Sightseeing in Nepal

Kathmandu , the capital, is a good place to touch base because all the embassies and consulates are located here. It invites radically different views: some love it; others can’t wait to get out and get to the ‘real’ Nepal. Which is?

The Kathmandu valley , besides being an essential stopover to get your paperwork in order, is a valley of great beauty. It is polluted (some even maintain that it is the second most polluted city in the world), it gets awfully filthy every August-September and it is struggling to strike a balance between tradition and modern commercialism. But it is also a living, breathing museum, with streets that run by ancient temples and Durbar Squares with casual familiarity.

Pokhara , set against the backdrop of cloud-wreathed mountains and forested hills that reflect off the clear lakes, is where every traveller goes. It’s scenic, it’s geared for tourism, it’s a take off point before treks and a get-my-breath-back one after. And, it has melt-in-the-mouth cakes!

If you are a trekking, climbing person then you’ve come home. Your Nepal lies in the world’s youngest and tallest (and getting taller every year) mountain range. Eight of the world’s fourteen tallest peaks lie in the Nepalese Himalayas: Everest (Sagarmatha)-8850 meters, Kanchenjunga -8586 meters, Lhotse -8516 meters, Makalu -8463 meters, Cho Oyu -8201 meters, Dhaulagiri -8167 meters, Manaslu -8163 meters and Annapurna -8091 meters.

Lord Buddha was born in Lumbini . The Sacred Garden here is among the most important archaeological heritage sites in the world. Lumbini is in the midst of a major sprucing up operation; expect to see a neat town, its principal attractions set in well laid out gardens. An Ashokan Pillar stands here.

If green is your scene, then the lush wilds of the Terai are probably your Nepal. Chitwan , Bardia and Sukla Phanta are the major wildlife reserves in the plains.

Among them they hold a substantial population of the Royal Bengal tiger, the one-horned rhinoceros, langur, deer, the sloth bear, leopard, wild boar, bison and the elephant. The rivers that flow through hold fresh water dolphins and the forests support a variety of fauna and bird life. There are at least 350 species of birds in these forests.