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Visiting Bhaktapur, Boudhanath and Pashupatinath, Nepal

By February 26, 2014September 17th, 2016One Comment

Upon returning from the Himalayans there was one spare day left before we all had to go back to where we came from, also known as home. Or onwards travels.
We hadn’t had the chance yet to visit the culturally most important gems. Fun fact (and if you know me you’ll know that I’m a sucker for Unesco World Heritage Sites): Kathmandu has one of the highest densities of Unesco World Heritage Sites in the world, all in all 7, including important pilgrimage sites for both Hindus and Buddhists.

So for the last day, we went to visit Bhaktapur, which is also know as the City of Culture, Living Heritage, Nepal’s Cultural Gem, an open museum and a City of Devotees.

Then we carried on to Boudhanath, which is one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Kathmandu. The stupa’s massive mandala makes it one of the largest spherical stupas in Nepal. The stupa itself is the largest in the world and it’s absolutely beautiful.

The final stop of the day then was Pashupatinath Temple. Here the Hindu people come to burn their dead, and indeed, upon arrival at the site, there are burning bodies abound. It’s a bit surreal but not in a bad way at all. I found it rather fascinating as death becomes such a natural part of the circle of life. This all is merged with wild monkeys and dogs who roam freely throughout the temple. You will also find the occasional holy cow. Kids play freely in between the burning pedestals and it’s a sport to fish for coins that were given to the dead in the river.

I loved every minute of that day – it’s such a diverse and culturally dense place that I could have easily spend another day exploring.

For more of Nepal, check out the entire picture set.

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