Arrival at Kathmandu airport, pick up by our
correspondent and transfer to the hotel. (At the foot of the Himalayas, where
they assure that their gods live, Nepal stands, a land of spectacular
landscapes, temples and cities with a rich cultural heritage. These seem to
transfer the traveler to medieval times on their walks through KATHMANDU,
BHAKTAPUR and PATAN, the three urban cities that represent the backbone of the
country. Stay overnight at hotel.
This day we have to prepare the upper Mustang permit. In the mean time we can get the chance to do sightseeing in the nearby places of Kathmandu. We will get visit the different places which are listed in UNESCO World Heritage Site: Kathmandu Durbar Square, Swoyambhunath, Boudhanath and Pashupatinath today. Stay overnight at hotel.
Kathmandu
Durbar Square: (World Heritage Site): Kathmandu Durbar square is one of
the popular place which is liked by many visitors due to its exquisite
architecture and artistic embellishment. It consists of Huge Royal Palace with
different temples dating back from the 15th to the 18th
century. The house of the living goddess, the ferocious Kal Bhairav, the red
monkey god, the Hanumandhokha palace, the Ashok Binayak temple, Kasthamandap,
the Temple Taleju and hundreds of erotic carvings are some few examples of the
sights at the square. All woodcarvings, statues and architecture in this area
are exceptionally fine.
Swoyambhunath: Swoyambhunath is one
of the most glorious Buddhist stupa. It is said to be 2000 years old.
Swoyambhunath is, perhaps, the best place to observe the religious harmony in
Nepal. The stupa is among the most ancient in this part of the world and its
worshippers are diverse from Newar nuns, Tibetan monks and Brahman Priests to
lay Buddhist and Hindus. Swoyambhunath provides an excellent view of the
Kathmandu valley.
Bouddhanth:
Boudhhanath stupa is one of the largest Buddhist stupa in the world. The
Stupa 100 meters in diameter, was built on an octagonal base inset with prayer
wheels by the Lichchivi King Mana Deva in the 15th century. The
pinnacle of this stupa represent the stages of enlightenment, symbol of
royalty, compassion, knowing and nirvana. There are many myths about the
origins of the Stupa. Early morning and evening are the times to visit Bouddha
to join the local residents in Kora. There is an enclosure with several
monasteries of the different schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
Pashupatinath: Pashupatinath
is one of the most sacred temples in Nepal. The temple of Pashupatinath is a
large double roofed pagoda of brass and gilt gold; the gateway is plated with silver.
There are linga images of Shiva along with statues, shrines and temples
dedicated to other deities in the temple complex. There are rows of Shiva
shrines and Hindu pilgrims from all over South Asia offering worship to Shiva,
the Lord of Destruction. Entrance to the temple precinct is permitted to the
Hindus only. However, visitors can clearly see the temple and the activities
performed in the temple premises from the vantage point across the bank of the
Bagmati River.
After
breakfast, we’ll drive to Pokhara via Bandipur by private jeep. Bandipur
having an altitude of 1005 m is situated 8 km above Dumre Bazaar (highway).
This place is inhabited by Newar and Magar ethnic communities surrounded by
artistic houses, pagoda-styled temple, The Siddha Gupha and etc. In this place,
you can see beautiful mountain views of Ganesh Himal, Manaslu and Annapurna and
Marshyandi valley. We’ll have lunch over there and after lunch we’ll drive to
Pokhara. Stay overnight at hotel.
Early
morning, we’ll drive to Sarangkot to see the sunrise and great panoramic view
of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna Range and return back to hotel for breakfast. After
having breakfast, we’ll head towards Tatopani passing along the Kaligandaki River.
It will take 5-6 hours drive to reach Tatopani. In Tatopani, there is hot
spring where you can dive over there and there is a belief that all your skin
related disease will be eradicated when you dive in that hot spring. Stay overnight at lodge.
Early
morning, after having breakfast, we’ll head towards Kagbeni passing along the
world’s deepest gorge lying between Dhaulagiri and Annapurna Mountain range and
then we’ll reach beautiful village, Lete. It is surrounded by beautiful
mountain views. On left right, you can see Dhaulagiri and Tukuche peak whereas
on right side, you can see Nilgiri and Tilicho peak. After crossing this
beautiful views and landscape, we’ll reach Kagbeni. From there we will head
towards Muktinath to visit the holy temple of Hindus as well as Buddhist. It is
better to visit Muktinath as it will be best for the acclimatization. On the
way back we will visit the Jharkot monastery and return back to Kagbeni. Stay overnight at hotel / lodge.
After
breakfast, we will drive towards Geling. On the way we will pass
through the Tangbe (3040 m) village and then Chusang (3980 m). Then, by
passing the Kaligandaki river we will reach at Chele. We will explore the Chele
village and monastery and have lunch there. Along the way you can
have good view over the Kali Gandaki Gorge. After lunch, we
will drive to reach Geling by crossing the Samar, Behana and Syangbochen village
(3800 m). We will also explore the monastery in Syangbochen. From here we will
drive towards Geling. In evening, we will visit the Geling Monastery. Stay overnight at lodge.
After
breakfast, we will drive towards Lo Manthang. In between we will visit the
monastery in Ghemi. In between we will visit the monastery in Ghemi and Dhakmar
monastey. We can go by jeep to Dhakmar. It is an ancient historic popular
monastery among Tibetan Buddhists. The actual name of the monastery is
Lo-Ghyakar Gumba (3950 m). According to "Wangju" priest it is about
1300 years old (or built during 8th century). It is the only one Ngingmapa
monastery of Upper Mustang whose patron was the former King Jigme Palbar Bista.
Then we will drive towards Charang, visit Charang village and monastery there
and have lunch. Then we will drive to Lo Manthang. Here we can explore the
wonderful treeless barren landscapes and the view of mountains. In evening, we
will explore the Buddhist art school, King Palace, and Lo Manthang village. Stay overnight at lodge.
This
day we will walk / jeep ride towards Chosar which is nearby the Lo Manthang. It
takes about 30 minutes to reach Chosar by vehicle. We will visit the famous
Chosar Cave, Gharpu and other monasteries there which has very
interesting history, and also have a chance to see religious ceremonies around
monasteries. If we go by jeep then we can explore around Namgyal and
Thingaar monastery. We will return back towards Lo Manthang in the evening. Stay overnight at lodge.
This
day we will drive for 8 hours through the sideways of the Kaligandaki River to
reach Jomsom. Stay overnight at lodge.
This
day we’ll day full day sightseeing which includes visiting some famous places
and landmarks such as World Peace Stupa, Gupteshore cave, David fall, Seti
gorge, boating in Fewa lake, Visiting Tal Barahi temple, Pokhara Regional
museum, Bindubasini temple and Tibeten refuse camp. Stay overnight at hotel.
This
day we will have breakfast in Pokhara hotel. We will drive by private vehicles which
takes 5 hours to reach Kathmandu. Stay
overnight at hotel.
Enjoy your last day on Kathmandu before
departure. At your mentioned departure time our correspondent will pick you up
from hotel and transfer to airport and depart you with warm hearts.