Places to visit:

Inside Kathmandu valley:

Kathmandu :
Kathmandu is both the capital of Nepal and the largest city in the country. Most of the interesting things to see in Kathmandu are clustered around the old part of town between Thamel and the new shopping areas along New Road. Around the central Durbar Square are the old Royal Palace, a number of interesting Pagoda and Indian style temples and the Kumari Devi, residence of the living goddess. Some of the interesting other sight seeing places in the city includes:

Pashupatinath (World Heritage Site):
One of the holiest Hindu shrines in the world, the temple of Pashupatinath is the focus of pilgrims from all over Nepal and India. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is built in the familiar Pagoda style. Chronicles indicate the temple's existence prior to 400 A.D. It lies 5 kms east of the city center. This holy place is picturesque collection of temples and shrines. All the dying persons are brought to Pashupatinath for cremation. Only the Hindus are allowed to go inside.

Swayambhunath/ Monkey temple (World Heritage Site):
The Swayambhu Stupa crowns a hillock to the west of Kathmandu .A massive white dome surrounded by a 13 stage spire, the stupa is one of the most sacred Buddhist sites in Nepal. It is said to be 2000 years old. Its origins are linked to the founding of the Kathmandu valley, draining the water out of the lake by Bodhisattva Manjushree. Swayambhu manifested in the lake as a brilliant light emanating from a lotus and Manjushree let the water out by slashing a passage through the surrounding hills to facilitate paying homage to Swayambhu, thus making the valley inhabitable.

Bouddhanath (World Heritage Site):
It is the world's biggest stupa located about 2 kilometers to the north of Pashupatinath temple. This colossal Stupa is known by the name of Bouddhanath, the god of wisdom. It is difficult to assign a period to it, as some believe that it was built during the reign of either Shiva Dev or Anshu Verma in the 7 th century A.D. The design is much like the Swayambhu Stupa, except that the final consists of receding squares instead of circles. Bouddhanath attracts the Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world.

Patan:
Patan is the second biggest city in the valley after Kathmandu. Patan can be easily reached from Kathmandu by bicycle, bus or three-wheeler. Buses and three-wheelers stop at the large gate to the P atan city from where it is a 10 to 15 minute walk along narrow alleys to Durbar Square. In the last few years a very large number of small handicraft shops have opened in Patan and it is an ideal place to buy fine bronzes and woodwork at reasonable price.

Patan Durbar Square (World Heritage Site):
It is an enchanting melange of Palace buildings, artistic courtyards and graceful pagoda temples. This square was the former Royal Palace complex which was the center of Patan's religious and social life, and houses a museum containing an array of bronze status and religious monuments. One remarkable monument here is 17 th century temple dedicated to the Hindu god Krishna, built entirely of stone.

Krishna Mandir:
The third temple, dedicated to Krishna , is the most famous in the Durbar Square. Built by king Siddhinarsingh Malla in the 17 th century it was influenced by Indian architecture, not the pagoda styles. The mythical man-bird Garuda sits with folded hands on top of a pillar since Krishna is the incarnation of Vishnu and the Garuda was his animal. The stone carvings at the top of the first-floor pillars tell the story of the Mahabharat while the second floor carved scenes are from the Ramayana. A major festival is held here in August on the occasion of Krishna's birthday. A characteristic feature of this temple is that there are no nails or wood and the construction is entirely of stone.

Bhaktapur:
Bhaktapur, also known as Bhadgaon, is both the most medieval and least transformed by progress of the three valley cities. Perhaps its distance from k athmandu at the far end of the valley accounts for the slower pace of change here. Much of the art work in this town was constructed at the end of the 17 th century by king Bhupatindra Malla, one of the famous Malla Kings who ruled the valley at that time. Bhaktapur is well known for pottery and for its delicious curd. This city also has one art gallery and two museum- woodwork and bronze.

Golden Gate :
Adjoining the gallery is the Golden Gate of Bhaktapur built by the last Malla king in the middle of the 18 th century. According to Percy Brown, who visited Nepal in 1912, this was the liveliest work of art in the whole of Nepal. a Garuda, the vehicle of Vishnu, tops the gate is shown eating serpents, its traditional enemies. The other multiheaded figure riding the Garuda is the goddess Kali.

Fifty-five Windowed Palace :
On the other side of the gate stands the palace which was first constructed in the 15 th century and renovated in the late 17 th . Opposite the palace is a large bell known as the barking bell. King Bhupatindra set it up in the late 17 th century to avoid the effects of a bad dream, even today people say that dogs bark and weep when the bell is rung. The Durbar Square also contains a replica of the Pashupatinath Temple, built in the 15 th century, with some atheistic erotic carvings on the struts.

Dattatraya Temple :
Only five minutes walk from the Nyatapole brings you to the square containing the Dattatraya Temple and the Pujari Math monastery. Built in the 15 th century this is the oldest temple in the area and was dedicated to Vishnu; as a Garuda-topped pillar and his traditional weapons indicate. The temple is said to have been constructed from the wood of a single tree.

Bhairavnath Temple :
The two storeyed Bhairavnath Temple stands on the right of the Nyatapola and was originally constructed early in the 17 th century. It has been rebuilt after suffering severe damage in the 1934's earthquake and is unusual for having a rectangular base.

Around Kathmandu valley:

Kakani:
Kakani is another good location for viewing the mountain scenery. It is situated 25 kms north west of Kathmandu at an altitude of 1,982 m above the sea level. The fabulous holiday area of Kakani features enchanting attractions ranging from the beautiful alpine scenery to the magnificent Himalayan panorama particularly of the Ganesh Himal Massif. Other peaks that can be closely seen from Kakani are: Gaurishankar (7,134 m), Choba Bharme (6,109 m), Manaslu (8,163 m), Himalchuli (7,893 m), Annapurna (8,091 m) and several other peaks.

Chobhar:
Enroute to Dakshinkali, s ituated 9-kms south-west of Kathmandu , this place is famous for its gorge, said to have been cut by the god Manjushri to drain the water from the Kathmandu Valley which was at that time a lake. There is a small but picturesque temple of Adinath on the top of a hill. From this point one has a superb view of snow-clad mountain peaks

Kirtipur:
Kirtipur is a small town 8 km southwest of Kathmandu situated on the top of a hill. Tribhuvan University Nepal 's premier seat of education is located at the foothills of Kirtipur. This historic town has many things to offer like old shrines and temples, old houses, the people typically dressed in old traditional customs, people working on ancient loom etc.

Dakshinkali:
Dakshinkali is a famous picnic spot lies at the distance of about 20 km from the city. It is famous for Dashinkali a pilgrimage temple dedicated to Goddess Kali, where animals are sacrificed in the cultural events.

Dhulikhel:
Dhulikhel is a scenic and ancient town situated 30 km east of Kathmandu on the side of the Arniko Rajmarga. From here one can have a complete panoramic view of the snowy ranges from east to west. From the main town, a short visit to Namobuddha, with the stupa and Buddhist Monastery is highly recommended. Punauti, a village noted for its numerous temples with magnificent woodcarvings, is a short distance from Dhulikhel.

Nagarkot:
A beautiful hill station is situated 32 kms east of the Kathmandu at an altitude of 2,175 m above the sea level. The place is famous for the view of Himalayan range, stretching from Dhaulagiri in the west and Everest to Kanchanjunga in the east. Nagarkot is famous for sunrise and sunset viewing.

Outside Kathmandu Valley :

Daman :
Daman at an altitude of 2,400 m is located 80 kms southwest of Kathmandu valley. Daman is famous for the magnificent view of the world's highest mountain range. There is a view tower fitted with long-range telescopes.

Bandipur:
Located on a 1,000 m ridge in Tanahu district some 140 km from Kathmandu, Bandipur's hallmark is its beautiful scenery. At the eastern part of the town is the pagoda-roofed Bindabasini temple which houses goddess Durga, Bandipur's guardian deity. The rich wooden carvings and detailed brass-work that adorn the temple are replicas of those found in the many old pagoda structures of the Kathmandu Valley . The other important temples and shrines in the vicinity include the Mahalaxmi temple with its exquisite woodwork and the Khadga Devi temple which comes alive once a year during the Dashain festival.

Bandipur:
It is charming hill town lies approximately mid-way between Kathmandu and Pokhara. Situated eight kilometers above Dumre Bazaar at an altitude of 1,005 m.

Lumbini:
In the plains south of the first foothills of the Churia range lies Lumbini, birthplace of Gautam, the Lord Buddha. Lumbini is a sacred place for Buddhists from all over the world, standing on an equal footing with holy places sacred to other world religions. a veteran Asian traveler and author of several books writes, 'As millions of Christians look to Jerusalem for inspiration, as millions of Muslims turn to Mecca, so do three hundred million Buddhists see in the sacred kingdom of Nepal, a pillar left by the great Emperor Ashoka to mark the site where Buddha was born.

Chitwan:
Chitwan is one of the most attractive national parks located at southern central Nepal . The park has wide varieties of wildlife offering people from across the world an opportunity to observe beautiful flora and fauna. Here one can see very rare endangered species like one-horned rhinos, sloth, wild boar, leopard, crocodile and more than 500.

Tansen:
Situated at an altitude of 1,343 m, Tansen is the most popular summer resort in western Nepal on an account of its position and climate. It has the most extensive views of the country's chief attraction, the Himalaya from Dhaulagiri in the west to Gaurishanker in the northeast. It takes just seven hours by bus from Pokhara to reach Tansen.

Janakpur:
A great religious place, Janakpur is famous as the birthplace of Sita, the consort of Lord Ram. There is an artistic marble temple of Sita (Janaki), popularly known as Naulakha Mandir. Religious festival, trade fairs and other festivities are held here on Bivaha Panchami and Ram Navami. Janakpur is also linked with Kathmandu by air and road.