Blogs from Nepal, Asia

Advertisement

Asia » Nepal March 4th 2024

The Himalayan mountains have long captivated those seeking natural splendor and cultural discovery. However, navigating its rugged terrain can prove difficult and time-consuming. Now, helicopter tours unlock dazzling new angles over this storied landscape with unprecedented ease and efficiency. An Unmatched View of Iconic Locations The Everest Helicopter Tour offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness the natural beauty and human achievements of the Everest region from an aerial perspective. Flying thousands of meters above in a comfortable helicopter cab treats passengers to a divine panorama of snow capped summits, turquoise lakes, verdant valleys and mountain villages perched at elevations few outsiders ever reach. Spectacular vistas unfold with every turn through the brilliant blue sky. Starting from Lukla, dubbed the gateway to Everest, scenic flights pass ov... read more

Asia » Nepal » Annapurna February 29th 2024

Yеstеrday was our rеturn from our hikе. Although it was morе difficult for Gus this timе and it was still a tеrrific еxpеriеncе an' unquеstionably thе toughеst physical thin' I havе еvеr donе. Wе flеw back to Pokе aftеr travеlin' to Jomson from Pokhara. Wе travеlеd at a fairly rapid spееd for sеvеn days and but it was worthwhilе bеcausе wе now havе morе timе to sее Chitwan National Park. Aftеr spеndin' thrее days thеrе and wе will takе a flight to Varanasi and India. Considеrin' еach an' еvеry onе of you!... read more

Asia » Nepal » Kathmandu February 28th 2024

Hеllo еvеryonе. Wе rеcеntly arrivеd in Kathmandu aftеr travеlin' by air from Lhasa and Tibеt and an' Bеjin'. Wе arе still organizin' our photos an' will attеmpt to post somе soon. Wе havе had a grеat day еxplorin' thе Forbiddеn City an' thе Grеat Wall in Bеijin' thus far. Evеn though Tibеt is rapidly bеcomin' morе an' morе Chinеsе influеncеd and it is still a bеautiful country and an' wе wеrе ablе to takе highly еducational guidеd tours of a numbеr of Buddhist sitеs. Wе fееl complеtеly at homе in Kathmandu right now bеcausе it is rainin'. I am lovе findin' this placе for thе first timе and an' Gus is havin' fun еxplorin' somе of thе placеs hе atе an' stayеd at sеvеn yеars ago. Most likеly and wе will lеavе for Pokhara tomorrow or ... read more

Asia » Nepal » Kathmandu Valley January 1st 2024

Nepal Tour - Nov-2023 Day-9: Kathmandu: Lalitpur – Patan Durbar, Bhaktpur Last day of sightseeing of this tour. It is said that Kathmandu of today was four different states in ancient times: Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktpur and Kirtipur. Our tour did not include Kirtipur as the old city is not well preserved. All four have almost merged with Kathmandu (although they are administratively separate). Kathmandu has seven World Heritage sites: 1. Kathmandu Durbar Square 2. Patan Durbar Square 3. Bhaktapur Durbar Square 4. Pashupatinath 5. Changunarayan 6. Swayambhunath 7. Boudhanath First four were included in our itinerary. Patan Durbar Square (La... read more
139-Kathmandu-20231201_094625
140a-Patan_Durbar_Square_entrance
140-Patan Darbar-20231201_101457

Asia » Nepal » Kathmandu » Pashupatinath Temple December 30th 2023

Nepal Tour - Nov-2023 Day-8: Kathmandu: Chandragiri Hills and Pashupatinath Temple Kathmandu is situated in Kathmandu Valley surrounded on all sides by hills. It is like a bowl, and according to one theory, once up on a time, it was a lake. Kathmandu is said to be the oldest, longest inhabited place on earth, continuously populated for last 2000 years. It has an enormous treasure of Hindu and Buddhist cultural and archaeological heritage. Many of these are in damaged condition as this area is highly earthquake-prone, but still, many are in very good condition and many more are wonderfully restored to their old glory, soon after the 2015 earthquake. As per our guide, some of the Buddhist monuments have been omitted from this tour to accommodate for some other sites. We had – - Chandragiri hills ... read more
106-Chandragiri Hills-20231130_095229
107-Chandragiri Hills-20231130_113609
108-Chandragiri Hills-20231130_101752

Asia » Nepal December 18th 2023

Nepal Tour - Nov-2023 Day-7: Manakamana on way to Kathmandu Day-7: Manakamana – Kathmandu We had three days and three nights in Kathmandu. From Pokhara, Kathmandu is 200 Km, but due to bad road conditions, it takes 8-9 hrs. All along the road, work is going on (for many years – as per the guide), and that reduces the speed further. 94 Km from Pokhara and 104 Km from Kathmandu is a temple called Manakamana. Although our guides were less enthusiastic, everybody wanted to go for darshan and hence, once again- Wake-up call at 5.00, tea at 5.45, check-out and start at 6.00 with packed breakfast. (Again, inedible samosa, fruits and a tetrapack of drink). Almost managed the schedule. 94 Km to Mankamana took 4½ hrs. The temple dedicated to devi Durga, is... read more
092-To Manakamana-20231129_103211
093-To Manakamana-20231129_103329
094-To Manakamana-20231129_103510

Asia » Nepal » Muktinath December 17th 2023

Nepal Tour - Nov-2023 Day-5: Muktinath The most difficult destination of the tour: difficult and prestigious for the tour company (Kesari), difficult and tricky for the accompanying manager/guides and difficult and adventurous for the group members. Muktinath is situated in Mustang valley about 25 Km (1 hr) from Jomsom (2743 m – 9000 ft). From Jomsom, large vehicles can go up to Ranipauwa village (~11,800 ft) from where the temple is about a kilometre of walk on kutcha road with gradient, followed by about 350 steps – total climbing of about 500 feet. Small vehicles can go up to the base of the steps. The temple is at an elevation of 3762 m (12,343 ft). For comparison, Leh is 3524 m (11,560 ft) and Kedarnath is 3583 m (11,755 ft). So, Muktinath temple is like climbing ... read more
058-To Jomsom-20231127_064515
059-To Jomsom-20231127_065843
060-Jomsom-20231127_070504

Asia » Nepal » Pokhara December 16th 2023

Nepal Tour - Nov-2023 Day-4 & 6: Pokhara Lumbini to Pokhara: Next four days are going to be very hectic. In the itinerary, day-4 and day-6 were for Pokhara and day-5 was for Muktinath. Day-4: Wake-up call at 5.00 am, tea at 5.45, check-out and start at 6 am. Packed breakfast. Tea break on the way. Lumbini to Pokhara is 200 Km and takes 7½ hrs. Reached at 1.30 just in time for lunch. Pokhara is the second largest city of Nepal with population of around 5 lacs. It is one of the best scenic places in Nepal. Pokhara is also considered to be the best hill station in Nepal although only at an elevation of 822 m (2700 ft). Searching the internet, there are many places to be seen, visited in Pokhara. However, in our ... read more
048-Pokhara-20231126_150747
049-Pokhara-20231126_163209
050-Pokhara-20231126_171510

Asia » Nepal » Lumbini December 14th 2023

Nepal Tour - Nov-2023 Day-3: Lumbini Chitwan to Lumbini: It is 140 Km and 6 hrs. Wake-up call at 6 am, breakfast at 7, check-out and departure at 7.30. By the third day, now the routine was set: 15 min delay by the group members was fixed and considered normal. Arrival Bhairahawa - Hotel International Buddha at 1.30 for lunch. Bhairahawa is 30 Km before Lumbini proper and is the border town on India (U.P.) – Nepal border. There are four UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Nepal: 1. Kathmandu Valley, 2. Lumbini, 3. Chitwan, 4. Sagarmath National Park. Some people (eg our guide) put the number at 10. That is also correct because there are seven sites in Kathmandu Valley itself. More about it with Kathmandu description. Lumbini is the birth-place of prince Siddhartha Gautam (623 ... read more
020-Lumbini-20231125
021-Lumbini-20231125
022-Lumbini-20231125

Asia » Nepal » Chitwan December 12th 2023

Nepal Tour - Nov-2023 Day-2: Chitwan Janakpur to Chitwan: It is 210 Km and 6 hrs. Chitwan has a wildlife sanctuary - Chitwan National Park. It is on the UNESCO world heritage list. It is best known for Indian one-horned Rhinos (~700), Bengal tigers (~130) also wild elephants, crocodiles (mainly Gharial) apart from many varieties of birds and other animals. In vegetation, we had heard of ‘elephant grass’, but got to see it for the first time. Chitwan was a transit halt from Kesari’s point of view as distance from Janakpur to Lumbini cannot be covered in a day. A wild-life sanctuary is not a ‘divine’ place and Rhino is not the vehicle of any deity - God or Goddess, so the jungle safari was not a part of the official itinerary (in simple words, safari ... read more
010-Chitwan-20231124
011-Chitwan-20231124
012-Chitwan-20231124




Tot: 0.214s; Tpl: 0.006s; cc: 10; qc: 78; dbt: 0.0576s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.3mb