Historic-Nature Photo Hunting in Nepal

Detail Itinerary

Day 01Arrival in Kathmandu (1,350 m) and Transfer to the hotelUpon your arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, our representative from Himkala Adventure greets you cordially and transfers to Hotel in Thamel. Thamel is 5 km far from airport to the west and is the touristy with the blending of duo modern and ancient architectural buildings, souvenir shops, cafes, restaurants etc. After check in hotel, you could stroll around the market. Overnight at Kathmandu

Day 02Photography tour to Swoyambhu and Kathmandu Durbar Square. Overnight at Kathmandu After breakfast, we set out for the tour around 9 o’clock from hotel. As it is particularly designed package for photography tour, we take to the places where you could have more genuine, source of pictures of local life activities, ritual performance, arts and crafts. Swoyambhu is the oldest stupa, perched in the conical shaped hill, 77 m high from the ground level. There are five Puras in the 5 different places named after five elements from the nature: Shantipura for sky element, Agnipura for fire, Nagapura for water, Bashupura for earth and the Bayupura for air. Besides this, the Anantapura and Pratappura were built in 1655 AD by the prominent king of Kathmandu, Pratap Malla. The pictures around the stupa, while circumambulating with prayer wheels and monks would be amazing. The busiest place near to Harati Temple can be seen the Newari people worshipping and getting things ready before they worship. Then we proceed to Kathmandu Darbar Square where we see numbers of courtyards, old palaces, Hindu temples, daily life activities, vendors, priests etc. After catching the beautiful scene from the location, we return back to hotel. Overnight at Kathmandu

Day 03Mountain Flight. Drive to Patan , Pashupatinath, and Bouddha. Overnight at Kathmandu We wake up early in the morning and get ready to go to the airport for the Mountain Flight. So, it is good to set out around 5:15 am from the hotel to the domestic terminal for the flight. It takes an hour and then we return back to hotel. After breakfast, we drive to Patan Darbar Square for the sightseeing. It is about half an hour drive. It is said that the city was designed and built after the Buddhist Dharma Chakra, the wheel of righteousness.It is surrounded by four big stupas.Patan Durbar Square, situated in the heart of the city constitutes the focus of visitor’s attraction.The square is full of ancient monuments, temples and shrines, noted for their exquisite craftsmanship and architectural beauty. One can rummage for treasures in the various shops around the square. The three main chowks named Mul Chowk, Mani Keshav Narayan Chowk, and Sundari Chowk have its own identity. In the northeastern corner of Mul Chowk, there is the three storied octagonal temple of Taleju Bhawani built by Shree Niwas Malla in 1667. The Sundari Chowk holds in its centre a masterpiece of stone sculptures popularly known as ‘Royal Bath’. There is finest museum set up in Mani Keshav Narayan Chowk. The Krishna Temple is supposed to be the first specimen of Shikhara style temple all made in stone. There are other temples like Char Narayan, Shiva Temple, Bhimsen Temple, Banglamukhi Temple, The Golden Temple etc. We drive 5 km to Pashupatinath which has occupied 264 hectors of land. The Pashupatinath temple is one of the holiest temples of the world revered and worshipped both by Hindus and Buddhists. There are temples and idols so esoteric and monumental for the lenses of their cameras. There are shops, which sell objects that look mystic and magical. We can pack golden monkeys jumping playfully about into the movie roll. We can get photo with sadhus sitting smearing ashes on their bodies, and lying half naked. There will be a notion of life and death. We will be able to view a Hindu funeral performed with their established long customary rituals. The last place for today we visit is Boudhanath Stupa, one of the greatest stupas in the world. The stupa was built in 5th century by the king Manadeva. The stupa is in typical Nepali architecture but there is Tibetan influence. The site surrounded by houses of same size and the massive stupa in the middle vibrates a lot. This site can be the source for innumerable photos with monks, nuns, visitors, with their ritual activities. After this, we return back to hotel. Overnight at Kathmandu

Day 04Drive to Bhaktapur Durbar Square and Transfer to Nagarkot. Overnight at Nagarkot Today, after breakfast, we drive to Bhaktapur, 16 km east from Thamel. We visit four courtyards beginning from Dattatraya Square. There is Pujarimath with beautifully crafted wooden peacock windows. The wooden and bronze museums have all old and antique collections. Then we reach to Taumadhi Square to visit the tallest temple ‘Nyatapola’ and ‘Bhairav Temple”. The medieval architecture displays the artwork and their dedication towards arts of that time. Then we move to Pottery Square where people are found engaged in traditional profession spinning wheel manually and preparing clay pots. Finally, we visit the Darbar square where we can see 55 windows palace, Golden gate, Bhakyapur museum, Chyashi Mandap, Royal bath and the main courtyard where the king would live. On the right hand side, there is a temple dedicated to Tulaja Bhawani. After the sightseeing, we drive to Nagarkot, an hour drive from Bhaktapur. It is 20 km going up viewing the lush green forest, terraced farmland, piercing pine forest. Overnight at Nagarkot

Day 05Sunrise, explore Nagarkot, Going back to Kathmandu, Free time. Overnight at Kathmandu We wake up early in the morning and view the pristine beauty with the sunrise over the snow-clad mountains. The 300 km long mountains range from Manaslu in the west to Mt. Everest in the east is indescribable. We explore the local village and climb to the little hill where there is small shrine dedicated to Shiva. We can view the adjacent villages and the hills and descend to the hotel. After breakfast, we slowly drive down to Kathmandu which takes about one and half an hour. It is your free time to explore the local market, doing some shopping and buying dainty gifts. Overnight at Kathmandu

Day 06Fly to Pokhara, Check in hotel, drive to Dhampus, Back to hotel. Overnight at Pokhara It is an exciting 30 minutes flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara over the mountains and spiky green hills. The countryside with terraced farmland and the Himalayan at the backdrop can be compared with nothing. We are picked up from airport and do check in hotel in Pokhara. After you get refreshed, you could walk around the bank of Phewa Lake or visit the market area. Overnight at Pokhara

Day 07Sunrise - Sarangkot, Pokhara sightseeing, boating& Sunset at Phewa Lake. Overnight at Pokhara We get up early in the morning and drive to Sarangkot, It is just half an hour drive from Lake side up to the view point, 1200 m high from the sea level, the first view point where there are some lodges, shops. If you would like to go to top, there is tower. We can see Fishtail, and Annapurna Massifs very close and the natural beauty with Seti River, the nearby hills, gorges, is astounding. The Phewa Lake, the green forest and the World Peace Pagoda standing on the hill is other picturesque things from Sarangkot. After this, we descend down and visit the Bindawasini Temple on the way. Then we proceed to Seti River gorge where we can see the river has made a deep gorge, about 150 m down and flowing. We go to hotel, take breakfast and get rest till 11 am. Then we again set out for the day tour to Davis falls where the drained out water from Phewa Lake falls and mixes with River after a kilometer far. The falls can be seen clearly from Gupteshwor Cave. We visit the cave in a while and go to Tibetan Refugee Camp. This is the area where the Tibetan Refugees after they were exiled from Tibet in 1959 came to settle here and the Nepalese government provided them the land. They have well organized community services now. They do carpeting which is worthwhile to see. We drive back to Lake Side and go for boating, visit a small island, a temple dedicated to Talbarahi and return back to hotel. Overnight at Pokhara

Day 08Sunrise - Dam side, breakfast then drive back to Kathmandu, 7-8 hrs. Farewell Dinner If you are tempted to get better clicks from dam side early in the morning, we wake up early and go to dam side for the sun rise. We spend time there about an hour and return back to hotel for the breakfast. We overload our entire luggage and get ready to drive back to Kathmandu by Prithivi Highway. It is scenic drive of 6-7 hours through villages, terraced farmland, rivers, streams and many bridges. Overnight at Kathmandu

Day 09Transfer to the International Airport Your trip ends with pile of memories and pictures captured in your mind, heart and camera. Still we would like to lengthen your stay but you have other destination as well. We escort you to the Tribhuvan International airport 3 hours before your flight. If you could manage time for shopping before you fly, we could help you show the bustling local market. Then we proceed to the airport and leave you on the departure gate. We wish you safe and happy journey to your next destination. Namaste with palms together!!!