Visiting and Photographing The Beautiful Nepal - Travel Itinerary for Winters

I knew I would love Kathmandu and my intuition made us book a week long trip to Nepal with everything included into it so we don't miss on anything. There is so much to see in this world, that every trip, every vacation should be spent relaxing and in such a way that you don't miss on good spots, because you never know when will you visit it again.

It's always better to book a taxi and a driver before hand so he knows a common language and can take you around as per your plans. This is always a tip I recommend which saves a lot of time and money.

We took this trip in Dec 2013, pretty winters is what I can recall. Morning and Evenings are very cold but afternoons are pleasantly hot. December is a very good time to visit Nepal if you are planning to go.

Below are the places we recommend as to how to see Kathmandu.

Tea House Inn

After landing at Nepal Airport, sit back in your car, relax and enjoy the ride. I'd recommend take a route via "Bhaktapur enroute" where you can stop at a restaurant named "Tea House Inn". The restaurant not only serves amazing tea and pakoras but also has an amazing mountain view.
You can spend time there to see the amazing sunset over "Mount Everest".

The Sunset

The Great Himalayas

After spending some time with the mountains, head over to your hotel. We'd recommend, book a hotel in "Nagarkot". What we booked was a hotel named "Bhangeri Durbar". A star hotel with great food, cozy rooms and the staff is helpful enough to provide you with heaters or whatever you need.

Bouddhanath and Swayambhunath Temple

After breakfast, head over to Kathmandu, which is an hour drive from Nagarkot.
Kathmandu is a place full of different rituals, temples and Buddhists stupa's.

"Pashupatinath Temple" - This is considered to be one of the biggest Shiva's temple. [P.S. - Photography is not allowed in Pashupatinath Temple]

"Bouddhanath and Swayambhunath Temple" - They are the temple of living goddess.

A must visit place is "Old Durbar Square" - this place consists of different small temples, local market and restaurants. You can definitely enjoy local thupka's, dimsums etc. After a day long tour, would recommend to stay overnight in Kathmandu. We stayed at "Hotel Manang". It's a big hotel with very polite staff. You'd find the food here costly since in main town but the food was tasty and worth it.

Let your driver drive you from Kathmandu to Pokhara the next day. It's a6 hour drive, approx. 200 kms away.

Pokhara is one of the biggest attraction of Kathmandu. You can view the ranges of Himalayas. You can walk down the streets which is very happening and alive till 11pm. You'll find lots of good restaurants and wine shops there. Pokhara is indeed all about music, food, walks and lake.

One should definitely spend an hour on boat ride in "Phewa Lake". There's a temple situation inside the lake that can be viewed. We had our stay at "Lake View Resort". A resort situation adjacent to the lake, in the main market, cold wind will be blowing, it had a balcony where you could enjoy your breakfast or dinner with a lake view. A resort with great park downstairs, bonfire at night and a dance show. Apart from that they have their local events that you can ask at front desk for the schedule.

One thing you have to keep in mind is that the food in Kathmandu is really costly because almost all the stuff comes from India. Including snacks, chips and food in restaurants. It is recommended that you travel with your own snacks and water specially for drive ride.

Devi Falls

"Bindabasini Temple" - The white pagoda-styled building of the Hindu Bindabasini Temple quietly sits at some 3000 feet above sea level along the renowned Annapurna and Machhpuchhare mountain ranges. 

It is located near the busy "Old Bazaar of Pokhara", a center of commerce in the Himalayas and the "Gupteshwar Cave" where the Shiva lingams is preserved and finally visit the "Devi Falls". One must visit them as its an experience of lifetime. The temples are very beautiful and peaceful.

The very next day, let your driver drive you from Pokhara to Chitwan which is the wildest part of Kathmandu. Chitwan is approx. 4 hours drive from Pokhara. We stayed in one of the wildlife hotels which had lot of plants and tress and hence they kept their name similar to it - "Hotel Wildlife". This is one of the best hotel in Chitwan and have many options like Jungle Safari etc. to take you too if you opt for them. Please book beforehand to save some bucks.

What we did was - "Jungle Walk" and "Elephant Ride" where we were lucky enough to see "Rhino's". After the activities, you can sit back and relax and watch the sunset from the sunset point.
Late evening you can enjoy the "Tharu Stick Dance" which is a local dance show in Chitwan by a big group of youngsters, they use their sticks as a crop. This is something unique and would be a great experience to add in your memory book.

The very next day, drive back to the same hotel in Kathmandu and visit the local Kathmandu downtown. They have some amazing restaurants to have a special dinner and some amazing local shops to buy souvenirs.

If you have any more questions regarding Kathmandu, do not hesitate and please drop us an email. I hope you guys enjoy Nepal as much as we did.


Adios!