Kathmandu & the city of Patan
You have a rendezvous with your guide in the morning at the hotel lobby from where you will commence the Kathmandu tour. Before departing from the hotel, the guide will provide a short introduction to the activities of the day.
The day starts with a tour of the Pashupatinath Temple, regarded as one of the holy temples for Hindus worldwide. It is dedicated to a manifestation of Shiva called Pashupati (Lord of Animals). Pashupatinath temple’s existence dates back to 400 AD. The ornamented pagoda houses the sacred Linga or phallic system of Lord Shiva. Thousands of pilgrims from all over the world come to pay homage to this temple that is also called ‘The Temple of Living Beings’. Inside the temple, Lord Shiva is available in four faces. All these faces have different names and significance. The face facing east is known as Tatpurusha and the one facing south Aghora. Similarly, the faces looking west and north are known by the name Sadhyojata and Vamadeva respectively. The upper portion of this Linga is known as Ishan. These faces are also defined as the symbol of four Dhamas and four Vedas (sacred book of Hindus).
You will head to the city of Patan which is the second largest of the 3 major cities of the Kathmandu valley. After a short stroll around the Durbar square that gives you an idea of the past regime and culture of this ancient Kingdom, you will visit many Buddhist shrines and monasteries founded in the ancient and medieval period some of which even date back to the BC era, including Mahaboudha temple, Golden Temple, Rudra Varna Mahavihara, Ashoka Stupa, etc.
After lunch, you will drive to Boudhanath Stupa which is claimed to be one of the largest Stupas in the world and the most important pilgrimage site for the followers of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism. This Buddhist complex, which in the form of a mandala when observed aerially is adorned with prayer wheels on the outside and is circumnavigated daily by a horde of visitors, religious or non-religious.
Your final destination of the day is another Buddhist heritage of the valley, Swayambhunath stupa, situated at a vantage point that caters to you a good sunset view of the valley. Believed to have risen spontaneously (thus its name) from a lotus seed planted by an ancient Buddha of the past eon, the shrine is commonly known as ‘’monkey temple’’ as you can observe these impish yet harmless beasts running around groups or alone without any concern of the world.
Overnight at Kathmandu.
What's included?
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Breakfast
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Accommodation
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Tour