Matt and I moved to the Aloft hotel in the Thamel district. It was the place I stayed in 2023 and by far one of the nicest hotels in Nepal. We arranged a city tour with a private guide and visited the Boudhanath Stupa, a religious site in the center of town. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the Hindu and Buddhist religions and the importance of Kathmandu as one of the oldest cities in the world.
Later we drove to the Pashupatinath Temple and cremation grounds where we visited many mausoleum’s and witnessed the burial and cremation ceremony for the Hindu people. Watching a real funeral pyre was a first for both of us.
Smoke from the funeral pyres
Some very curious characters in this park including silver back macaque monkeys and shaman like person called a “Baba”. Baba - Sadhus are Hindu holy men (or ascetics) who have renounced worldly life in pursuit of spiritual enlightenment.
At 4:00 pm the rain began and we headed back to the hotel. The rain was very welcome because the pollution in Kathmandu ranks as the 11th worst in the world. That will make for a clear day to fly tomorrow to Lukla. We both scheduled massages before dinner and called an early night with a 6:45 am pickup set for Wednesday morning.
Stay Tuned.
The Boudhanath Stupa in the background - dates back to the 5th century