Mystical, magical, myth filled, the romantic valley of Kathmandu is the ultimate destination, the last, still-to-be-personally-discovered wonder where the mountains are young and miracles in wood and stone and metal abound. Here Gods and Goddesses flare through the streets in processions carried from ornate temples or wayside shrines in caparisoned palanquins. Here legends and reality mingle and it really doesn't matter where legends begin and reality ends for they are one.

 

                        And it is the legends that make the enchanted valley of Kathmandu live for you. Every temple tells a tale, every monument has a myth, every Stupa has a story. To hear them is to go back to innocence that the rest of the world has lost but in the valley of Kathmandu, and in all of Nepal, legends live and are as pure as the sound of windbells that tinkle from the eves of gilded pagoda forgotten, like the legends told by the temples.

President Travels & Tours knows the legends and will delight in unravelling them for you.

The valley of Kathmandu is but 4500 feet above sea level, making the climate always temperate. The warm sunshine robs the winter of its chilly edge, (the minimum temperature is and rises up to a maximum of in winter), and the night rains that plunge the valley into emelald, make the summers cool (with a maximum of and cooling down to a minimum of ). It is this temperateness that appealed to the God and makes it easy for us at President Travels and Tours to take you gently, and in your own time, around a valley upon which the so-close heavens smile benignly.

 

Kathmandu City and Swayambhunath ....

god_pic3.jpg (22156 bytes)In the beginning ther was a lake of turquoise cradled in the mountains. And on the lake floated a perfect, incandescent lotus. A miraculous flower for it represented the primordial Buddha, Creator of all beings.

Saints came to pay homage to the lotus and one of them was Manjushri, the Saint of Wisdom. To get closer to the flower, he cut the lake's edge with his burning sword of wisdom. The waters drained away. The lotus settled and the valley of Kathmandu was created.

The flower became Swayambhunath, the oldest Stupa in the world and centuries of devotion have added legend upon legend until today, upon a narrow pinnacle a wonder of tales surround the stupa; here lived in a shrine a man-eating God; in this temple a tunnel connects Tibet and Nepal and Saraswati, Goddess of Wisdom, travels its length once a year. The monkeys that riot around Swayambhunath are said to be the lice from Manjushri's hair and the trees that forest Swayambhunath's holy hill are the hair from Manjushri's first hair-cut in the valley he created. To stand on Swayambhu's hill and gaze down upon the valley today, and beyond the valley to the white Himalayas, is to believe once more in a celestial lotus and a turquoise lake. And you can see the gold-topped finial of Swayambhunath from anywhere in the valley and the all seeing eyes of the Buddha painted upon the stupa gaze with compassion over all that lives in the enchanted valley of Kathmandu.

They say a 9th century King built the city of Kathmandu along the curve of the sacred Bagmati River to resemble Manjushri's sword. In the heart of Kathmandu is the city's Durbar Square. Here pagoda roof seem to aspire to the heavens ascending from palaces, memorial temples and the temple to Royal Goddess Taleju Bhawani.

Here are miracles. A monument called Kasthamandap, built from the wood of a single celestial tree that descended from heaven to watch a festival, nearby a gilded temple, Ashok Binayak, enshrining the Elephant God Ganesh, the top left unfinished so that the deity can levitate and travel at will.

A glance away is the gem-like dwelling of Kumari the living Goddess of Kathmandu where one can see a small child said to be possessed of 32 virtues. She is the object of veneration amongst all Kathmandu. She overlooks a sprawl of ancient palaces embellished with windows of gold and silver and ivory, that in turn overlook gilded statues, olden doorways protected by Gods' huge effigies in stone of Garuda and the Kal Bhairab and legends, legends and legends.

 

The city of  beauty Patan ...

Patan defies dates. It is believed that the Buddha came and performed a miracle here in the 5th century BC, four Stupas at the city's cardinal points bear testimont to a visit in the 3rd century BC by King Ashoka, Buddhism's most famous convert.
So beautiful is the palace square of Patan that Tibetan traders called it "Ye Rang" or Eternity itself. Here in an enchanted square of temples and palaces are the stuff that dreams are made of. A Royal Bath intricately carved, a courtyard of sacrifice, the statues of a Malla King who once promised to return, a stone temple of the God of Love called Krishna Mandir, its facade etched with scenes from the religious epics of Hinduism........
And a walk through the cobbled streets leads to more wonder. A golden temple dedicated to the Buddha, a five storied shrine Khumbeshwar- set beside a sacred pool, streets hung with votive lamps. Fifth century carvings in forgotten courtyard temples of coronation, the Rudra Varna Mahavithara, temples of terra-cotta, and a temple to a God who travelled from after in the form of a bumble-bee, he is worshipped by Hindus and Buddhists alike as the 'Ocean of Compassion' in a courtyard called Machhendra Bahal. The city of Patan is run through with streets of artisans who paint, as well as they sculpt as well as they would in brass and copper. Come see Eternity itself with President Travels and find legend and enchantment come alive.
 

AROUND KATHMANDU VALLEY

 

1 Kathmandu
2 Gyaneswor
3 Handi Gaon
4 Dhumbarahi
5 Deopatan (Pashupatinath)
6 Chabahil
7 Boudhnath
8 Gokarna
9 Sundarijal
10 Sankhu
11 Thimi
12 Bhaktapur (Bhadgaon)
13 Changu Narayan
14 Suryabinayak
15 Patan
16 Koteswor Mahadev
17 Lubhu
18 Harisiddhi
19 Thaibo
20 Bande Gaon
21 Godavari

 

22 Thecho
23 Chapa Gaon
24 Khokana
25 Bungamati
26 Kirtipur
27 Chobar
28 Pharping
29 Dakshinkali
30 Machhe Gaon
31 Matatirtha
32 Thankot
33 Swayambhunath
34 Ichangunarayan
35 Balaju
36 Budhanilkantha
37 Banepa
38 Dhulikhel
39 Panauti
40 Nagarkot
41 Kakani
42 Phulchoki


ITINERIES

We present here our standard itineraries designed for specific time frames that are available to our visitors. These are by no means comprehensive, and we shall be only too glad to design for you itineraries to suit your time frame and budget in whichever area you may want to visit. Please do not hesitate in contacting us.

SIGHTSEEING ITINERARIES


PTT/SI/01
KATHMANDU VALLEY
3 Daya Culture

Day 01: Arrive Kathmandu
        PM Kathmandu City and Swayambhunath
Day 02: AM Patan City and Tibetan Handicraft Centre
        PM At leisure
Day 03: Full day at leisure till departure transfer.

PTT/SI/02
KATHMANDU VALLEY
4 days Culture

Day 01: Arrive Kathmandu
        PM Kathmandu City and Swayambhunath
Day 02: AM Patan City and Tibetan Handicraft Centre
        PM At leisure
Day 03: View Sunrise at Nagarkot
        Brief visit to Bhaktapur
        PM Pashupati Nath and Boudhnath
Day 04: Full day at leisure till departure transfer.

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