The Ancient City of Bhaktapur, Nepal

Nestled in the greater Kathmandu Valley is one of the most spectacular old cities we have ever seen…Bhaktapur, Nepal. This ancient town has numerous temples, shrines, old squares, etc, etc. It is made almost entirely of dark brown brick which makes for a beautiful contrast against the green foothills and blue Himalayan sky. Furthermore, the entire city feels like it has not changed at all in the last 500 years. Lindsay and I experienced this amazing town in May of 2009. We had arranged for a local man to take us around that day and he dropped us off in the center of the city in the late morning. It must have been the first harvest of the season because one of the first things I remember is seeing all of the grain laid out in bundles in almost every open square in the city. The local women would beat the grain against stones to separate the actual grain from the stocks and it was an incredible sight to see. At one point we were sitting in a secluded square right in the middle of the city watching the local women work the grain, small kids playing and a local artist make clay pots…it was a travelers high for sure. The women and kids all had on beautiful Nepalese outfits that were very colorful and bright. After continuing to walk through the ancient streets and alleyways we found ourselves in the town square. This beautiful area had numerous temples and shrines. The main one was shaped like a pyramid and had a long set of steps going to the top. Along these steps were beautiful statues of elephants, lions, etc which made for an amazing looking structure. We climbed our way to the top and proceeded to do our favorite thing when traveling…people watching. The town below us was buzzing with activity and the surrounding green hills were the perfect backdrop on this beautiful Himalayan day. We must have sat there for almost a full hour just taking it all in. We eventually wandered throughout the rest of the town enjoying each new temple/shrine that would show up around every corner. Towards the end of the day we were approached by a young “art student wanting to practice his English.” We enjoyed our conversation with him but were well aware that this was a scam and were glad to part ways with him. :) Exploring the ancient Nepalese city of Bhaktapur is something we will never forget. Both of us hope to see this incredible city again some day as there is truly no place on earth that can compare.