Seeing Diwali Festival of Lights in Kathmandu, and other useful information for visiting Nepal.
Known as the festival of lights, Diwali is one of the most important dates on the Hindu calendar… a bit like our Xmas and New Year celebrations rolled into one. The three main days of festivities are full of partying and festive fun throughout Nepal. The ambiance is in Kathmandu is magical, especially in the evenings as buildings are ablaze with bright fairy lights and thousands of tiny oil lamps flicker in the streets.
Juan and I started our Nepal adventure in Kathmandu celebrating the family orientated Dashain festival with our friends, the Bhandari brothers of Nepal Adventure Point. After an amazing hike to Poon Hill in the Himalayan foothills and a part of the legendary Annapurna Way, a week chilling down by Pokhara lakeside, and an exciting jeep safari at Chitwan National Park, it was time to return to the chaotic capital city just in time for the fabulous Diwali.
Kathmandu Ason Market is the city’s main bazaar, a maze of narrow ancient streets filled with stands and tiny shops. Busy at the best of times with pedestrians, scooters, rickshaws, tuk tuks and the occasional car all vying for right of way, over the festival it is packed with local people out buying decorations, last minute gifts and party clothes, such as the beautiful saris in the window displays.
During Diwali stall holders typically sell marigold garlands, tiny oil lamps and brightly coloured powders, wooden flutes, sweets and pastries, apart from the usual garments, fruit and vegetables, street food, etc.
We had already spent a few days in Thamel, the popular district in the heart of Kathmandu where most of the tourist accommodation is located along with restaurants and stores selling trekking gear, hippie clothes -souvenirs include jewellery, prayer flags and incense, wood or metal carvings, and fine cashmere shawls or pashminas woven with the softest baby yak wool.
There’s always something interesting to discover, like an amazing square I’d somehow not come across before… the eyes of the large domed stupa watch over an array of stone divinities, on one side a gilt roof Buddhist monastery, an old school building on the far side, as well as art galleries and little stores selling colourful tapestries with sacred themes.
It’s fascinating to wander around the old town backstreets, walk through archways into courtyards hidden from sight, each with some kind of neighbourhood shrine or temple. Imagine the scene, the elderly men sit on doorsteps chatting and scolding a group of young boys playfully clambering over the holy statues.
Diwali Kathmandu style means shimmering paper chains hanging from the overhead street cables and colourful artwork on the pavements, some of them quite elaborate.
Made from brightly dyed powders and lit with oil lamps, people make these ‘rigolis’ outside their doorway as a welcome gesture to Goddess Laxmi to bring good health and luck into their homes, shop owners and assistants to bring wealth to their stores.
In the evenings the effect is magical!
There is typically music and dancing as group of friends go from place to place enjoying themselves and inviting everyone to join in. It’s a unique way to connect to cultural tourism. We saw a group of costumed dancers perform outside a jewellers and a crowd gathered outside to watch three young girls in traditional dress doing a playback routine in a narrow music store.
It’s also custom for groups of local children to go round from door to door, asking shopkeepers for some pennies, a bit like our trick or treat at Halloween!
The Diwali festival is also known as Tihar and each day of the celebrations has different rituals – from our terrace I watched a girl put a plate of sweets on her rooftop for the ravens to avert grief; the beautiful white dog next door had a garland round his neck and a red tika sign on his forehead.
The last day is extra special when everyone dresses up in new clothes, and sisters and brothers strengthen their lifelong bond by exchanging presents.
The entrance ticket for visitors to enter Kathmandu Durbar Square is quite pricey, but you can get the day pass extended free of charge for the length of your stay at no extra cost…just go along to the office on the first day with your passport and a recent photograph. Another tip is to go along in the evening when the guards have finished duty!
The place is worth a second or third visit to see the unique temples, watch how the buildings are being painstakingly restored and in some cases authentically rebuilt, and generally soak up the atmosphere.
On our last night BB Bhandari invited us over to his place for a wonderful curry and we said goodbye to Padam who was off to guide a three week hike to Upper Mustang, high up in the remote regions of Nepal, in the Himalayan mountains near the Tibet border.
He’s threatening to take me on a chopper to Everest base camp next time we’re over…which sounds cool as I get to have breakfast in the highest hotel in the world!
When we’d arrived Nepal, BB had greeted us with marigold garlands and now it was time to see us off he put cream silk scarves around our necks to wish us a safe journey.
I promise to come back sometime to do some more trekking, for a dawn flight in a light plane to see the sunrise over the Himalayas, and to visit Buddha’s birthplace in Lumbini.
The flight path towards New Delhi follows the Himalayan range westwards for a while and the sun lights up the snow-capped peaks which can be seen clearly in the distance rising above a sea of white clouds… Goodbye Nepal, here we come India!
The arc of high peaks continues northwest towards Leh Ladakh. This is part of the India Himalaya, a lesser known hiking destination with exceptional routes such as the Chadar Trek, another bucket list experience.
Useful Information for visiting Nepal
Getting to Nepal
Search for flights to Kathmandu via Turkey, India, Qatar, Dubai, EAU, Oman, Hong Kong, China, etc. Total flight time from Europe is 10 hours plus, from the US or Canada some 16 to 17 hours (not including transit). Qatar Airways via Doha is a good example.
Best time to visit Nepal
February to May and late September to December are the best times to visit Nepal. Avoid midwinter and the summer month monsoons.
How to get around Nepal
A good trekking agency will advise you and tailor a tour to your requirements and budget. Transport around the country can be by tourist bus, private minibus or car, with internal flights when necessary or convenient. In Kathmandu, use a taxi or rickshaw.
Food and Drink in Nepal
Typical cuisine:
Dal Bhat (thick lentil soup served with rice and small bowls of spiced vegetables, relishes, etc.), flat chapatti bread, momos (little filled dumplings), Nepali chicken curry, buff meat, sweet lassi. Porridge is the customary breakfast in the mountains. International food and drink is widely available in KTM and Pokhara although buffalo meat is used instead of beef.
Nepal has a long bakery tradition which means surprisingly good pastries and pizzas in some places! The Nepalese typically eat with their right hand but don’t worry, you’ll always find cutlery available.
Drink bottled water, spiced chai tea, coffee, and cool Nepali lager.
What to See and Do in Nepal
Kathmandu UNESCO World Heritage Sites:
Kathmandu Durbar Square
Swayambhu Monkey Temple
Boudhanath Stupa
Pashupatinath Temple
Patan Durbar Square
Bhaktapur Durbar Square
Pokhara Lakeside
Fewa Lake
World Peace Pagoda
Nagarkot sunrise view
Chitwan National Park
Wildlife safari to see Bengal tigers and white rhinos
Himalaya Treks
Foothill trek: Poon Hill
High expedition: Everest Base Camp
Remote regions: Upper Mustang
For a full list of treks and activities in Nepal contact BB Bhandari at Nepal Adventure Point.
Our popular posts on Nepal
- Kathmandu – What to See in 3 Days – First stop on our around the world trip!
- Kathmandu – Thamel and Kathmandu Durbar Square
- Kathmandu – Patan City + Swayambhu Temple
- Kathmandu – Boudhanath Stupa + Pashupatinath Temple
- Poon Hill Trek part 1 Nayapul – Hile – Ulleri – Ghorepani
- Poon Hill Trek part 2 Poon Hill Summit – Tadapani – Ghandruk
- Poon Hill Trek part 3 Landruk – Tolka – Dhampus
- Pokhara Lake
- Chitwan National Park
- Diwali Festival of Lights in Kathmand
- 12-day Nepal Itinerary – Kathmandu Diwali Festival and Himalayan Trek
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After 1 month in Nepal it was time to move on… Juan and I boarded a plane from Kathmandu to New Delhi, a daylight flight with extraordinary views from the plane window to the snow-capped Himalayan mountains in the distance.
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