Search Results for: kathmandu valley rim

Prayers and dal bhat for breakfast. It doesn’t get much simpler than that. An overnight stay at the guesthouse at the Thrangu Tashi Yangtse Monastery, some 40 kilometres from Kathmandu, Nepal, is like stepping into another world: a timeless space where the drone of Tibetan Buddhist chanting – punctuated by gongs and cymbals – resonates through the crisp, crystal […]

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The small, land-locked country of Nepal contains about 0.37% of the world’s total population, and much of this is concentrated in the Kathmandu Valley. Fortunately, this region –  which is one of the most densely populated areas of Nepal – is also very fruitful. According to ancient Buddhist scriptures, the Kathmandu Valley was a giant […]

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The historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley in Central Nepal are the Newar (Newari) people. The region sits at the crossroads of Indian and Tibetan culture, and while the people speak a Tibeto-Burman language, their culture has been strongly influenced by Indian religious and social institutions. Most Newari people – over 80% – identify as […]

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The earthquake in Nepal in April 2015 killed more than 8,800 people in that country, injured nearly three times that many, and left nearly 3.5 million homeless. As a further blow to the national psyche, numerous precious historical religious buildings were damaged or destroyed. Many of these were contributors to the 1979 UNESCO World-Heritage listing […]

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They say every journey begins with a single step. Even so, when I heard that the penultimate leg of our walk for the day was the ominously named “1000 steps”, I worried. In Nepal, “steps” always means up, not just forward! I can outstrip a lot of people on the flat, but present me the slightest […]

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