During the week I also visited some other historic sites in the Kathmandu valley: Pushpatinath temple, Changu Narayan and Bhaktapur.
The Pashupatinath temple is the most important Hindu shrine in the whole of Nepal, dedicated to the worship of Shiva. Although the main temple building was closed, the complex set of structures was fascinating all the same, particularly as I had arrived approximately a week before the annual Shivaratri festival, dedicated to celebrating Shiva, which attracts many sadhus, or holy men, from different places in India. A number of them were there when I visited, draped in their saffron robes, as well as female sadhus, who I hadn't known existed. Fortunately on the day I was there, a guide who had approached me offering to show me around took me to some more obscure parts of the temple complex and showed me some fabulous Hindu stone carvings that I suspect many visitors to the place remain unaware of. The guide was also kind enough to rescue my glasses when they fell into the polluted river that is used as a burial site, a heroic act in all circumstances!
However, the visit to the temple complex was also pretty unsettling: the Bagmati river running through it is considered a propitious place to end one's life or be cremated. So there are people literally at the point of death wrapped in white clothing lying on the ghats and attended to by priests, and further upstream there are bodies awaiting cremation. It can seem a little ghoulish, but perhaps this reflects my own discomfort around death and dying. Yet these were extremely personal rituals attended by close family, and it didn't seem right that a couple of hundred people on the other side of the river should sit and observe such rituals as some kind of public entertainment.
I also visited Changu Narayan, a small temple complex that housed some fantastic carved temples dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, dating back to the 5th century AD. One of the pillars outside the main temple has an inscription dating from 454 AD. The temple carvings depicts Hindu mythology relating to Vishnu and his different incarnations.
I also took the chance to visit Bhaktapur, which was once the seat of power in Nepal. The old town has an incredible collection of Hindu and Buddhist shrines that are stunningly beautiful, and generally there doesn't seem to be quite as much earthquake damage to them as in Kathmandu. I wish i'd had more time as the light quickly faded on the day i was there, and the intricacy of the carvings was amazing. Bhaktapur is also famous for its local pottery, and dotted around the narrow streets leading from temple to temple, there are small kilns used to fire pots, as well as artisan workshops with potters' wheels in operation.
The Pashupatinath temple is the most important Hindu shrine in the whole of Nepal, dedicated to the worship of Shiva. Although the main temple building was closed, the complex set of structures was fascinating all the same, particularly as I had arrived approximately a week before the annual Shivaratri festival, dedicated to celebrating Shiva, which attracts many sadhus, or holy men, from different places in India. A number of them were there when I visited, draped in their saffron robes, as well as female sadhus, who I hadn't known existed. Fortunately on the day I was there, a guide who had approached me offering to show me around took me to some more obscure parts of the temple complex and showed me some fabulous Hindu stone carvings that I suspect many visitors to the place remain unaware of. The guide was also kind enough to rescue my glasses when they fell into the polluted river that is used as a burial site, a heroic act in all circumstances!
However, the visit to the temple complex was also pretty unsettling: the Bagmati river running through it is considered a propitious place to end one's life or be cremated. So there are people literally at the point of death wrapped in white clothing lying on the ghats and attended to by priests, and further upstream there are bodies awaiting cremation. It can seem a little ghoulish, but perhaps this reflects my own discomfort around death and dying. Yet these were extremely personal rituals attended by close family, and it didn't seem right that a couple of hundred people on the other side of the river should sit and observe such rituals as some kind of public entertainment.
I also visited Changu Narayan, a small temple complex that housed some fantastic carved temples dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, dating back to the 5th century AD. One of the pillars outside the main temple has an inscription dating from 454 AD. The temple carvings depicts Hindu mythology relating to Vishnu and his different incarnations.
I also took the chance to visit Bhaktapur, which was once the seat of power in Nepal. The old town has an incredible collection of Hindu and Buddhist shrines that are stunningly beautiful, and generally there doesn't seem to be quite as much earthquake damage to them as in Kathmandu. I wish i'd had more time as the light quickly faded on the day i was there, and the intricacy of the carvings was amazing. Bhaktapur is also famous for its local pottery, and dotted around the narrow streets leading from temple to temple, there are small kilns used to fire pots, as well as artisan workshops with potters' wheels in operation.
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| Sleeping Vishnu at Pashupatinath |
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| Kailash Palace of Shiva at Pashupatinath |
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| Shiva Temple at Pashupatinath |
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| Sadhus at Pashupatinath |
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| Intricate carvings at Changu Narayan |
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| More carvings at Changu Narayan |
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| Metal work at Changu Narayan |
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| Bhaktapur Temples |
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| Bhaktapur Temples |
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| Bhaktapur Temples |
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| Pots ready to be fired |
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| At the potter's wheel |
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