Our next stop in the Kathmandu Valley was Nagarkot, a tiny village on the north side of the valley with fantastic views of the Himalayan Mountains. Unfortunately, our trip coincided with the end of monsoon season in Nepal, so the mountains were not visible, but it was still absolutely lovely to get up into the green hills and see so much green and breath the fresh air.
View toward the cloud-covered Himalaya.
Nagarkot View.
Another Nagarkot view, thanks again to our guide.
Jared swore he could see the Himalaya through the clouds... I'm a bit skeptical. Given that it was monsoon season, we were extremely lucky with the weather. For our first two days in Nepal, it was absolutely beautiful perfect weather and only a drop of rain on the second day. It poured our last morning, but we felt lucky to have gotten as good of weather as we did.
Our first view of the Pashupatinath Temple.
Looking down toward the Bagmati River and the funeral ghats (concrete blocks) where bodies are continually cremated in an open flame bonfire so that the ashes can be then pushed into the River which is a tributary of the Ganges (considered a holy river). It was a little disturbing to see dead bodies being burned, but as our guide explained, the tradition is to cremate a dead loved one almost immediately following death (within hours), and the small funeral ceremony is held before the fire.
All the women in their red saris lined up to go to temple.
Pashupatinath Temple and the snaking line of women.
Another shot of the Temple and the women lined up waiting to go in. So cool to be in Nepal for such an important holiday!
