Overview

We join the chaos of Kathmandu by making our way to the bus depot to join the locals on the absorbing journey along the Araniko Highway to the village of Dhulikhel.

No two trips are the same so it is difficult to describe the experience you will encounter, except to say that this will be one story (good or bad) that you will recount when you return to your country.

At Dhulikhel we will stop for Chai Masala (or coffee) at one of the local shops in the township.

We use a taxi or local resident to drive us to the Thrangu Tashi Yangtse Monastery which is located in close proximity to the Namo Buddha Stupa.

The Monastery practices Mahayana Buddhism (commonly known as Tibetan Buddhism) and is home to over 250 monks and house a monastic college to train young monks.

Its main temple comprises of thirty six pillars each of which enshrines a gilded bronze Buddha on the top.

We mount the stair case to one of the most important religious sites for Buddhists in Nepal (Namo Buddha). The site marks the ancient holy site signifying the location where prince Mahasatwo/Nhingdu Tshenpo offered himself to a starving tigress and he cubs. It is a place of Buddhist pilgrimage and is a special place to accumulate merit through activities such as circumbulation and making offerings.

We descend the mountain by foot on a beautiful 90 minute trek, passing through delightful woodlands, rice fields and small villages where you get to see close up the workings of rural life in Nepal.

We complete our trek at the village of Panauti one of the oldest villages in Nepal, founded in the late 12th century.

Visit the Indreshwar temple, one of the tallest pagoda style temples in Nepal or just soak in the athmosphere of ancient cobbled streets before we again find the local bus and make our way back to Kathmandu as the sun sets over the horizon arriving back in time for you to have dinner. (That’s of course if the bus makes it back before breaking down)

Average Duration: Day