One of the most enjoyable things you’ll find in Nepal are the random festivals you’ll stumble into. They say there are more festivals in Nepal than days of the year, but few are celebrated throughout entire Nepal.
I often find myself mesmerized by the sudden crowd coming down the street wearing amazing traditional dress, playing unique musical instruments and carrying chariots with one or more gods. It’s usually quite lively with dancing and often a rather long parade of devotees following behind.
But how, when and where to get the most out of such an experience? Our recent guests wondered how they should proceed from the Star View Guest House for some short-term valley trekking. I suggested the Valley Rim trek whereby they continued from Changunarayan to Nagarkot and then up through Dhulikhil to Namo Buddha.
Namo Buddha has a lovely Buddhist monastery, as well as some amazing views. Even on an ordinary day it’s quite nice, especially for those here for just a short time. But they happened to find themselves there on Tibetan New Year, that easily became the high point of their time in Nepal.
The mild spring-like weather made the trek quite enjoyable and then at the end they found this lovely celebration. There was a huge amount of food, which was free to everyone.
Another treat was seeing so many children in the red robes. In the Buddhist tradition, the second child is often given to the local Buddhists to raise. This provides some economic assistance for the family and provides a better life for the child. The families live in abject poverty, so having one child taken care of can be real help. And yes, the children are happy, really, really happy.
Many people celebrate Losar in Boudhanath, but if you are someone who likes to do things a bit different you might want to celebrate it in Namo Buddha or another Buddhist center. If you plan to go trekking you could easily incorporate such a festival by researching some of the monasteries in the Himalaya. However, it’s still a bit cold in the higher elevations. This is the best time to see Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, but since it’s at the opposite side of Nepal, I don’t know how big this celebration would be there.
Festivals are only one of the many reasons to come to Nepal. There are actually 6 different New Years’ Celebrations in Nepal, so be sure to check with your travel agent to see which festivals will be celebrated during your time here.
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