Nepal, the heavenly country where the land meets the clouds

Hello Travel buddies! This is Doodle here 💓 ! Welcome to Doodle’s Travel Diary! ❤🌍→. So, here is something really exciting and fun that’s going to happen for a month now in this space! For the first time ever, Doodle’s Travel Diary presents to you, ‘ Around Asia in 30 days ‘, a 30-day blog series curated on 21 travel-friendly countries and a lot more about Asia! If you have not checked my last blog post on India, please do give it a read, and feel free to drop a comment and share!

So the second country for this series is Nepal! Nepal is a beautiful Himalayan country situated in South Asia and is land-caged by the borders of China in the North and by the borders of India in the south, east, and west. The Nepalis are one of the warmest people in one of the coldest places in the world and the hardworking and determinant ‘Sherpas’ contribute to a large portion of the Nepali population, who are also known as the ‘Guardians of the Everest’ because they are born with an adaptive body mechanism to climb the high altitudes of the Mount Everest and assist and lead numerous trekking expeditions day in and out. The standard occupation of the Nepalis is agriculture and tourism and thus Nepal is one the fastest developing country in the tourism sector, despite the overwhelming geographical constraints. Nepal has been under the strong influence of the Chinese and Indian culture for eons, and thus Hindusism and Buddhism are the only prevailing religions here, owing to which, Nepal is one of the most visited countries for its pilgrimages by both the religious groups all across the globe. Nepal is the birthplace of the enlightened Buddha. Continue reading this blog to know how Nepal is warm and welcoming towards its guests with an enriching heritage and culture, amidst the snow-capped and magnificent Himalayan ranges.

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Nepal~ Every trekker’s determined yearning-

Nepal is a Himalayan country and is the closest to Mount Everest and thus Nepal is every trekking group’s ultimate dream destination. Many trekking groups train specifically throughout the year to trek in Nepal. Here are some very prominent places in Nepal that promote the world’s best and the most adventurous trekking experience.

Everest Base Camp:- There are two base camps, the north Everest base camp, and the south Everest base camp. The south base camp is situated at an altitude of 5364 meters in Nepal and the north base camp is situated at an altitude of 5,510 meters in Tibet. These base camps are usually used by mountaineers to rest to get used to the altitude sickness before the ascend and after the descend of any Everest expedition. The trek till the base camp is the most common amongst trekking groups. The supplies of the expedition are shipped to the base camp by porters. The sherpas play an eminent role in all these treks and expeditions.

Annapurna:- The Annapurna trek is usually known to circle the Annapurna massif of about 160–230km. It is a long-distance trek which takes almost 12–22 days roughly to complete.

Taplejung:- The Taplejung trek starts from Taplejung and ends at Tumlingtar via Milke Danda. It is a long and high forest ridge trekking camp which can be completed in 17 days roughly.

The Upper Dalpo Trek:-

The Dalpo trek takes place in one of the most remote regions of the Himalayas. Only a few treks enthusiastic prefer taking this up. Since the Upper Dalpo region is very remote and home to rare wildlife species and wilderness, properly authorized trek agencies and travel agencies are required to execute the trek safely.

The Khunde and Khumjung Trek:-

The khunde and khumjung Trek camps are the most commonly opted trekking camps by people. Khunde and Khumjung are sherpa villages above Namche Bazar give a unique experience and introduce the tourists and campers to the sherpa villages and culture extensively. Many Sherpa families are kind enough to host some of the travelers at their own place.

Nepal~ a divine experience for Hindu and Buddhist Tourists:-

Nepal has a lot of beautifully sculpted monasteries and temples but here is a list of the Pilgrimages in Nepal and especially in Kathmandu(the capital city of Nepal):-

Lumbini:- Lumbini is the birthplace of the enlightened Buddha, the founder of the world religion, Buddhism. Lumbini was declared as the ‘World Heritage Site; by UNESCO in 1997. The area of Lumbini is conserved with great care and no commercial construction is allowed to be carried out in that area. The holy and pious site of Lumbini has ruins of ancient monasteries, the sacred Bodhi Tree, under which Buddha attained enlightenment, the Ashokan pillar, and the Mayadevi Temple.

Kopan Monastery

Kopan Monastery is situated in the outskirts of Kathmandu and is a Tibetian Buddhist Monastery which preaches courses in various modules about meditation and Buddhism to impart useful steps towards the preservation of Buddhism to all.

The living Goddess Kumari:-

In Nepal, a young Newar girl is chosen to be the ‘Kumari’ as an incarnation of the Goddess Taleju. The Kumari Ghar is the residence of the living Goddess and it is only at rare occasions that the common people and tourists catch a glimpse of the living goddess. The Living Goddess is worshipped pompously in a festive known as Indra Jatra where the Living Goddess steps out of her residence in a flamboyantly decorated chariot and streets are full of people and dancers wearing different traditional Nepali masks celebrating the Holy moment. Idols of Lord Ganesh and Bhairav are also worshipped during the procession and carried in chariots along with the living goddess.

BUDHANILKANTHA

The Budhanilkantha is a Hindu shrine of great importance as it is the shrine of sleeping, Lord Vishnu. The shrine is sculpted with articulate and requisite artwork. The shrine is decorated beautifully and has been closely conserved for the devotees of Lord Vishnu who come in huge

numbers to visit the Shrine.

Pashupatinath Temple:-

The Pashupatinath Temple is considered amongst the four most important shrines of Lord Shiva in Asia. The temple is supposed to have existed since the beginning of the millennium after the discovery of the shiv Linga in that place. Lord Shiva is mythological believed to be residing in the Himalayas and hence this temple holds more of a significance in worshiping Lord Shiva. The festival of Maha Shivratri is celebrated like nowhere else here in Nepal as it is also the largest temple of Nepal.

Other tourist attractions include the Nuwakot Durbar, which is the highest citadel structure in Nepal since ancient times, National Parks like Chitwan national park, which is home to so many rare and exotic species of animals, and Sagarmatha National Park, which is the highest national park in Nepal as Sagarmatha stands for Mount Everest, Pokhara, which is a famous tourist attraction for various adventure sports and the famous Khaptad trek sum up to a whole enriching yet fun and amazing experience traveling around Nepal and it’s prominent places of tourist interest.

Nuwakot Durbar

Sagarmatha National Park, including the Mount Everest.

Pokhara, A beautiful gateway to the Annapurna Circuit.

FAQs ABOUT NEPAL AND TOURISM IN NEPAL:-

Q:- Is it safe to travel alone/with friends or family in Nepal?

A:- This question is asked by many people because of the political tensions taking place on the borders of the country. But to a contrary, Nepal is one of the most welcoming countries for tourists. The Tibetian community, especially the Sherpas are great hosts and love hosting tourists and taking them around to explore Nepali Culture.

Q:- Is it expensive to travel to Nepal?

A:- Nepal is not much of an economically established country as the majority of the population depends on Agriculture and tourism for their income which results in cheap airline fairs and reasonable rates of lodging and sight-seeing. If you are planning to join a trekking group, the prizes will vary according to each trek camp.

Q:- Do you have to be an established and expert trekker to join trek camps in Nepal?

A:- Definitely not! There are many elementary treks planned for beginners and for people who just want to experience the trekking experience in Nepal over successfully completing an expedition. These treks are arranged to keep in mind the tourist’s health conditions and little or no experience in trekking.

Q:- Is it easy to plan an expedition at your own expense?

A:- It is advised NOT to plan an expedition to any Himalian ranges without the guidance of an online travel agency or a local trek organizing firm because these people know the exact climatic and geographical conditions of these mountainous terrains, which is why they guide you to an amazing trek experience in a suitable and safe manner.

Q:- Do tourists face any breathing difficulties due to the altitude difference?

A:- Not necessarily. Nepal is situated at a high geographical location but breathing difficulties are majorly only experienced during the course of an expedition to the high terrains of Annapurna. Mount Everest, or any other snow-capped majestic mountain ranges.

This is all about Nepal from my side! I hope this blog was up to the mark of your expectation about Nepal as a country. We definitely need more travel-friendly countries like Nepal for experiencing a much needed rejuvenating vacation occasionally.

The next 30 days are going to great fun curating and presenting each country and I will try my best to put up the best content every day.

Also, let me know in the comments section below if you enjoyed reading this blog! Your response does mean a lot!

Till then, stay home, please, all this can wait and stay happy! We are in this together! keep following Doodle and show her some love on her Instagram handle https://www.instagram.com/doodles_travel_diary/?hl=en and follow her on Medium as well: https://medium.com/@doodlestraveldiary for an exciting series of posts 😎😇.

Doodle Signing off😊

xoxo❤