Kathmandu Valley Tour

You can obtain a Nepal visa upon arrival. Bring one passport picture and US$ 25 cash to pay in visa fee. After clearing immigration and custom, meet your guide and driver at the arrival gate.

After introductions, your guide and driver will transfer you to your hotel in the city (35 minutes). After wash up and change, with your guide and driver, proceed for sightseeing. 

First, visit Swayambhunath Stupa - the 2000-year-old Buddhist monument situated atop a hillock on the western fringe of the city. The monument is associated with the evolution of the Kathmandu valley. The monument complex includes the stupa, an array of small shrines, temples, and monasteries. Swayambhunath is a popular pilgrimage destination for Buddhist as well as Hindu followers, and we will have an opportunity to watch the rituals performed by them.

The stupa complex also offers a panoramic view of the valley and perhaps Himalayan mountains on a clear weather day.

From here, we descend and drive to the Kathmandu Durbar Square in the heart of the city. Several of the temples and palace complex here are devastated by the last earthquake, but we are still able to see many other structures here. We will visit the Kumari House, among other temples. The house has rich wood carving at its door, windows, and balconies but more importantly, this is the residence of Kumari - the living goddess of Nepal! We will request for the glimpse of the goddess who briefly appears in the balcony for the audience if she is available.

We will take leisurely walk through the streets of Indrachowk and Ason -the traditional business hub and end up in Thamel - the popular tourist destination for budget accommodations, restaurants, and handicraft stores.

In the evening, you are invited to a Nepali welcome dinner in a typical Nepali restaurant. The restaurant also entertains the guests by Nepali folklore dancing.

Overnight at the hotel.

After breakfast, meet your guide at your hotel lobby and proceed for sightseeing.

Our first stop will be at Boudhanath Stupa, which is the largest Buddhist monument of Nepal. This stupa is also the holiest Buddhist temple outside Tibet. There are several active monasteries associated with different Buddhist schools. Tibetan refugees primarily dominate the area and remind of small Barkhor Square.

Next, we proceed to Bhaktapur, about 10 miles northeast of Kathmandu. Bhaktapur is the smallest of the three medieval principalities but the best-preserved one. With stone-paved streets, medieval-looking houses and temples, the city look like an open-air museum. We visit the durbar square with the former palace complex. Other attractions of Bhaktapur include the 5-storied Nyatapola Temple that survived two large earthquakes, Duttratray square with Duttratray Temple and Pujarimath Complex. Stroll through the narrow cobbled lanes between the private dwellings and also visit the potter's square. We stop by the workshops of local carvers and painters and appreciate their skills of generations-old arts.

Our final stop of the day will be at Pashupatinath Temple - the holiest Hindu temple of Nepal. The temple lies by the sacred Bagmati River - one of the tributaries of the holy Ganges. The main temple sanctum is reserved for the Hindu worships and non-Hindus are not allowed inside, but we can watch the temple and rituals here from another side of the river. The river also has some pyres for Hindu cremation services. If we wait till late, we can watch the Hindu arati ceremony with oil lamps that wrap up the rituals of the day.

Overnight at hotel in Kathmandu.

After breakfast, off to Patan - officially Lalitpur, this means the city of Arts and Crafts! Like Kathmandu and Bhaktapur - Patan also has a durbar square with the former palace and an array of temples. Both the palace and the temples exhibit here the most exquisite wood carving on its struts, plinths, and balconies!

We stroll through the stone-paved alleys with arts and craft workshops and traditional shops lined up on either side. Visit the Golden Temple - a Buddhist monastery of Newari Buddhist and 5-storied Kumbheswara Temple, among others.

From here, we travel about 2.5 half miles south to visit Godavari - the green and natural part of the valley. The road passes through Harisiddhi - a traditional Newari town. Time permitting, we will stop here and visit Balkumari Temple. Beyond the city, the way becomes quieter as it climbs up ending at the Godavari. We visit the Botanical Garden, the temple at Naudhara, and the shrine of Bishanku Narayan, hidden in a gorgeously rural side-valley. 

From here, we retrace our drive to the hotel in the city.

Overnight at the hotel.

After breakfast, check out of the hotel. Your guide and driver will transfer you to the airport in time for a flight to your next destination.