Temple Visits

We visited four of the main Temples in the Kathmandu Valley. Two Buddhist and Two Hindu.



The first was the largest temple in the city. As we arrived we were confronted by a long cue of people waiting to give offerings to the gods. As we walked passed the sea of thousands of women all wearing red (The symbolic colour of worship) the line seemed endless.



When we finally got into the temple grounds (after fighting our way through) the sight was awesome. Hundreds of shrines, amazingly constructed buildings and thousands of people - some worshiping, some there for funerals and some people just seemed to be spectating. A large river cut straight through the middle of the grounds with steep tiers on each side resembling a roman amphitheatre.



The most lasting impression of this Temple- and of all the Temples was seeing all the cremations. I was not disturbed nor upset by what I was seeing but more humbled. I felt very out of place- as if I shouldn't be there.



The second Temple was a large, white Buddhist Temple shaped like a pyramid on top of a large dome. The two huge eyes of Buddha stared down at us from the base of the pyramid. Prayer flags of all colours were strung from the top going down in a long line to the ground. We went into a small room where there were two giant 15 foot prayer wheels, red with gold scripts spinning round. Four monks sat in each corner ringing bells- it was very bizarre!

The third was another Hindu Temple, it was much smaller yet equally impressive. A large, stone sculpture of the god Vishnu lay in the middle of a pond. A brightly coloured shrine rather than temple pictured Vishnu laying on his back with snakes all around him. The figure appeared to float above the water. Hom (our guide for the trip) told us the story of how t was founded: Around 500 years ago the statue was found buried by a local farmer in his field. The king at the time heard of this and went to visit the Temple. He was then chased and bitten by snakes and later died. To this day no member of the royal family has visited fearing the wrath of Vishnu.

The fourth Temple was another Buddhist Temple called the Monkey Temple, and as the name suggests there were monkeys everywhere- climbing on everything!
365 steep steps to the top were well worth the ripped calf muscles as the view from the top was fantastic- The whole of the Kathmandu valley beneath us gave us a real idea of how large the city was. The Temple itself (The only one we actually went in) was equally good. Golds, reds, blues and yellows filled the temple and intricate wooden carvings everywhere made this the most beautiful Temple. We watched the Buddhist monks meditate and chant, they were all sat in a line mumbling the same words over and over. It was very mystical and peaceful here and a very relaxing way to end our day.