Kathmandu Kingdoms
Kathmandu, Nepal
Culture shock rating
Worried we’re going to shock your senses? Relax! We believe part of the fun of travel is immersing yourself in the destination and its culture, meeting the people, and learning what makes the place tick. We’ve got a wide range of tours with something for everybody. The cultural shock rating ranks how different the experience is from most Western cultures. But no matter the level, don’t worry, you’ll have a local, in-the-know guide with you every step of the way.
Low
Consider these tours your 101 intro to a place. Transportation might be private or a very comfortable public option, and the activities are usually visits to iconic sites and locations that are familiar to most Western cultures – but that will still give you fantastic insight into a destination.
Medium
Expect to rough it for parts of this tour, whether that’s on a packed public bus or in a local market off the tourist trail. There might be a few language barriers or unfamiliar cultural customs, and you’ll get an experience different from what you're used to at home.
High
You're out there in the global community! We’re going to take you down streets you’d rarely explore on your own, introduce you to local customs and languages, and take you for a ride in whatever transport is available. Get ready to take it as it comes, whatever comes. There might be a shock, but oh man, it’s worth it.
Physical rating
Worried our tours are too tough? Relax! From leisurely strolls to muscle-burning treks, we’ve got a wide range of tours with something for everybody. The physical grading gives you an idea of how much huffing and puffing you can expect on the tour.
Low
Slow and steady is all you need here. These tours have very limited physical activity, such as walking relatively flat streets, sites, or markets, and climbing in and out of the transport provided.
Medium
Not too hard, not too soft, these tours are just right! You can expect a bit of physical activity, but nothing overly challenging – perhaps walking up and down hills, riding a bike for up to 30 kilometers along mostly flat terrain, or jumping in a kayak for a gentle paddle on flat water.
High
Get ready for a workout! These tours are our most challenging and involve intense walking, hiking, kayaking, swimming, or bike riding. You could be making steep climbs by foot or pedal, or working your core in the water. We recommend you have a good level of fitness to join this tour.
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Tour snapshot
Patan, ancient kingdom, with noble structures both royal and religious. Here too an excellent museum of truly international standard. Bhaktapur amazes everyone. Medieval street-scenes & place of feudal ways. There are some who say travel is about going places and doing things. Patan and Bhaktapur are simply about ‘being there’.
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Highlights
Kathmandu Valley isn’t only about Kathmandu. There’s more to it. And, the ‘more’ is defined by the two other former kingdoms – Patan ‘The City of Living Art’ & Bhaktapur ‘The City of Devotees’, which with Kathmandu constitute the Kathmandu Valley. The buzzing markets, the artistry of age-old temples and palaces and the medieval feel bestow you with a definitive experience of the epicenter of this Himalayan Kingdom.
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Schedule details
- Duration: 6 - 7 hours
- Pickup location:
Himalayan Encounters, Courtyard, Kathmandu Guesthouse, Thamel, Kathmandu
- Find the exact meeting point with what3words:
- Pickup time: 9.00 AM
- Drop off location:
Himalayan Encounters, Courtyard, Kathmandu Guesthouse, Thamel, Kathmandu
Language: English
Rendezvous with your escort. Drive across Bagmati river to Patan (30mins approx). As you enter the ancient city, you’ll be taken aback by the vivid contrast. Although these days it is part of the sprawl of the Kathmandu conurbation, Patan has a history of its own not least as the centre of Sanskrit learning and thus it’s oft used Sanskrit name of Lalitpur (City of Living Art).
The influences here are from every age since, perhaps culminating in the 12th to 16th Century era of the Mallas and their extraordinarily creative Newar civilization. Everywhere centered around the square are noble structures both royal and religious which highlight the Hindu pantheon, mainly of Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva. Here too is an excellent museum of truly international standard with some superb artefacts from both Buddhist and Hindu traditions leaving you in no doubt as to the glories of the past and well-informed as to the span of civilizations that have flourished and competed here in the Himalayas.
Leaving Patan behind, our drive now leads us to the medieval city of Bhaktapur (45mins approx). As if held in a time-warp, the little city of Bhaktapur amazes everyone. You have entered a time of feudal ways, a place of medieval street-scenes, with a uniquely magical ambiance that confidently pays no tythes at all to modernity.So it is a place where the eye is instructed upwards to pagoda roof-tops, where the neck turns to peer down ancient alleyways and where one’s own inaction is the perfect counter- point to all the activity around. All one’s five senses are employed and then a sixth Sense of idle exploration!
The definitive building is the 30m high Nyatapola Temple of five pagoda roof-lines towering above the market square. And yet this is merely a centre- point, the iconic landmark, while palaces and temples and shrines, a hundred-and-one of them – nay a thousand-and-one of them – are in constant use, enticing or warding off deities and demons with offerings; offerings which are typically floral and food or percussion or horn music and always and everywhere the incessant clanging and tinkling of big and little bells.
Senses enriched and fascinated, we now make a return journey to Kathmandu (1hr approx).
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Additional information
Child Policy: Children must be 6 years of age to 11 years inclusive.
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Local contact
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