Kathmandu - the capital of what state? Attractions Kathmandu

Nepal is an exotic country that invariably attracts tourists from all over the world. The capital city of Kathmandu is not only the largest city, but also the most rich in tourist attractions. The valley in which it is located, is at an altitude of 1360 m above sea level, and around there are impressive ridges of Tibet. Like the geographically close India, Kathmandu is replete with Hindu shrines. According to local beliefs, there are 10 million spirits inhabited by adherents of this polytheistic cult. With numerous idols, the statues of the philosophically contemplative Buddha peacefully coexist side by side. The intermountain hollow of the Himalayas is cut by the Baghmati River, which belongs to the basin of the sacred Ganges. On its banks and built over 2000 years ago, the capital of Nepal.

Gaps in school geography

If we were offered a Mayakovski rhymed quiz question: "Kathmandu - which state's capital is meant?" - not everyone, without hesitation, could give him the right answer. The vague notions of the administrative division of Indochina and the territories to the north-west of it give rise to the most unexpected answers. If we omit the mention of the capital, some former schoolchildren might even attribute this exotic name not to the geographic region of Tibet, but to the African, Australian or South American continent.

No less tricky would be the question: "What is in the Kathmandu Valley - the capital of which state and what is its name?" Meanwhile, on the territory of this Himalayan mountain range, there are seven objects that represent the world cultural value, included in the UNESCO list.

The unique nature, exotic species, capable of decorating the photo album of the most demanding researcher of remote corners of the world - is a sufficient reason to start the journey. Independently to investigate a question, where there is Kathmandu, during the next travel, certainly, costs.

Airplane to the capital of Nepal

The way on the land from the side of India is possible, but it is difficult, if not to say thorny. It is enough to read about the various ways to travel to Kathmandu to review tourists in order to understand: in the mountains surrounded by mountains the promised land is the best and most comfortable the whole plane will tell you.

For the European part of Russia, perhaps the most common advice - flight to Delhi by Aeroflot planes, from the Indian capital it is not difficult to fly to the final point by local liners. Turkish airlines organize flights for Russians from Vnukovo with a transfer in their own capital. From Vladivostok it's easier and cheaper to get through Beijing and Hong Kong. With transit flights, local visas will not be required. Transplantation in Delhi, Beijing, Istanbul - approximately equivalent options, so first of all decide when going to Kathmandu, the capital of which country is geographically closer to you.

You can also fly to Nepal through Pakistan (economy) and Qatar. For those traveling from Indochina, a flight from Bangkok is also possible, it is better to book it in "Tay Air", not in "Nepal Air". You can fly to Kathmandu from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore by AirAsha flights.

Count on unpredictable weather

It is always necessary to take into account when examining the weather forecast for Kathmandu, which country surrounds this ancient settlement. First of all, mountain, and this means that when packing suitcases, it is necessary to pack not only shorts and short-sleeved shirts. By the way, there will also be solid down jackets, and to them it will be superfluous to even have thermal underwear, because with the rise for every thousand meters in the mountains the air temperature drops by 6-8 degrees. Secondly, Nepal - still much closer to the equator country, characteristic of the tropics surprises weather from floods to droughts here - a common occurrence.

The combination of a variety of high-altitude belts with weather conditions and the treachery of the tropical atmosphere is a kind of "lottery", or "Russian roulette". In sunny weather, even at an altitude of 5000 m above sea level, the heat is felt, in cloudy and windy even three kilometers below it is possible to freeze in a down jacket.

The rainy season and the most favorable time for visiting

Deciding for yourself the question of how to get to Kathmandu and how to equip the next trip, it is worth considering when it will be most convenient for you to visit Nepal. Beginning with the end of spring and until the middle of autumn, the rainy season continues here. Therefore, tourists prefer to inspect the country in the period from October to May. To the inconveniences of winter time, you can include fogs, night frosts, low clouds. However, the temperature of the air during the day even at New Year's Eve is not too low here and is from 18 to 20 degrees Celsius against 23-25 in spring and autumn.

How to navigate within the country?

What else should be mentioned from the "technical features" for arriving in Kathmandu? Which country's capital awaits us? Of course, Asian. From the depths of the consciousness of a little-tempted tourist, floating on the streets between benches with spices, exotic fabrics and statuettes of rickshaws. However, in Nepal, even the trishaw - is more exotic than a means of transportation. Bargaining with him, you can feel for a time an important colonial nabob. However, in order to quickly and easily reach the destination, for example, from a 6 km from the capital of the airport "Tribhuvan" to the tourist area of Tamel, you will have to take a taxi.

In addition, you can travel around the capital of Nepal by buses, minivans and tuk-tukami. This original hybrid of the usual minibus and motocross car can accommodate up to a dozen passengers. A signal to stop on demand - frequent punches to the roof of an amazing vehicle. Otherwise, the driver will not understand you. Apparently, from here and this tuk-tukam internationally understandable name. However, the advantage of such a trip around the city is its cheapness. The taxi driver will take you for the same fee only 400 m.

For traveling outside the city it makes sense to rent a car. Required requirements: age requirement (21 or 23 years, depending on the company), the availability of international driving licenses, at least one credit card and, of course, a passport. The price of the issue will depend on the car brand, and on the lease term, on average - from 30 to 120 € for one day.

What is worth seeing?

Before planning a trip, Kathmandu should be combined into a single excursion route with the nearby cities of Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, which was the capital until the 15th century. UNESCO sees them as a single cultural complex of the Kathmandu valley.

In the Russian tales of the stupa, the unchanging affiliation of Baba-yaga (whose name, by the way, is etymologically close to the name of the Yajur Veda scroll, books about sacrifices, and can be translated as "woman priestess"). In Nepal grandiose stupas are objects of cult worship. Bodnath, a semicircular titanic structure with the eyes of the Enlightened, depicted on it, observing the world, is the center of Tibetan Buddhism. According to the legend, the ashes of an unknown Buddha, the predecessor of the founder and distributor of the philosophical direction of Prince Gautama, rest here.

The ancient rulers of Nepal found their last refuge on Durbar Palace Square in the center of the capital. The entrance to the ancient tombs, the palace, decorated with skilful wooden carvings, is paid for foreigners. For due mazvozdoyaniyem watches sat on the Golden Gate Hanuman, honored by the Hindus flying monkey. Krishna and Kumari spread out their temple here.

Drowning in the green Tundikkhel - a district of various festivals and local parades. People come here for picnics, for recreation with children. There are golden fountains and a sixty-foot tower of Dharakhara with a viewing platform.

Exotic sights Kathmandu - this is located in its vicinity, a safari park, where the ruling royal dynasty is hunting, and the exposition of the National Museum, the Museum of Natural History. In the park, tourists are offered elephant walks and other unusual kinds of entertainment. Museum halls introduce archaeological finds, historical collections of national weapons, and bright representatives of flora and fauna characteristic of various parts of the country.

In the Kathmandu Valley

On the other side of Baghmati River is Lalitpur. This name translates as "the city of beauty" (originally it was called Patan). The main attractions here are four stupas, dotted with inscriptions and a temple of Thousand Buddhas. The Royal Palace on Durbar Square unites ten courtyards, demarcated by walls. The city is simply flooded with masterpieces of Nevar architects and stone carvers. Here is the winter residence of Shiva - the temple of Kumbeshwar (a hot, humid summer, according to popular beliefs, Shiva sits on Mount Kailas in Tibet).

Mahabudda, laid out with terracotta tiles construction, in fact, depicts not 1000, but as many as nine-odd thousand buddhas. Each clay tablet handmade bears the image of one enlightened. The patron of Lalitpur, who brings down abundance and rain on the earth, is esteemed by both Buddhists and Hindus. The construction in his honor is called Matsyendranath, from here in April the festival procession of an idol is carried throughout the city by chariot. In June, he also goes to the summer residence, the temple of the neighboring village of Bungamati. Apparently, the idols of Lalitpur adore seasonal travel.

Sights of Kathmandu are mainly of cult significance. The name of the ancient capital of Bhaktapur in translation means "city of believers". It is located in the foothills of Tibet on the banks of the Hanumanta River. The settlement was practically erased from the face of the earth by the strongest earthquake of 1934, all the destroyed monuments were subsequently restored in the most thorough way. The natural disaster, however, did not destroy the measured, centuries-old feudal way of life of local residents, which is primarily worth seeing. The earthquake and the temple of Nyatapol were spared, built in such a way that an optical illusion of floating the building in the air is created.

In the valley besides the mentioned Buddhist complex Bodnath is located his "brother" Swayambhunath, as well as Hindu majestic temples Pashupatinath and Changu Narayan.

Nepalese souvenirs

Appearing elegant trinkets, gizmos sold here also have a hidden sacred meaning for the European. What character is possessed by the image of the god, purchased from local craftsmen, what tricks he has stored for a dared to touch an idle gentile, it's better not to guess. Suffice it to confine ourselves to contemplating the bright rows of cult masks, figurines, strange objects of mysterious purpose. For memory, you can make them a colorful photo, but let the originals remain contemplated with painted eyes flooding Kathmandu temples of strange cults for foreigners.

Interesting and practical acquisitions will be pashmina, silk, chiffon and other fabrics, silver jewelry and bronze casting, leather goods, woolen carpets, ceramic utensils and imperishable Lokta paper, bags, all kinds of accessories, household items, spices and aromatic oils.

The capital of Nepal Kathmandu differs little in the culture of market relations from other countries of the East. Here it is customary to bargain, and the prices are lower, the further from the tourist district of Tamel you negotiate with the next seller.

Local Holidays

The dates of celebrated events are regulated here by astrologers. The Hindu holiday of the lights of Diwali is celebrated on the darkest day of autumn and is considered the beginning of the local New Year. The colorful religious mysteries of Indra Jatra with sacrifices on the last day take place at the Palace Square during the rainy season. The military parade and bloody idolatry with slaughtering animals signify the action of Dougra Puja, called by mystical witchcrafts to protect residents from accidents involving motor vehicles, the use of weapons in the coming year. Relatively quietly there is a holiday of a sacred thread, associated with the ritual immersion of Indians in the sacred waters of rivers and spinning by hand a sacred cotton cord.

A sad mystical rite is the choice of the Nepalese "living goddess" Kumari, the embodiment of the spirit of Taledzhu. For these purposes, on the central square the elders define the "divinity" of candidates of three to five years of age belonging to the Buddhist family of Shakya. In translation, "Kumari" means "virgin", all strictly selected from hundreds of pretenders, thirty-two girls in the future are doomed to celibacy. The little ones are placed in a room filled with the severed heads of buffaloes, around them begins the demonic dance of men in masks of unclean spirits. Those girls who are least likely to show their fear, and become doomed to bear the title of goddess. Perhaps, it is impossible to remember, except for Kathmandu, which capital of a state systematically, with universal popular approval, catches up such horror on its own young children.

With all the abundance of golden sculptures, balconies, spiers, colorfulness, skilful architectural execution of mystical structures, the sacrificial content of local cults can leave a somewhat painful impression. Therefore, it is worthwhile in advance to think about the advisability of contemplating the Nepalese rituals, choosing between the tourist's keen curiosity and the tranquility of the spirit.

Tourist district Tamel

Having explained on own experience, where is Kathmandu, first of all it is necessary to be defined: and where in it to stop? For these purposes, specifically there is a kind of tourist ghetto with a mass of cafes, guesthouses, tourist offices and stores of mining equipment. In a word, the European will find here for comfortable living and providing outings to the exotic environment everything that your heart desires, at the quite acceptable price.

Search for housing is best to start with the area of Tamel Chok. Do not trust the taxi drivers who enter into paid collusion with the owners of the "best hotels". A good double room with windows not facing the roadway, hot water and shower can be rented here for 500 local rupees per day.

Hungry hospitable Nepal you just will not leave. It is worth trying Nepalese wines and tinctures on the herbs of the Himalayas, and to them - a local analogue of pelmeni - mo-mo and a kind of soup-puree from beans - gave. The cuisine here is not Newari, spicy, with an abundance of dry broken rice and meat. Beer lovers can taste local varieties of Everest and Gorkha. The restaurants of the Tamel region on the roofs and terraces, with live music playing in the evenings, are a great place to relax after excursions to the mountains to the remote sights of Nepal.