We arrived in Kathmandu early on a Monday morning and since our hotel room wasn’t ready we left our luggage and set out to explore. The streets were bustling and chaotic, with few sidewalks and all manner of vehicles.
Our first destination was Kathmandu Guest House which has some art in their courtyard.
Next we headed south to Kathmandu Durbar Square, a UNESCO heritage site. As we paid our entry fee we were approached by Hira for a guided tour – the price was fair and we had a good feeling about it, so we hired him on the spot. It turned out great, as he provided us a lot of info about the various temples and structures in the square. And since it was our first day he bought us marigold garlands.
At the end of the tour he showed us his mandala shop where we learned about the history of the paintings and had a chance to try a singing bowl (and he wasn’t pushy about a sale).
The next day we took a 4 UNESCO heritage site tour booked through TripAdvisor with Luxury Holidays Nepal. Our guide, Sajina, and driver, Bijay Rai, were friendly and professional from the start. Sajina gave us tons of information at each site, let us take as many photos as we wanted, and provided a lot of background information on Nepal in general.
Our first stop was Swayambhunath Stupa, aka Monkey Temple, up a hillside with wide views over valley and city. And as advertised, there were lots of monkeys!
And as with all temples, there were dogs too. Here we learned that the prayer flag colors represent elements: fire, water (green), earth, air, space. The weather was rather hazy/misty, so no mountain views, but we could see the city.
Next up was Patan Durbar Square, packed with temples and shrines plus a large palace with incredible carvings. This square seems to be in better condition than the Kathmandu Durbar Square we had visited the previous day. The museum was small but informative on Hindu and Buddhist items.
Our third stop was Pashupatinath Temple, a large Hindu complex famous for riverside cremations. There were several cremation pyres going.
Rain was just starting when we arrived, and really increased in intensity so we ducked from roof to roof trying to stay dry. A temple bull was doing the same thing, and he made space for himself out of the rain!
The Boudhanath Stupa was our last stop, where the Buddha’s eyes are always watching!
Since it was still raining our guide took us to a covered rooftop cafe where we had a great (and dry) view, plus a hot chocolate and mint tea. By the time we finished the rain had slowed some which let us walk clockwise around the stupa. We decided not to go up given it was very wet and we’d need to take our shoes off.
In between each stop we saw a cross section of the city, with lots of tiny shops, construction debris, and endless motorcycles. The provided snack box was appreciated, and included a banana, grapes, croissant, muffin, and a juice box. For us the 4 UNESCO tour was great, giving us a quick view of several important sites without overdoing it on our first full day after travel. And we got a ton of paper tickets to bring home!
