Our first stop was the city of Bhaktapur, which along with Kathmandu and Patan, was one of the three medieval kingdoms that once competed for power in governing the area. Eventually, Kathmandu won that battle. The Newari architecture is particularly impressive.

Bhaktapur entrance

Soneil, our guide, teaches us the history of Bhaktapur

Newari architecture

Bhaktapur

While in the neighborhood, we headed to Changu Narayan Temple. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the oldest temple in the Kathmandu Valley has carvings dating back from the 4^th-9^th centuries.

Changu Narayan Temple

This piece dates back to the 4th century!

After a quick lunch, we visited one of Nepal’s largest and most impressive stupas – Bodhnath Stupa. Stupas are sites of religious significance to Buddhists. The day we were there just happened to corresponded with Buddha’s birthday so we got to see quite the celebration. There were thousands of people, hundreds of prayer flags and lots of excitement. It was a pretty wonderful experience.

Bodhnath Stupa - once the biggest stupa in the world

Special celebrations for the holiday

A Tibetan Monestary near Bodhnath

Bodhnath

The day ended back in Kathmandu proper at the famous Durbar Square. Though hard to describe, the Lonely Planet calls it “the traditional heart of the old town and Kathmandu’s most spectacular legacy of traditional architecture.” Definitely a must see for any visitor.

Durbar Square

Guard, Durbar Square

Durbar Square

Taxi stand, Durbar Square

We were very grateful to our excellent guide and driver, and Ted’s friend Pawan, who arranged the action-packed day for us. We loved our day in the Kathmandu Valley, and appreciated the opportunity to get out of the middle of the tourist ghetto and learn a little about Nepal’s history.

An unparalleled setting, atop a mountain ridge

Downtown Bandipur

View from the Old Inn, our afternoon drink spot

This cute, but very tiny town, is set high on a bluff which, on a clear day, provides jaw-dropping views of several Himalayan mountain ranges. Unfortunately, we were not visiting in the season to appreciate the distant mountain views we heard oh-so-much about! But it was still a gorgeous setting nonetheless.

However, there is more to the town than the views. Though the community was once struggling to get by, it has done an excellent job of investing in itself to attract tourism. The town is full of traditional Newari architecture and with the help of a local tourism operator and some foreign aid, the town has renovated and maintained it’s beautiful buildings, which are both peoples’ homes as well as newly established restaurants and guest houses.

Newari Architecture

Gotta love the English translations of their new signage

Foreign aid manifesting in funny educational signs...

Tourism is so new to this community that the townspeople are genuinely curious about their visitors and are wonderfully helpful and kind. The kids want to play all day long, there were no pushy salespeople to be found (a rarity in this part of the world), and we only saw one “souvenir” shop and one “tour operator” in town. The idea of tourism is so new and so wholesome that we found it such a treat after the week we spent in Western-infused Pokhara.

The kids were the real treat of Bandipur

Games in the street

Though we only had one day in town, we took full advantage of the gorgeous area by doing a day hike to the neighboring village. We saw just one other group of hikers on our walk but dozens of locals from nearby villages and their animals!

Hike to neighboring village - Ramkot

Moving bushes? Or locals harvesting foliage?

Ramkot - the destination of our day hike

Bandipur is perfect just how it is right now. However, the community has gotten a taste of tourism dollars and has big plans for growth. We saw several hotels in the works while we were there. It’s only a matter of time until attitudes and tourist offerings change, but for now, it is an undiscovered jewel of a place that we wish we could freeze in time.

View from our hotel window

Bandipur Vistas