Places to visit in Kathmandu Valley

Introduction

The Kathmandu Valley, located in Nepal, lies at the crossroads of ancient civilizations of Asia, and has at least 130 important monuments, including several pilgrimage sites for Hindus and Buddhists. There are seven World Heritage Sites within the valley.

 Kathmandu valley itself is a attraction for many tourist. There are many places around kathmandu valley which are worth visiting.

Pashupatinath Temple

The Pashupatinath Temple is a famous, sacred Hindu temple dedicated to Pashupatinath and is located on the banks of the Bagmati River 5 kilometres north-east of Kathmandu Valley in the eastern city of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. It is dedicated to a manifestation of Shiva called Pashupati (Lord of Animals). It attracts thousands of pilgrims each year and has become well known far beyond the Kathmandu Valley. The temple is barred to non-Hindus, but a good view of the temple can be had from the opposite bank of the river.

Swyambhunath

Swayambhunath is an ancient religious architecture atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley. It is also known as the Monkey Temple as there are holy monkeys living in the north-west parts of the temple. Swayambhunath Stupa is the most ancient and enigmatic of all the holy shrines in Kathmandu valley. Its lofty white dome and glittering golden spire are visible for many miles and from all sides of the valley.

Kathmandu Durbar Square

Kathmandu Durbar Square in front of the old royal palace of the former Kathmandu Kingdom is one of three Durbar (royal palace) Squares in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.The Kathmandu Durbar Square held the palaces of the Malla and Shah kings who ruled over the city. Along with these palaces, the square surrounds quadrangles, revealing courtyards and temples. It is known as Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square, a name derived from a statue of Hanuman, the monkey devotee of Lord Ram, at the entrance of the palace.

Patan Durbar Square

Patan Durbar Square is situated at the centre of the city of Lalitpur in Nepal. It is one of the three Durbar Squares in the Kathmandu Valley, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is the best known for its artistic heritage. It is probably one of the oldest Buddhist City in the world. The city is situated on a plateau across Bagmati River. Another name of Patan, is Lalitpur. The city is surrounded by 4Stupas as 4 corners of Patan, one at each corner of its cardinal points. These stupas are said to have been built by the famous Emperor Ashoka.

Bhaktapur Durbar Square

Bhaktapur Durbar Square is the plaza in front of the royal palace of the old Bhaktapur Kingdom, 1400m above sea level. It is one of three Durbar Squares in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In Durbar Square, tourists will find the 55-Window Palace, which served as the seat of royalty prior to 1769. Just outside the palace, at the entrance to the Taleju Temple Complex is the Golden Gate, built in 1756, a splendid example of Repoussé metalwork. Durbar Square is also home to the Big Bell, built by the last Malla king of Bhaktapur, Ranajit Malla in the 18th century.

Nagarkot

Nagarkot is perhaps the best place to view the Himalaya from the comfort of your hotel balcony. Just 32km from kathmandu, the village is packed with hotels, stacked up on a ridge facing one of the broadest possible views of the Himalaya. Between October and March a trip to Nagarkot will nearly always be rewarded with a view, but be warned the mountains are notorious for disappearing behind cloudy skies on any given day (or hour). It can get very cold at Nagarkot, so bring warm clothing.

Kiritpur

Kirtipur is an ancient city in Nepal. It is located in the Kathmandu Valley 5 km south-west of the city of Kathmandu. Kirtipur has a wonderful sense of faded grandeur thanks to the impressive medieval temples dotted around its backstreets. When Prithvi Narayan Shah stormed into the valley in 1768, he made a priority of capturing Kirtipur to provide a base for his crushing attacks on the Malla kingdoms. Kirtipur’s resistance was strong, but eventually, after a bitter siege, the town was taken. The inhabitants paid a terrible price for their brave resistance – the king ordered that the nose and lips be cut off every male inhabitant in the town, sparing only those who could play wind instruments for his entertainment.

Nepal, a beautiful place to visit

Introdution
Nepal is a landlocked country located in South Asia. With an area of 147,181 square kilometres and a population of approximately 27 million,Nepal is the world's 93rd largest country by area and the 41st most populous country. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by China and to the south, east, and west by India. Nepal is separated from Bangladesh by the narrow Indian Siliguri Corridor and from Bhutan by the Indian state of Sikkim. Kathmandu is the nation's capital city and largest metropolis.

The mountainous north of Nepal has eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including the highest point on Earth, Mount Everest. More than 250 peaks over 20,000 ft above sea level are located in Nepal. The southern Terai region is fertile and humid.

Hinduism is practiced by about 81.3% of Nepalis, the highest percentage of any country. Buddhism is linked historically with Nepal and is practiced by 9% of its people, followed by Islam at 4.4%, Kiratism 3.1%, Christianity 1.4%, and animism 0.4%. A large portion of the population, especially in the hill region, may identify themselves as both Hindu and Buddhist, which can be attributed to the syncretic nature of both faiths in Nepal.

Nepal is a country of beautiful scenic landscapes with an abundance of both natural and cultural heritage. Although being a small landlocked country, Nepal has been able to prosper so much economically or even infrastructure wise in all these years and still remains quite underdeveloped compared to its neighbors due to the fact that it hasn’t really gained any political stability whatsoever, even after so many years have passed since the dismissal of the Monarchs from the country in 2008. With so much culture and tradition poured into one small piece of land, most tourists that come here are attracted by the various forms of art and cultures that Nepal has to offer. Over a 100 different castes and societies live peacefully among each other within the boundaries of this small piece of heaven.  ‘’Unity in diversity,’’ is the closest one could come to while defining Nepal and its people, if they had to do it using a single phrase.

There are many places in Nepal to travel, visit and explore. Some really worth travelling places are:

Langtang National Park

This region is full of mountains: Langtang Lirung (7246m), Gang Chhenpo (6388m), Naya Kangri (5846m) and Dorje Lakpa (6966m). The Gosainkunda lake (4300m)and the Dorje Lakpa range (6988m) bisect the park from east–west to south–east. The summit of Langtang Lirung (7245m) is the highest point in the park. Langtang and Helambu regions is the second largest conserved National Park of Nepal enriched by 1000 species of flora and 150 different species of birds and many wild animals such as Tigers, beers, deer, Wild sheep. The climate of the park is dominated by the southwest summer monsoon. From October to November and from April to May, days are warm and sunny, and nights cool. In winter from December to March, days are clear and mild but nights near freezing.

Khaptad National Park

Khaptad National Park(KNP) is situated in the Far-western region of Nepal. It is endowed with great natural beauty & vast wilderness. KNP is blessed with great scenic beauty, very diverse ecology, flora & fauna. It also represents a unique eco-system of the mid-mountain of Nepal. The major natural attractions of Khaptad National Park are the rolling plateau of grasslands & ponds intermixed with oak and coniferous forests. As the park is between 1,400 meters and 3,300 meters above sea level, the peripheral areas of this park consists of steep slopes covered with a variety of vegetation types, ranging from sub-tropical forests at the lower altitudes to temperate forests around the plateau. Khaptad National Park is very rich in terms of its diversity having many animal species and vegetation types. The number of flowering plants so far recorded in the Mid Mountains is estimated to be 567, of which 346 flowering plant species have been recorded in the National Park alone. Similarly, the National Park is also a home to 23 species of mammals, 287 species of birds (local & migrating) and 23 species of amphibians. A wide variety of colorful butterflies, moths and insects are also an important feature of the park ecosystem. Specially, after designating this area as a National Park, there has been an increase in the population of wildlife, especially musk deer, wild boar, porcupines, barking deer and birds like Chyakhura, Kalij, Titra, and Danphe. Khaptad National Park is also famous for the herbs that it contains in, about which the famous Khaptad Baba, the renowned hermit after whom the National Park is named, made the world aware. The National Park is still a bit of an enigma to local populations as it is believed to be sacred and alcohol and meat are not allowed to be consumed in the area.

Chitwan National Park

The Chitwan National Park (CNP) is a world heritage property, and it also contains a Ramsar Site – Beeshazari Tal in its buffer zone. The CNP has a history of over 3 decades in park management and a rich experience in resolving conflicts between the park and the people.
It is a rich natural area in the Terai, the subtropical southern part of Nepal. A total of 68 species of mammals, 544 species of birds, 56 species of herpetofauna and 126 species of fish have been recorded in the park. The park is especially renowned for its protection of One Horned Rhinoceros, Royal Bengal Tiger and Gharial Crocodile.

Rara National park

Rara National park is the smallest Park in Nepal, containing the biggest lake of Nepal (10.8 sq. kms) and scenically the most beautiful lake at an elevation of 2999m. The park consists of coniferous forest.The Park is rich in coniferous forest and was established to protect Rara Lake which is an important staging point for migratory birds, and to conserve representative flora and fauna of the central Himalaya. More than 500 different kinds of flowers and herbs including Rhododendrons are found in this Park. It is the home of 20 different species of mammals and 214 species of birds. During winter birders can enjoy with many migratory birds. Rara National Park lies in Mugu and Jumla districts in the mid-western Himalaya, about 371 km by air west-north-west of Kathmandu, the capital city. Regular flights are operated to Mugu District to the only existing Talcha Airport from where it is a few hours walk to the National Park. Those interested for trekking, it is a two day trek from Jumla to the National Park. Rara lake is one of the main attraction.