Experiences
Heritage in Nepal
Durbar squares, palaces and old towns. Walks through squares, courtyards and bahals with guides who grew up in them, timed for the hour the place comes alive.
HeritageBhaktapur's three squares with a local guide
A morning walk linking Bhaktapur's Durbar Square, Taumadhi and Tachupal through the lanes between them. We see the Golden Gate, …
HeritageDawn in Khwopa's toles and water spouts
An early walk for those staying overnight: neighbours at morning puja, women at the stone spouts, farmers heading out with …
HeritageBungamati's square and the rain god's home
A guided walk through Bungamati's lanes to the Rato Machhindranath temple, with the story of the god, the chariot festival …
HeritageRead Changunarayan's Licchavi stones with a guide
A close look at the temple courtyard with a guide who knows its sculptures: Manadeva's 464 CE pillar, the kneeling …
HeritageChangu village, its museums and tea shops
Explore the short cobbled street below the temple: rebuilt brick houses, small family-run museums of farming tools, coins and household …
HeritageDhulikhel's old Newar town on foot
A walk through Dhulikhel's old core behind the highway: brick lanes, the Bhagwati and Harisiddhi temples, water spouts and squares. …
HeritageDurbar Square and the Kumari's courtyard
A guided morning through Hanuman Dhoka: the palace courtyards, Kal Bhairav, the rebuilt Kasthamandap, and the Kumari Ghar, where the …
HeritageAsan to Indra Chowk on the old Tibet road
A slow walk down the diagonal trade street from Thamel to the Durbar Square through Kathmandu's oldest markets. Spice stalls, …
HeritageKirtipur's siege story told on its ridge
A walk through Kirtipur's old town with the story of the siege of 1757 to 1767: Bagh Bhairab's temple with …
HeritageIndreshwar Mahadev and the triveni ghat
A guided walk from Indreshwar Mahadev, built in 1294, through Panauti's old lanes to the triveni ghat where the rivers …
HeritageMrigasthali woods to Guhyeshwari on foot
A quieter walk away from the ghats: up into the Mrigasthali forest, past the Gorakhnath shrine and the deer park, …
HeritagePatan Durbar Square and the palace museum
A morning with a guide in Patan's palace square and its museum. We read the Krishna Mandir's carved friezes, visit …
HeritageShesh Narayan's ponds and Nepal's first power plant
Explore the lower slopes of Pharping: the cliff-side Shesh Narayan temple with its ponds and Licchavi carvings, and the old …
HeritageHill kora, Harati and the Shantipur legend
Walk the circuit round the base of the hill past prayer wheels and monasteries, then climb to the summit's lesser-known …
HeritageWalk from Swayambhu down to old Kathmandu
After the summit, walk east down the stairway, cross the Bishnumati river and follow old lanes past Bijeshwari and small …
HeritageChhomrong, the Gurung gateway to the sanctuary
Spend an afternoon in Chhomrong, the large Gurung village at about 2,170 m that controls the gateway to the Annapurna …
HeritageHeritage walk through Bandipur's bazaar
A slow walk along Bandipur's traffic-free main street and side lanes with a local guide: Newar merchant houses, carved windows, …
HeritageGurung village walk along the Dhampus ridge
An unhurried walk through the older parts of Dhampus with a local guide: stone houses, millet terraces, water taps and …
HeritageGurung museum and the old lanes of Ghandruk
Walk the stone-flagged lanes of Ghandruk's upper village with a local guide, visit the small Gurung Cultural Museum in a …
HeritageGurung songs and dances with the mothers' group
An evening programme of Gurung songs and dances performed by village women of Ghandruk's mothers' group, often in traditional dress, …
HeritageClimb to Gorkha Durbar and the Gorakhnath cave
Walk up about 1,500 stone steps from Gorkha bazaar to the hilltop palace where Prithvi Narayan Shah was born, visit …
HeritageTallo Durbar museum and the Gorkha bazaar
Visit the lower palace, Tallo Durbar, in Gorkha bazaar, now home to the Gorkha Museum with exhibits on the Shah …
HeritageBarpak, the Gurkha village at the quake's heart
A drive into northern Gorkha to Barpak, a large Gurung and Ghale village known for its Gurkha soldiers, near the …
HeritageDescend through the Gurung village of Siding
Leave the ridge by the quieter eastern route, down steep forest to Siding, a Gurung village of stone houses and …
HeritageOld bazaar, Bindhyabasini and the Seti gorge
A walk through the Pokhara most visitors never see: Newar shopfronts, the Bhimsen temple, the hilltop Durga shrine of Bindhyabasini …
HeritageMountain Museum and Gurkha Memorial Museum
Two museums that explain the region: the International Mountain Museum on Himalayan peaks, climbers and mountain peoples, and the Gurkha …
HeritageRidge walk from Sarangkot to old Kaskikot
Walk west along the ridge from Sarangkot through farmland and small settlements to Kaskikot, the hill where the kings of …
HeritageWalk the walled fields of Dingboche
A gentle evening walk between Dingboche's stone-walled fields of barley and potato, with Ama Dablam's north face glowing above. Learn …
HeritageJunbesi's old gompa and evening kora
Spend a late afternoon in Junbesi's centre, at the old village gompa and the large chorten, walking the kora with …
HeritageKhumjung School and the Himalayan Trust story
See the school Edmund Hillary's Himalayan Trust built at Khumjung in 1961, the first of many schools and clinics in …
HeritageWalk Kunde and the Hillary hospital
Stroll west from Khumjung to its twin village of Kunde, past walled potato fields and chortens to the Kunde hospital …
HeritageWalk the old fields of Chaurikharka
A short loop below Lukla through Chaurikharka, a Sherpa farming village older than the airstrip, with stone houses, potato and …
HeritageMani Rimdu masked dances at Tengboche
Time your trek for Mani Rimdu, when the monks of Tengboche end a 19-day ritual with three public days: a …
HeritageTenzing Norgay's Thame with a local guide
Walk Thame's lanes with a guide who grew up in Khumbu to hear how Tenzing Norgay herded yaks here as …
HeritageA night in an Amaltari family home
Stay overnight with a Tharu or Bote family in Amaltari's community homestay: help in the kitchen, eat home-cooked food, watch …
HeritageBicycle ride through Barauli's fields
Ride flat village lanes with a local guide, past mud-walled houses, rice and mustard fields, village ponds and shrines, meeting …
HeritageSuspension bridge and ashram walk
Cross the long suspension bridge between Chitwan and Tanahun, then wander the lanes of temples, ashrams and small houses on …
HeritageWalk the Maithil villages and painted walls
Walk village lanes around Dhanusha Dham with a local guide, past mud-walled houses, ponds and mango groves, and look for …
HeritageSacred ponds and the Ram Mandir at dawn
Walk Janakpur's old centre at dawn, from Ganga Sagar to Dhanush Sagar, as people bathe, pray and wash on the …
HeritageCycling the farm villages of Patihani
Ride flat village tracks through rice and mustard fields, past Tharu and hill-settler homes, buffalo sheds and community forests in …
HeritageEvening with a Tharu family in Meghauli
Spend an evening in a Tharu home in Meghauli: help in the kitchen, eat a meal cooked on a clay …
HeritageTharu village walk and stick dance evening
Walk the lanes of Bachhauli and the villages behind Sauraha with a Tharu guide, visit the small cultural museum, then …
HeritageRanivas temple and the Karnata palace site
Visit the Ranivas complex north of the market, with its Ram Janaki temple built in 1878 by Jagat Jung Rana …
HeritageWalk the ramparts to Jharokhar Pokhari
Walk a stretch of the earthen ramparts that once enclosed the Karnata capital, through fields and villages, to Jharokhar Pokhari, …
HeritageThe Rohini river and a war that never came
Stand on the banks of the Rohini, the river that by tradition divided the Shakya and Koliya lands, and hear …
HeritageAshoka's pillar in the middle of a village
A short guided stop at the stump of Gotihawa's Ashokan pillar and the stupa mound behind it, with the story …
HeritageAshoka's pillar trail in one day
A full day from Lumbini to see all three Ashokan pillars in Nepal: the inscribed pillar at Lumbini, the inscribed …
HeritageCycle the monastic zone
A half-day bicycle loop through Kenzo Tange's master plan, stopping at monasteries built by Buddhist nations: Thai marble, a Burmese …
HeritageRead Ashoka's words on the stone
A close look at the Niglihawa inscription with a guide and a printed transcription: the Brahmi letters, the name of …
HeritageTwo pillars from the same royal year
A half day pairing the Lumbini pillar with the Niglihawa fragments, both inscribed for Ashoka's visit in the 20th year …
HeritageThe Koliya country: Ramagrama and Devdaha
A full day east of Lumbini through the land of the Koliyas, the Buddha's mother's clan: the relic stupa at …
HeritageInside the Taj Mahal of Nepal
A guided visit to the restored palace and its small museum, with the story of Khadga Shumsher Rana: palace politics …
HeritageRidi's old pilgrim bazaar
A slow walk through the old bazaar along the river, with its brick and timber houses, carved windows, small shrines …
HeritageThe old bazaar on foot
A morning walk through Tansen's steep Newar lanes: Sitalpati and the Golghar, the Amar Narayan temple and its stone spouts, …
HeritageWalk the walls of Kapilavastu
A guided walk around the brick ramparts of Tilaurakot, through the excavated gateways and across the inner walled complex, reading …
HeritageCoins and clay toys at the Kapilvastu Museum
A short visit to the site museum at Tilaurakot, where finds from the citadel and nearby mounds tell how ordinary …
HeritageClimb through the Jhong cave complex
Step inside one of Mustang's sky caves at Chhoser's Jhong cave, a multi-level complex of rooms cut into the cliff …
HeritageA day with the farming nomads of Tarap
Spend a day with families in Dho Tarap, in the fields at harvest or with herders on the high pastures, …
HeritageWalk the long mani wall of Ghami
A short, slow walk beside the mani wall below Ghami, around 300 m of carved and painted prayer stones often …
HeritageMustang Eco Museum and the sky-cave finds
A small museum near Jomsom airport that is worth an hour before you go north: objects from the Mustang caves, …
HeritageKagbeni's tunnel lanes and the old khar
A slow walk through one of the best-preserved fortified villages in Nepal: narrow lanes that tunnel beneath houses, mud-brick walls, …
HeritageDawn walk around and inside the walled city
A walk around the outside of Lo Manthang's walls at first light, then in through the single gate to the …
HeritageMurals of Thubchen and Jampa gompas
Spend a morning inside Lo Manthang's two great 15th-century temples, Jampa Lhakhang with its giant Maitreya and mandala walls, and …
HeritageMarpha gompa and the whitewashed lanes
A slow walk through Marpha's paved lanes and up to its Nyingma gompa, with a guide who explains Thakali house …
HeritageJhong village and the north side of the valley
A quiet half-day walk from Ranipauwa across the Muktinath valley to Chhyonkhar and the old village of Jhong, with a …
HeritageTsarang's red gompa and white dzong
Visit the Sakya gompa of Tsarang with its caretaker, then walk around the five-storey dzong beside it, the old fortress-palace …
HeritageIn the footsteps of Ekai Kawaguchi
Hear the story of the Japanese monk who came to Tsarang in 1899 to study Buddhism and Tibetan before crossing …
HeritageSalt-trade houses of Tukuche with a local guide
A two-hour walk through Tukuche's lanes with a guide from the valley, looking at the merchant houses, caravan courtyards and …
Community homestay night in Briddim
Stay with a Buddhist Tamang family in Briddim through the village's community homestay system, eat at the hearth, visit the …
HeritageTamang homestay in Gatlang
Stay with a Tamang family in a stone-and-timber house, share meals at the hearth, help with farm work and learn …
HeritageTamang Selo songs and damphu drums
An evening of Tamang Selo, the call-and-answer songs of the Tamang, played on the round damphu drum by villagers in …
HeritageHyolmo homestay night in Tarkeghyang
Sleep in a Hyolmo family home in Tarkeghyang, eat at the family hearth, visit the village gompa and learn a …
HeritageWalk to the 2015 avalanche memorial
A quiet walk with your guide across the debris field where the old village lay, to the memorial that names …
HeritageSeven-storey palace history walk
Walk the palace complex with a guide who tells the story of the 1744 siege, the Gorkha campaign and the …
HeritageNubri village walk and Ribung Gompa
Walk through the lanes and fields of Samagaon with your guide, past stone houses, mani walls and grain-drying courtyards, then …
HeritageThe Kerung trade route and Rasuwagadhi fort
The road north from Syabrubesi follows the old salt and wool route to Kerung in Tibet, past Timure to the …
HeritageMeet the people rebuilding Syabrubesi
When it is appropriate, spend an afternoon with lodge owners, guides and porters in Syabrubesi who are rebuilding after the …
HeritageThe valley of peace: a Shyagya village walk
Walk through Chhokangparo and neighbouring villages with a local guide who explains the Shyagya, the century-old vow of non-violence that …
HeritageOld bazaar walk on the Chainpur ridge
A slow walk through Chainpur's old trading bazaar with a local guide: shop-houses with wooden windows, small temples, workshops and …
HeritageMorning walk through Dhankuta bazaar
A slow morning walk along Dhankuta's ridge-top bazaar with a local guide, past shop-houses, tea stalls and temples, telling the …
HeritageSakela circle dance with Kirat Rai families
Join a community Sakela gathering in or near Dhankuta at the Ubhauli or Udhauli full moon, when Kirat Rai families …
HeritageVillage lanes and yak herders of Ghunsa
An afternoon walk through Ghunsa's stone and timber lanes as yaks and herders return, with a guide who explains seasonal …
HeritageAn evening in Tashigaon, the last village
A night in Tashigaon, the last permanent village on the Makalu trail, with time to walk the fields, meet porters …
HeritageExpedition history around the Lhonak stove
An evening around the stove at Lhonak, with your guide telling the story of Kanchenjunga's climbing history, from Freshfield and …
HeritageA Limbu village afternoon near Taplejung
An unhurried visit to a Limbu farming village near Phungling with a local guide: the house, the fields, the language …
HeritageVillage walk across the Tumlingtar terrace
An easy walk across the flat tar through fields, orchards and farmhouses, with a local guide who explains farming in …
HeritageKhandbari bazaar and the ridge road
A drive up from Tumlingtar to Khandbari, the hill-top headquarters of Sankhuwasabha district, to walk its bazaar, see how a …
HeritageCompleting the pilgrimage at Nateshwori
Walk from Badimalika to Nateshwori, the temple of the goddess's elder sister in Triveni municipality, which tradition says pilgrims must …
HeritageA night with a Tharu family near Thakurdwara
Walk or cycle through the Tharu villages around Thakurdwara, then spend a night in a community homestay, eating ghonghi and …
HeritageReading history on Prithvi Malla's pillar
Stand beside the stone pillar raised in 1357 by Prithvi Malla, emperor of the Khasa kingdom, whose inscription lists his …
HeritageDhuleshwar, a 13th-century hill temple
Visit Dhuleshwar in Badalamji, one of the five Panchakoshi sites, a 13th-century temple tied to the legend of the scattered …
HeritageCycling the Tharu villages around the lakes
Ride a bicycle along village lanes and field paths around Ghodaghodi, past Tharu homesteads, fish ponds and rice fields, with …
HeritageRana Tharu village walk near the park
Walk through a Rana Tharu village in the park's buffer zone with a local guide, visiting a home, seeing the …
HeritageA morning walk through Simikot
Spend a morning walking Simikot's lanes and the paths above town, past stone houses with flat roofs, prayer flags and …
HeritageKanakasundari temple on its promontory
Walk up to the Kanakasundari temple, the best known shrine of the Sinja valley, linked to the Khasa period and …
HeritageA day among the Khasa stone pillars
Walk the length of the Sinja valley with a guide, visiting carved stone memorial pillars, shikhara temples at Tarpibada and …
HeritageCaves and cliff inscriptions across the Hima
Cross the Hima river with a local guide to caves holding votive Buddhist chaityas and cliffs bearing old inscriptions, some …
HeritageA night in a Sinja village house
Spend a night with a farming family in the Sinja valley, eat millet and marshi rice by the fire, and …