Nepal - top of the world

By Philip Moore

Nepal is many things to many people. For some, it’s the best place to go to get held up for a few hours by guerillas and then use the whole experience as an excuse to avoid work, which is something that I saw happen once.

For others it is a place to get high on life and all kinds of other stuff. For decades, the capital of Nepal has acted as a magnet for “serious” travelers, from hippies seeking great clarity of thought and adventurers looking for a place totally removed from Western culture.

Nepal is thankfully also the gateway to the fabulous scenery, treks and climbing expeditions of the Himalayan mountains. But a trek here is no Sunday afternoon stroll. Walking up Mt Everest, sure, it’s difficult but that’s nothing compared to what it takes to avoid being trampled by Japanese tourists.

Whichever way you come to Nepal the place, complete with – prayer flags, holy men, stupas, palaces, markets, monks – is a mesmerising experience.

I’ve been to the capital Kathmandu a few times and I neither lose myself nor find myself. I tend to do a bit of both. But I’m not the best at discussing the eclectic side of life because, as Billy Graham once mused, “if you remember the 60s you weren’t there” – well I lived in the 60s and I remember all of it.

I’m not too sure how much some of the local kids will remember of this new century. The view from my window last time consisted of a vacant lot with scores of tragic kids sniffing glue.

But the capital has the highest concentration of World Heritage sites than any other city on the planet. So whatever your reason for heading to Nepal, you’ll need to see these places:

The royal palace square is home to an amazing variety of palaces and temples, shrines and statues, with a constant flow of humanity surging through its alleys and courtyards.

The square is said to date back to the 11th century, although its oldest surviving buildings are from the 1500s onwards.

It is home to a palace housing the Kumari Devi, a pre-pubescent girl revered as a living goddess; visitors can go into the courtyard and she may decide to gaze down from a window.

The square is a lively mix of people, ranging from Hindu holy men to Buddhist monks; both religions have strong followings and their mysticism is part of the fabric of life in Kathmandu.

It was once the home of the Nepalese royal family and its court, and the 14th-century Hanuman Dhoka Palace is now a museum. A statue of the monkey god Hanuman protects the area. It is one of several World Heritage sites in Kathmandu, and the organised chaos includes markets, music and hundreds of intricate wood carvings on buildings.

Whether you are interested in art, history, architecture, religion or just people-watching, Durbar Square is fabulous.

Note: All three of Kathmandu Valley’s cities have a Durbar Square so, if you’re going by taxi, specify you want Kathmandu Durbar Square.

This Buddhist temple complex includes a large stupa (dome-shaped structure housing sacred relics) about 2500 years old – the oldest in Nepal.
To reach it, there’s a short climb up a hill where hundreds of prayer flags flutter and troops of rhesus monkeys give a clue to its name.

The area is full of monks as well as markets to satisfy spiritual and material needs, and has great views of Kathmandu nestled in a valley with mountains in the distance.

The stupa has a metal tower painted with the eyes of Buddha which watch devotees go about their business. To newcomers, the eyes may seem a little odd, even creepy, but they are, in fact, benevolent.

There are dozens of prayer wheels to turn as you walk around, each multiplying each prayer. In a city of religious tolerance there is also a Hindu pagoda and a giant Buddha.

All around, visitors agog make offerings, light candles and reflect on the deeper meaning of life.

The holiest Hindu site in Nepal dates to 450BC, and all Nepalese Hindus hope to visit it at some stage in their lives. It is a sprawling complex of ornate temples, stone statues, shrines, hospices and more on the banks of the Bagmati River.

Holy men with enormous long beards daubed in fancy colours and wearing little more than a loincloth loiter and are happy to pose for photos in exchange for a few rupees. They can also get a bit aggressive if you drop in some coins.

Hindus hope to die here and many elderly people come to spend their last days. For many Western visitors, a series of stone funeral pyres by the river are strangely intriguing. Cremations are a daily occurrence. The body is placed on a bed of branches which was set alight as mourners watch the ritual. Tens of thousands of Hindus flock to festivals here.

A real highlight of Kathmandu is a huge, 36m Buddhist stupa dating to the fifth century. You can climb on it and get closer to the intriguing Buddha eyes staring down from the tower.

It’s surrounded by a large courtyard where a constant flow of humanity – monks, devotees, tourists, schoolchildren – walk in an endless clockwise procession, creating a slow swirl of colour.

Large prayer wheels encircle the stupa, turning constantly as the flow of people push them. Temples, monasteries and shops ring the courtyard, where you can say prayers or buy miniature prayer wheels and prayer flags as well as the usual souvenirs.

If you like shopping you’ll love Thamel, a fantastic area of narrow streets crammed with stalls and shops selling silks, rugs, silverware, jewellery, clothing and pashminas, handicrafts and more.

Rickshaws ply the streets which eventually converge on a square with footpath food markets. It is a cheerfully chaotic area of haggling and pestering, where everything is a bargain even if you don’t browbeat the seller down to a lower price.

There are some great little chill-out bars in the Thamel area where you sit on the floor, eat good food, have a drink and look up at signs that tell you drugs aren’t allowed.

One famous landmark is the Rum Doodle where anyone who has climbed Mt Everest gets free booze for life. All over the bar there is memorabilia from Sir Edmund Hillary, Reinhold Messner, Chris Bonnington and others.

Fascinating place.

Everest is spoken of in reverential tones by the locals. The early morning joy flights around Everest might smack of Griswald-dom but they’re the experience of a lifetime. You can catch a light plane around Everest each morning and it’ll cost about $70. Money brilliantly spent.

Nepal is having its share of security problems but the tourism scene is important and you’re likely to find the country safe. Follow a few guidelines though like: