Trip Overview

According to legend, the Kathmandu valley formed when the Buddhist deity Manjushree drained a sacred lake with his flaming sword has its roots in reality. The uprising of the Himalaya trapped rivers draining south from Tibet, creating a vast lake that eventually burst its banks & drained away around 10,000 years ago.

As people settled from the north and south, the valley became the biggest clearinghouse on the trade route from India to Tibet. Himalayan missionaries and saints transferred Buddhism across the Himalaya into Tibet and centuries later migrating Tibeto-Burman tribes carried Buddhism back in Nepal, fusing Tantric Indian beliefs with the ancient Bon religion of Tibet. This has resulted in a fascinating hybrid culture, where Hindu and Buddhist beliefs jointly infuse Nepal’s life.

The unification of Nepal in 1768-69 by Prithvi Narayan Shah signaled the end of this three-way scramble for supremacy. Nepali, an Indo-European language spoken by the Khas of western Nepal, replaced Newari as the country’s language of administration and Kathmandu became the undisputed capital of the nation.

Tragically, many of the historic towns in the Kathmandu valley were devastated by the 2015 earthquake, with a huge loss of life. Reconstruction is underway and local people are rebuilding their lives and livelihoods, but the scars of the earthquake will be visible on the landscape for many years to come.