Culture and history in the divine lands of the Himalayas

Duration: 16 days Italy-Italy
Minimum number of participants: 8

 

Nepal is a melting pot of people of different ethnicities who have always walked the valleys each with their own culture and history united by an immanent religious cultural undercurrent

Whether Hindu or Buddhist, that there makes one aware that one’s relationship with another is like being in relationship with one’s divinity through the actions one decides to perform. The Nepal of today was born with the people who migrated northward from India during the 1st millennium, bringing with them Hinduism and Buddhism. From Tibet, in the north, came instead the traditions of the Bon and shamans of the mountains and steppes. These peoples met with the ancient inhabitants of the Kathmandu valley, the Newars, who formed during the dynasty of the Malla Kings, the Nepal Mandala Kingdom. Nepal is the country of Everest, Nepal is the country where Buddha Sakyamuni was born. Kathmandu is Shiva and Shiva is the Lord of Nepal to whom everyone turns. Shiva is Pashupatinath, one of the holiest places in the entire Hindu world. Our story begins in the Kathmandu valley where the main plot takes place because therein lies the essential elements for getting to know the country. Three centuries ago, the Gorkha Pritivi King Narayan Shah entered the valley from the west and by cunningly bending the village of Kirtipur unified Nepal by subduing the Kingdoms of Patan, Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, the three capitals of the Malla dynasty adorned in their main squares by the

pagoda temples, from the royal palaces anduniqueNewari architecture. The temple of Swayambunath, which gave life to the once-submerged valley, Boddhnath, the largest stupa in Nepal among the exiled Tibetans in Kathmandu, and a salute to Shiva will dutifully crown our itinerary in the valley. A few days outside the valley will allow us to see some necessary aspects without which the mosaic would be missing a few pieces. First we will move south to encounter the rainforest in Chitwan in the stretch of lowland that separates the country from India, then north to target the Himalayan range in Pokhara and the valleys in between where we will stop whenever a place dictates. The return to the Kathmandu valley will take us to Bhaktapur. The first capital of the Malla Kingdom will close our story because in the background are the Newars and in the foreground what the people who came to the valley brought and left behind.

Overnight stays: hotels 3/4 stars
Italian guide deep knowledge of the region

From	Departure	Return	Price
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Paperwork administration + Medical insurance and baggage: € 80
Optional insurance “Globy Giallo” for possible cancellation

International flights to and from Kathmandu