Travel style · Nepal
Monasteries in Nepal
Gompas, dzongs and the mornings they keep
Ladakh, Spiti, Sikkim, Bhutan, Arunachal and the Nepal Himalaya hold some of the oldest Buddhist monasteries still in use. We time visits to morning prayers and festival days, and explain the murals, masks and rules of each house.
Photo: Gerd Eichmann · CC BY-SA 4.0 · CommonsA monastery visit is best at its own hours. Most gompas hold morning prayers between 6 and 8 am, when lamps are lit and the hall fills with chant. Arrive then and you see a working house rather than a museum.
Nepal is the easiest big Himalayan trip for Indians: no visa, an open land border, the rupee pegged at 1 INR = 1.6 NPR. Come for the Newar cities of the Kathmandu valley, the lake town of Pokhara, teahouse treks to Poon Hill and Everest Base Camp, and the walled town of Lo Manthang. October–November and March–April are best.
Trips
Monasteries trips in Nepal
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Comfort
Everest view trek to Namche Bazaar
Domestic flights to Lukla, private car in Kathmandu, five days on foot
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Saver
Kathmandu valley heritage on a saver budget
Local buses, microbuses and shared taxis
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Signature
Everest lodges trek with Dwarika's
Domestic flights to Lukla, private car in Kathmandu, six days on foot
5 places
Where to go
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Kathmandu
Stupas, a living goddess and the start of every trek
Photo: Nirojsedhai · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Lo Manthang
The walled capital of the old Kingdom of Lo
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Marpha and Jomsom
Apple orchards, Thakali houses and the windy Kali Gandaki
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Namche Bazaar
The Sherpa capital and the Everest trail's acclimatisation stop
Photo: Clemensmarabu · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Patan (Lalitpur)
The city of bronze casters and Buddhist courtyards
Experiences
Days that fit the style
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Dawn kora at Swayambhunath
Climb the eastern stairway to Swayambhunath at first light and walk the circuit with the morning pilgrims. You see Newa…
Photo: Sumitbhatt222 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Butter lamps and kora at Boudhanath
Walk the evening circuit of Boudhanath with the Tibetan community, light butter lamps and climb to a rooftop for the st…
Photo: Artha at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Commons
Durbar Square and the Kumari Ghar
A morning in Kathmandu's royal square with a licensed guide: the Hanuman Dhoka palace, Kasthamandap, the Kumari's house…
Photo: Samdesherpa · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Murals of Jampa Lhakhang and Thubchen
With your guide and a caretaker monk, visit the two great gompas inside Lo Manthang's walls, whose centuries-old wall p…
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Ride or hike to the Chhoser sky caves
Head north from Lo Manthang by horse, jeep or on foot to Chhoser, where ochre cliffs are cut with hundreds of man-made …
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A morning inside the walls of Lo
Walk the lanes of Lo Manthang as the town wakes: herders driving goats out through the gate, women at the water point, …
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Marpha apple orchards and brandy tasting
Walk through Marpha's orchards, learn how the Thakali village turned from the salt trade to apples, then taste dried ap…
Photo: Nipendramaharjan · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Muktinath: 108 spouts and an eternal flame
Drive up from Jomsom to Muktinath, at about 3,760 m, where Hindus bathe under 108 water spouts and Buddhists honour Chu…
Where to sleep
Stays in these places
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Budget
Zostel Kathmandu
The Indian hostel chain's Kathmandu property, down a quiet alley off Paknajol Marg a few minutes' walk from Thamel…
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Budget
Namche Bazaar teahouse lodges
Namche's family-run teahouse lodges are the standard bed on the Everest trail: twin rooms, a stove-heated dining r…
Photo: Christopher J. Fynn · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Mid
Kathmandu Guest House (KGH Thamel)
Thamel's original guesthouse, open since 1968 in a former Rana-era building, with a garden courtyard in the middle…
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Luxury
Dwarika's Hotel
Kathmandu's best-known heritage hotel at Battisputali, built around a collection of carved Newar windows, doors an…
Photo: Super Trekkers · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Commons
Luxury
Mountain Lodges of Nepal, Namche (Yeti Mountain Home)
The Namche lodge of a chain of upmarket trekking lodges on the Everest trail, formerly known as Yeti Mountain Home…