily. The projection of the
main sanctuary is visible from the other
side of the temple in the east to feast the
eyes of the visitors. However, non-Hindus
are not allowed to enter the temple.
Patan
About six or seven km. south of Kathmandu
across Bagmati river lies just another city
prominently known as Patan but has a
secondary name of " Lalitpur " which means a
"beautiful city". Full of arts, cultures and
traditions. In a true sense, it has even
more to give to the visitors than Kathmandu
if we visit the ancient royal palace,
monuments, stone pillar, Mahabouddha stupa
Chaitya and Krishna temple. The very famous
Krishna Mandir is right here to enthrall the
visitors. Here also lies the magnificent
Golden temple. The ancient Royal palace
squares are just as fresh as before. They
still have the same importance as ever.
Krishna Mandir is very famous and special
type of stone temple; all made of stone.
From the second floor Sikhara style emerges.
It is said that the main divinity was
installed in 1637. On horizontal beams the
episodes of the great Hindus epics Ramayana
and Mahabharata are depicted with the
explanations of the story.
Bhaktapur
Bhaktapur means "the city of devotees" in
the Sanskrit language.It is also known as
Bhadgoan and was founded in 889 AD by King
Anand Dev. The palace complex in the middle
of the city portrays the prosperity of the
Malla years and the details at which crafts
people then worked. The palace of fifty five
windows stands in the square and it was home
to many kings of Bhaktapur. They even ruled
over Kathmandu and Patan from the 12th
century to the 14th century. The massive
gate to the square was made by King
Bhupatindra Malla (1696 to 1722) who took
pride in his own engineering and building
skills. Among the other monuments in
Bhaktapur are- the big bell, the Golden
Gate, the five tiered temple of Nyatpola,
the Bhairab temple and the Dattaytreya
square with its woodcarving and metal work
musuems. Surrounded by beautiful farming
area, the traveler to Bhaktapur will easily
fall in love with the city.
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