Articles > Kathmandu – Valley of the Gods

The lure of the Himalayas is irresistible to the traveller in Nepal. If you’re lucky, you’ve been intoxicated by your first glimpse of the mighty retreat of the gods before you’ve even landed in the country, your plane flying parallel to the range for a full fifteen minutes before descending into Kathmandu. They look inconceivable, these sharp white pinnacles piercing the cumuli, and the urge to take a closer look, to wake up with Machhapuchhare or Everest greeting you through your tent flap, can result in a headlong rush for the trail.

But resist this magnetic force and spend a few extra days in the Kathmandu Valley and you will see wonders that live up to even the breathtaking affrontery of the Annapurnas. For the Kathmandu Valley is a jewel-box of cultural heritage, an open-air museum of stunning temple pagodas and Buddhist stupas, hidden monastic bahals and dramatic Durbar Squares, ancient stone water-tanks and dragon-headed water-spouts, hilltop fortresses and medieval villages with flagstone streets and carved wooden houses – a wonderful place to wander about in and to acclimatise to high altitude living with some leisurely treks or bicycle rides.

The entire Kathmandu Valley has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so many are its treasures. But, refreshingly, and unlike so many of the world’s great archaeological arenas, here the ancient temples and monuments are still alive, charged with the energy of constant daily worship. There are more gods than people here, so the saying goes, with Buddhas and bodhisattvas, tantric gods and mother goddesses at every turn. The bewildering yet potent mix of Hinduism and Buddhism is one of Nepal’s most extraordinary features, and the art of the Newars – the indigenous inhabitants of the valley; master-builders, bronze-casters and sculptors – who created these multifaceted images of the gods, as well as the magnificent temples and bahals that house them, is unparalleled in history.

It was the Newars who supplied the first Buddhist monasteries in Tibet with bronze statues for worship – a trend which continues to this day with exports to the fast-growing Buddhist communities in Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia and the USA. The town of Patan, or Lalitpur, just across the Bagmati river from central Kathmandu, is a maze of family-run workshops resounding with the ring of hammer on metal, of blow-torches and bellows, and the hissing of gods red-hot from the foundry being plunged into water. The quality is still superb and Patan is a good place to buy modern Newar artefacts.

Nowadays, however, thanks to a burgeoning illegal trade in ancient devotional objects from Nepal (in the latest case to hit the headlines, one of the European ambassadors was caught smuggling stolen bronzes in the diplomatic bag), original bronze Buddhas have to be chained to their lotus pedestals, standing stone bodhisattvas and Shiva lingams are tethered in concrete, whole temple facades caged in iron. Yet they still bear the marks of fresh vermilion, and are honoured continuously with flowers and rice offerings; and at dawn, every deity in every shrine is awoken, just like their human co-habitants, with the ringing of bells and a face-wash, and a mirror in which to check their reflection.

Kathmandu can be a daunting city when you first arrive, which is another reason why travellers are often so eager to hurry through it. It is grubby and polluted, noisy and choked with traffic. But hidden away in the backstreets you can still find plenty of the old Kathmandu – a sophisticated jigsaw of connecting medieval courtyards, each with its own temple and its own deities, where life goes on in pockets of quiet just as it has for centuries.

With good reason many Nepalese still refer to the Kathmandu Valley simply as ‘Nepal’, for here, undoubtedly, lies the country’s heart and soul. The Himalaya may take you higher than you have ever been before, but the valley takes you deeper. To its inhabitants and the many monks, priests, gurus, sadhus, lamas and rinpoches who congregate here, Kathmandu Valley is a sacred mandala, a protected space, a place still fit for the gods.

Travel Facts

UNESCO World Heritage Monuments

Seven monuments in the valley are singled out for special attention by UNESCO – though three are not really monuments at all, since they comprise the entire royal Durbar Square complex at the heart of the three main Newar cities in the valley – Kathmandu, Patan (Lalitpur) and Bhaktapur. Patan is a fifteen minute taxi ride from Kathmandu Durbar Square, while Bhaktapur is about half an hour (12 miles) away.

Three other monuments are well established on the tourist map: Swayambunath, the beautiful Buddhist stupa (known colloquially as the ‘monkey temple’) on a hilltop on the other side of the Vishnumati river, to the northwest of Kathmandu’s Durbar Square; Pashupatinath, the temple complex dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, on the Bagmati river, to the east; and the great Tibetan Buddhist stupa of Boudhanath, a fifteen minute walk north-east from Pashupatinath.

The seventh is less well-known. Changu Narayan is one of the earliest religious settlements in the valley and situated on a hilltop 4 kms from Bhaktapur. It’s a beautiful temple complex dedicated to the Hindu god, Vishnu. A lovely way to approach this site is to walk here from the resort village of Nagarkot. Spend the night at Nagarkot, getting up early to see the spectacular dawn views of Everest, then walk the ridge downhill to Changu Narayan, and then on to Bhaktapur.

Don’t miss…

The Patan Museum in a renovated temple bahal on Patan’s Durbar Square – one of the most remarkable small art galleries in the world, with exquisite examples of classical Newar art.

Some beautiful Newar villages, not on UNESCO’s list and off the beaten tourist track: Khokana and Bungamati (just outside Patan), the hillfort of Kirtipur on a ridge 5kms south-west of Kathmandu, and Dhulikhel, 32kms to the south-east.

Places to stay

The Yak & Yeti is probably the best-known hotel in Kathmandu, centrally situated on Durbar Marg. The oldest section, which houses the hotel’s restaurants and casino, was once a Rana palace with crazy baroque ballrooms, before it became a hotel under the auspices of the legendary Russian eccentric, Boris Lissanevitch. Rooms from US$185.00/night. E-mail: reservation@yakandyeti.com www.yakandyeti.com tel: 00 977-1-248999

Places to eat

The trick to sight-seeing in Kathmandu is to know enough pleasant watering-holes to duck into when the traffic and hustle of the city get too much to bear.

Close to Swayambunath is the Hotel Vajra, with a good roof-top restaurant. In touristy Thamel, Fire & Ice has the best pizzas and cappuccinos in town. Boudhanath has several good rooftop restaurants selling steamed Tibetan momos, but the Hilton is a stone’s throw away if you really need to get away from it all. In Patan Durbar Square, the Patan Museum has a café/restaurant in leafy tranquillity at the back.

Worth a visit of its own, is Babar Mahal Revisited near the Singh Durbar government offices - renovated Rana palace outbuildings, now upmarket shops and restaurants.

Best books

Patan Museum Guide (2002) ‘The Kathmandu Valley – Jewel of the Kingdom of Nepal’ by Passport Books (1995) ‘Power-places of Kathmandu – Hindu and Buddhist Holy Sites in the Sacred Valley of Nepal’ by Keith Dowman (1995)

Getting There

Gulf Airways flies three times a week from Heathrow to Kathmandu via Abu Dhabi; from £390 return, ex tax. Reservations: 0870 7771717. www.gulfairco.com

Qatar Airways also flies daily from Heathrow to Kathmandu via Doha. Reservations: 0870 7704215 www.qatarairways.com

Right time to go

The trekking season is October-May, which is also the best time for the Kathmandu Valley. Monsoon season is June-September.

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