Nepal Hindu Pilgrimage Tour

One of the representatives of Rising Adventure will welcome you at the Tribhuvan International Airport. There will be a short meeting for the discussion of the pilgrimage tour after you take a brief rest at the hotel. You will also be introduced to our guide for the tour during this meeting.

In the evening, we will head towards the holy Pashupatinath Temple along with the tour guide. We will enter inside the main premise of the temple, where we can offer our prayers. Then, we will wait for the pashupati Bagmati aarti nearby the temple. The aarti is performed every evening after sunset across the Bagmati river, opposite the main Pashupatinath temple. The ritual involves lighting oil lamps and incense, ringing bells, playing traditional instruments, and chanting the sacred mantras. This is definitely a must-witness experience for any Hindu devotees visiting Kathmandu, Nepal.

Note: Only Hindu pilgrims are allowed to enter inside the main premise of the temple. Travelers with other religions can offer prayers and witness the arati from designated places across the Bagmati river.

Today, we are going to explore around the famous landmarks of the Kathmandu valley. Firstly, we will visit the Monkey temple of Swayambhunath, which is situated on a hilltop. The viewpoint from Swayambhunath provides an incredible view of the Kathmandu valley. 

The next destination of our day kathmandu tour will be Kathmandu Durbar square. We will visit several temples such as Taleju Bhawani as well as look inside the museum. Around 11 am, we will head towards Kumari Ghar, where we can see Kumari (the living goddess). Then, we will try local dishes in the street of Asan as our lunch.

Next, we will make our way to the sacred Budhanilkantha temple. The place is situated near Shivapuri hill and the temple is renowned for the reclining Vishnu statue in the pond. If we have time in our hands, we will also visit the ISKCON temple, which is very close to the Budhanilkantha temple.

Finally, we move towards Boudhanath Stupa, which is also a UNESCO world heritage site. We can see the locals as well as foreigners doing the kora (circumambulation) around the massive stupa. The ambience of the place is very relaxing, with local restaurants, buddhist shops, and temples surrounding the holy Boudhanath Stupa. After spending our blissful time here, we will fly to Pokhara in the evening via domestic flight and spend the night in a hotel in Pokhara.

We will take an early-morning 20-minute flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara. After that, we take a picturesque flight to Jomsom, which should take us 20 to 25 minutes. The flight will offer incredible views of snow-capped peaks such as Annapurna I, Dhaulagiri I, Machhapuchare, and many others. From Jomsom, we will head towards Muktinath via a Jeep ride.

The route to Muktinath also traverses through Kagbeni. The village is known as the gateway to Upper Mustang and lies between the muktinath and kaligandaki rivers. Here, we can also observe ceremonies (shraddha) performed by the Hindu devotees on the bank of the river.

After a brief stop at Kagbeni, the jeep ride continues, leading us to the Muktinath temple in about 1 to 1.5 hours. Muktinath temple is a sacred religious site for both Hindus and Buddhists, which is situated at an elevation of 3800 m. According to Hinduism, the temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu, one of the three major deities (including Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma). The temple premises also comprise eternal flames (burning within a shrine called Jwala Mai) and 108 stone water spouts, where we can take the holy bath. There will be enough time to explore around Muktinath before we head back to Jomsom.

In case the flight from Pokhara to Jomsom is cancelled, our journey to Jomsom from Pokhara will be by road. It will take us around 7 to 9 hours depending upon the road condition to reach Jomsom. The time schedule for the journey to Muktinath will then shift to the next day. The route will traverse through the Marpha village, which is very famous for apple orchids and apple products such as apple wines, apple pie, dried apple, and apple brandys.

Note: If we take a flight from Pokhara to Jomsom, then our return journey will also be via domestic flight. Similarly, if we take a jeep for your journey, the return will be by jeep as well.

Today’s journey will be us flying back to Pokhara from Jomsom in the early morning. Then, we will head to our hotel and rest for a while. Today, it is all about sightseeing the religious places as well as the famous tourist attractions of Pokhara. 

First, we are going to take a drive towards the World Peace Pagoda (Shanti Stupa shrine). Here, we are treated to an amazing view of Phewa lake, Pokhara valley, and the Annapurna mountain range. Then a short drive from the peace pagoda will lead us to the Pumdikot Shiva statue. The space within the Shiva temple is surrounded by small shrines. There is also an area designated for yoga and meditation. The Pumdikot temple provides a rich cultural as well as spiritual atmosphere.

Our Pokhara sightseeing continues as we visit the renowned Davis falls and the holy Gupteshwor Mahadev cave. The cave features small shrines that are dedicated to lord Shiva as well as a Shiva Temple. We are also able to hear the rushing sound of the water of Davis Falls inside the cave.

Finally, we head towards the beautiful Phewa lake for boating. We will also visit the Tal Barahi Temple, which lies near the middle of Phewa lake on a small island. In the evening, there will also be an aarti ceremony on the banks of Phewa lake. After attending the sacred aarti, we head back to our hotel for a restful night.

We make our way back to Kathmandu from Pokhara by domestic flight. We rest for a while in our hotel before going to an incredible day out in the Chandragiri hills. To reach the top of the chandragiri hills, we will be taking a cable car ride, which will provide us an incredible view of Kathmandu city. The main religious attraction of the place is the Bhaleshwor Mahadev temple. After finishing our darshan, we can have delicious meals in the nearby cafe. We also get the opportunity to do various activities like zip-lining and zip-wire bicycle riding. 

Next, we will visit the streets of Asan and Thamel to shop for gifts and souvenirs. We can try traditional nepali foods as well in the local restaurants. Veg items are also available for travelers who are strict vegetarians. Finally, we return back to our hotel and prepare ourselves for the next religious visit for tomorrow.

On this day of the Hindu Pilgrimage Tour itinerary, we are heading towards Janakpur, also known as the homeland of the goddess Sita. The trip to Janakpur will be via domestic flight from Kathmandu in the morning. In Janakpur, we will visit the famous religious places of Janakpur Dham and Vivah Mandir. 

The Janakpur Dham, also known as Janaki Mandir or Sita Mandir, is the major attraction of Janakpur. The temple consists of 60 rooms inside it and features paintings, Nepali flags, and lattice windows. Many Hindu devotees gather here on the occasion of Ram Navami, Diwali, and Vivaha Panchami. After our visit to Janaki temple, we will head to Vivah Mandap, which is the place where Lord Ram and goddess Sita had their wedding. Finally, we will return back to Kathmandu on the same day with a scenic flight.

This day marks the end of our spiritual and meaningful Hindu religious tour. Our representative will drop you at Tribhuvan airport 3 hours before your flight departure. We hope you had an amazing and truly memorable experience with Rising Adventure and would be very pleased to be your travel partner yet again for another incredible adventure in Nepal.