Kathmandu Valley

The Bewildering Kathmandu Valley 

Kilometers Traveled: 15,130 

Countries Visited: 4

Cities Visited: 10

Goats Sacrificed During Dasain Festival: aprox. 200,000

We arrived in Nepal with only a few plans, a 10 day mediation retreat at the Kopan Monastery and perhaps a trek in the Annapurna mountains.  We thought that month would be more than enough time to cover it all, but in the end we left wanting to stay just a little longer. The Kathmandu valley in particular is a place that is both heartbreaking and inspiring. It's maddeningly underdeveloped, dusty, polluted and tramped by trekkers (mostly in the backpacking area of Thamel) but the welcoming and compassionate nature of the Nepali people really helped cancel out all of this noise.

Nepal is an intensely spiritual place with Hinduism and Buddhism dominating every day life. It seems that there are either shines, temples, stupas at every corner. The largest festival of the year, Dasain, was at its peak during our stay and was an experience we'll never forget. Being there during the festival also meant that the city was virtually empty when we were trying to plan our trek (details to follow in a later post) as every one goes home to their villages.

The Kathmandu Valley is comprised of three former city states that are relics of the former kingdoms of the area - Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan.  Nowadays they are all converging in to one large metro area with the infrastructure lagging slowly behind. More and more Nepali youth are leaving behind their agrarian life style to come to work in the city which now stands at roughly two million people. It is a necessary stop for any trip to Nepal but we would recommend to stay somewhere outside Kathmandu if possible. The pollution really got to us and there are less polluted options very close by.

FYI - This post doesn't follow the chronology of our trip since we stay in the valley in between our retreat and trek but it encapsulates the area a little better.

More posts on Nepal to come!

Kathmandu

All roads in Nepal lead to Kathmandu. This town has two realities - Nepal's cosmopolitan capital for locals and the jumping off point for tourists. In the 70's it was a mandatory stop for a hippy pilgrimage. Now tourism is dominated by trekkers staying in a part of town called Thamel where you can get outfitted for any mountain excursion and could find all of the comforts of home e.g. pizza and beer. Although there are a few interesting sites nearby like the monkey temple and the medieval Dhubar Square, there is really no reason to stay in Thamel for more than few days unless your are preparing to go on a trek. It's difficult to escape the incessant honking horns, thick pollution, rolling blackouts (aka load shedding) and gear obsessed trekkers.

Kathmandu's Dhubar Square where we went took refuge in the King Tribhuwan Memorial Museum to get away from the insanity out in the plaza.  Also home of their Hindu living goddess - a little girl Nepalis believe is the human incarnation of the Hindu mother goddess Durga.

We stuck out like a couple of really pale sore thumbs.

Walking around Thamel was a little nerve racking with all of the mopeds, cars and rickshaws clipping our sides. Pay attention to those horns!

A Stupa *cough* on the way to *cough* Dhubar square *hack*

Bhaktapur

Bhakapur is a mesmerizing city that looks like what Kathmandu must have been like a few hundred years ago. The steep admission price (about 1100 rp which is roughly $11) ensures that Bhaktapur's many temples and squares stay pristine. It's old cobblestone roads hold very little traffic and have an endless amount of ornate temples, shrines and statues at every turn.

Bhaktapur's Dhubar Square. A powerful and magical place to behold at dusk.

We stayed in Taumadhi Square with amazing views of pagodas and mountains.

At five stories tall, the Nyataponla Temple in Taumadhi Square is the tallest pagoda in Nepal. 

The Vatsala Temple. This is last we saw of the sun after the remnants of Cyclone Phailin hit Nepal causing rainy conditions for the next two weeks.

Ruin of the Shiva Temple and the clouds rolling in.

Dasain Festival

We arrived in Bhaktapur at the height of the Dasain festival. Dasain is the most anticipated Nepali festival of the year with 10 days of celebration culminating on the 8th and 9th day with thousands of animal sacrifices. We had a unnerving introduction to the festivities on day 8 while having a drink with a friendly and informative Nepali in Bhaktapur's Dhubar Square. During our conversation, a group of rowdy youths ran into the square chasing a terrified buffalo. Our new friend told us that the buffalo was going to be sacrificed in the square that night to symbolize goddess Durga's triumph over an evil demon. After a few laps around the temple, the exhausted and staggering buffalo came crashing down into the potted plants in front of our table. This was our queue to call it night before things got more gruesome.

The next day we decided to take a walking tour of the city with a couple of travelers we met the day before. Little did we know that we were about to witness Dasain's most grizzly day of ritual sacrifices. On day nine, thousands of goats are beheaded at make shift shrines (usually in front of a vehicle) all over the city. Temples were covered in blood and carcasses awaited us at every corner. It was a very hard to practice any cultural relativism with hundred of beings getting killed around you.  We found ourselves siding with the pleas of animal rights activists to stop these archaic rituals.

One of the make shift shrines before the addition of a severed goat head. The temples in the area would be covered in their blood after the sacrifice.

On Day 10 of Dasian, there were no more killings and we just got the ceremonial tikka on our foreheads.We were very happy for Dasain to be over.

Boudha

We spent the last two days in Nepal in the town of Boudha, a few miles north east of Kathmandu. Perched on a hill, Boudha emanates serenity and intense energy as thousands of Buddhists walk around the largest stupa in the world to pray every day. Nepal is the birthplace of Buddha and holds a special place in the minds of Buddhists, including the countless Tibetan refugees who now call Kathmandu home. A great alternative to staying Kathmandu since Boudha has plenty of accommodations, is closed to street traffic and is still close enough to Kathmandu to be used as a jumping off point. Your lungs will thank you for staying here.

The all-knowing eyes of Buddha.

Tibetan prayer flags to allow the winds to carry the words of the dharma.

Monks and lay Buddhists walking in clockwise circles around the stupa. Keeping the Buddha on your right side is a sign of respect.

One of eight monasteries (including one nunnery) in Boudha. Some are open to the public. Looking at a intricately decorated gompa (monastery) during a puja (a prayer ritual) is an unforgettable experience.