If Nepal doesn't bring a smile to your face every single day, you are a lost cause!
- Jack Witts
With a reputation as one of the most beautiful places in the world, there are lots of opportunities to see someamazing sights in Nepal. This page will show you the breathtaking views Nepal offers - from the roof of the world to the wildest animals in the oldest national parks.
Let's start with the Himalayas!
1. Fishtail Mountain and the Annapurna range
Credit: Esmar Abdul Hamid via Flickr/Licensed under CC BY 2.0
Mount Machhapuchchhre (also known as Fishtail mountain) as seen from a small village called Sarangkot just above Pokhara.
Machhapuchhre (a Nepali word) translates to "tail of a fish". The two summits of the mountain resemble the shape of a fish's tail, that's how this mountain got its name. The shape is more clearly visible when seen from Ghandruk, which is one of the stops in Annapurna trekking region in Nepal. Ghandruk is about 5 hours hiking distance far from Pokhara.[1]
You can't really talk about Nepal and not include the Everest. Standing 29,029 feet high from the sea[2], it offers challenging trekking to the base camp and even more dangerous route to its summit. Nevertheless, more people are motivated to reach its summit every year.
Credit: Sam Hawley via Flickr/Licensed under CC BY 2.0
Mount Everest under the stars at night.
3. Pokhara
Credit: Mike Behnken via Flickr/ CC BY-ND 2.0
Honestly, this is the most beautiful picture of Pokhara I have ever seen!
The above picture was taken from Sarangkot, which is about 25 minutes ride from Pokhara. Sarangkot is just 11 km away[3] and is a perfect place to enjoy breathtaking scenes of the Pokhara valley and the Phewa lake below, and the Annapurna range in the north.
Phewa lake and the Pokhara valley sits on the lap of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri range
Photo by: Mike Behnken via Flickr
4. Rara Lake
Credit: Samir Jung Thapa (Great Himalaya Trail) via Flickr/ CC BY-ND 2.0
Clear and transparent water. Doesn't it make you jump right in?
5. Pashupatinath Temple
Just for one day in a year, Pashupati is visited by over 700,000 pilgrims all over from South Asia. Statistics shows that 115,000 out of the total visitors are from India alone.[4]
There is a tourist deck just east of the main temple premises from where one can enjoy the peace of Bagmati river and the Bankali forest around them. Mrigasthali (translates to "home to the deer") is a sanctuary on the eastern part of the Pashupati area which is home to spotted deer, barking deer and black bucks.[5]
Credit: Dhilung Kirat via Flickr
Pashupatinath Temple in all its glory on the day of Mahashivaratri (the birthday of Lord Shiva).
6. Shey Phoksundo Lake
Credit: Carsten.nebel via Wikimedia Commons
Located on the remote western district of Dolpa, it is one of the highlights of Shey Phoksundo National Park. The national park is the largest and the only trans-Himalayan park in Nepal. It covers almost 2.5% land area of Nepal.[6]
7. Chitwan National Park
Chitwan National Park is one of the oldest national parks in Nepal. It is about 15 minutes away from the capital Kathmandu via air. It is the richest animal sanctuary in terms of biodiversity with:
Credit: symmetry_mind via Flickr
Rhino spotting in Chitwan. I would give everything to enjoy a day's tour to see rhinos, tigers and crocodiles in Chitwan.
One-horned rhinoceros in Chitwan
See? And you thought only cats were cute.
Credit: frted via Flickr
Good. Let the "aww!" flow through you.
Bhaktapur
Bhaktapur is the smallest district of Nepal and is the eastern-most city of Kathmandu valley. The durbar square is a UNESCO world heritage site with famous temples and palaces:
Siddha Pokhari (Pond)
Just outside of Bhaktapur Durbar Square
Credit: Dhilung Kirat via Flickr
A stunning capture of Siddhapokhari, Bhaktapur.
9. Boudhanath Stupa
The stupa with the largest single Chhyorten in the world, stands 118 feet tall from its base. It is believed to have been built just after the death of Lord Gautam Buddha and was the center of ancient trade route between Kathmandu and Lhasa (in Tibet).[8]
Buddhists pilgrims revolve around this massive stupa enchanting their sacred song "Om Mani Padme hum" and it is believed to bring peace, prosperity and spiritual well-being from within.
Boudhanath Stupa in a full moon night
Photo by: Alice Popkorn via Flickr
Credit: Wonderlane via Flickr
Boudhanath Stupa in the stunning evening light
10. Kathmandu Valley
Last, but really not the least!
Credit: Mike Behnken via Flickr
Waiting for sunrise. This is taken from Nagarkot, on the northeastern hills of Kathmandu Valley. Yes, the land below the clouds is Kathmandu valley and includes some areas of Shivapuri National Park.
11. (Bonus!) The Barun Valley
Barun valley is a very little known tourist place in Nepal. It is located in a protected wildlife reserve - Makalu-Barun National Park. It shares its border with Arun valley in the west (which is the deepest valley in the world), with Tibet in the north and India in the east.
As it lies just on the base of Mount Makalu (27,766 feet), the valley has a contrast in elevation and landscapes. High waterfalls, foggy mountains, snow-capped mountains, deep gorges and even tropical forests shelter in this beautiful mountainous ecosystem.[9]
Credit: Dhilung Kirat via Flickr
"Nghe" in Barun Valley. Located inside Makalu Barun National Park
(12!) Manang Valley
Sorry, I'm on a roll!
Manang is a place beyond the Himalayas. It is the least populated district of Nepal and a very weird thing is that there are no blacktopped roads. That is, the length of motorable roads is zero. Yup, Nepal is truly a weird place.
However, it has much more to offer than zero. I'll let the following picture speak of itself!
Credit: tcy3282 via Flickr
Manang on the foothills of Gangapurna mountain.
Sorry for the long post!
Here's some mo:mo
Credit: Public Domain
Chicken momo - the most popular and the tastiest Nepali dish!
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