Discover Nepal rising from the ruins

This post is an excerpt from the original blog post by Jennifer Cox. You can read the original article here

Jennifer and her husband Nick were absolutely stunned at every turn by artistry and beauty when they visited the elegant courtyards of the 17th century Hanuman Dhoka palace in Kathmandu’s Durbar Square. She writes,”Durbar Square is the heart of ancient Kathmandu and it teems with life, colour and fascinating traditions: from the Kumari Devi, a living child-goddess housed in the Kumari Bahal temple, to women selling butter lamps used as temple offerings.”

They also visited Bouddhanath Temple, whose construction is in the final stage. They participated in pilgrims walking clockwise around the temple inside the Bouddhanath Temple.

“It’s impossible not to be moved at the sight of monks and devotees on their kora, chanting as they make offerings of rice, flowers and incense.”

They left early for Chitwan National Park the following day. Reminiscing her memories of Chitwan, she writes,”Early the next morning, as we set off on an elephant safari through rolling meadows, the countryside looked strangely English – until a monkey leapt from a tree directly above our heads and scampered noisily off into the canopy. Thanks to chief ranger Ram, we now know that more than 546 species of birds – from serpent eagles to red-headed cormorants – live in this jungle.”

They personally loved sunset safari, jeep ride and canoeing down the river, as crocodiles basked on the muddy banks.

The Lake City – Pokhara was their next destination. They had an incredible time in Pokhara and even got a chance to attend a colorful nepali wedding. Jennifer writes ,”Spotting a colourful wedding party, Nick jumped out of the bus and asked if he could photograph the beautiful bride in her red wedding sari. Not only did she say yes, but she invited us to join the party.”

The whole experience was magical – and just one reason why we should be heading to Nepal in our droves.