Nepal Pilgrimage Tour - 15 Days
Nepal Pilgrimage Tour fulfills your desire to visit the most popular pilgrimage (religious) sites in Nepal. Pilgrimage tours in Nepal are mostly popular among Hindus and Buddhists, so thousands of pilgrims visit Nepal every year to seek blessings. However, apart from Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims, other religious or non-religious travellers also embark on this journey to get to know different cultures and visit traditional Hindu temples and Buddhist monasteries. Nepal is a cultural place where the two oldest religions of the world, Hinduism and Buddhism, live in perfect harmony. Pilgrimage tour packages in Nepal, we will allow you to visit both Hindu and Buddhist pilgrimage sites.
During this program, you will visit Pashupatinath Temple, Boudhanath Stupa, Budhanilkantha, Dakshinkali Temple, Swayambhunath Stupa, Pharping, Bhaleshwor Mahadev Temple on Chandragiri Hill, Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Kathmandu and Patan Durbar Square. All of them are inside the Kathmandu Valley. Outside the Kathmandu Valley, you'll visit the Kavre district to see the Hindu temple town of Panauti and the Buddhist monastery at Namo Buddha. Similarly, on the way to Pokhara, you will get a chance to visit the Manakamana Mandir (a temple known to fulfill everyone's wishes). And you will visit Talbarahi and Bindhyabasini temples in Pokhara, Muktinath temple in Mustang district and Lumbini (birthplace of Lord Buddha).
However, if you only want to undertake Buddhist pilgrimage tours in Nepal or Hindu pilgrimage tours in Nepal, it will be possible upon your request. It is possible to make the below itinerary as short and long as you need. So, if you decide to take a longer trip, we recommend you to visit Gosaikunda (it is in the Langtang region) and Tengboche Monastery (it is in the Everest region). Both the places are famous for pilgrimage, but trekking is required to reach both places.
Itinerary
Day 01: Arrival in Kathmandu
Our staff will be waiting for you at the airport with your nameplate to transfer you to the hotel. After check-in at the hotel in Kathmandu, you can relax and pay the due amount for travel.
Day 02: Kathmandu Sightseeing (Pashupatinath, Boudhanath and Budhanilkantha)
Today you are going to visit three major attractions of Kathmandu to visit temples and Buddha Stupa in Kathmandu city. Pashupatinath Temple, Boudhanath Stupa and Budhanilkantha. Pashupatinath Temple is the most important temple for Hindus in Kathmandu. However, non-Hindus are not allowed inside the temple. Boudhanath Stupa is one of the oldest monuments in Kathmandu Valley and one of the first monuments with written history. One of the biggest pilgrimages for Tibetans in the vicinity of this stupa is also known as Little Tibet in Kathmandu. Budhanilkantha is a Hindu temple of Lord Vishnu. This is a unique Hindu temple where you can find the idol of Lord Vishnu lying on coiled snakes in a small holy pond.
Day 03: Drive to Panauti, Namo Buddha and Dhulikhel
Start driving for Panauti, Namobuddha, and Dhulikhel today. Panauti village is an old Newari village with unique walking lanes and old temples with traditional art and architecture. Explore the main attractions there, then drive to Namo Buddha, visit Namobuddha Monastery, also known as Thrangu Tashi Monastery. Important Tibetan Buddhist monastery, it is home to 250 monks. Take a tour of the monastery area and enjoy breathtaking views of the local villages, the beautiful Himalayan range. And drive to Dhulikhel to visit Hindu temples. After reaching Dhulikhel if you take a splendid 1000 steps to walk up to Kali temple where you will enjoy the view every step of the way.
Day 04: Drive to Bhaktapur and Kathmandu Durbar Square for sightseeing
In the morning, you will enjoy the best views of the Himalayas at Dhulikhel. Then will take you to Bhaktapur Durbar Square area for sightseeing. Bhaktapur is also known as the city of devotees and this fact is justified by the hundreds of temples in the area. Home to the vibrant Newari culture, it is also a city of festivals. The palace with 55 windows, Nepal's tallest pagoda, pottery square, and museums in Bhaktapur make it the best palace area in Nepal. After sightseeing in Bhaktapur will take you to the Kathmandu Durbar Square (known as Basantapur Durbar or Hanuman Dhoka). It is home to about 60 unique Hindu temples including Taleju Temple, KasthaMandap, Trailokya Mohan Temple, Kumari Ghar, Degu Taleju, Kal Bhairav and Shiva Parvati Temple. Built over the course of several centuries, it is a collection of unique spiritual buildings that reflect the style of architecture displayed by various royal dynasties. It is also home to the Royal Kumari, known as the living goddess. After sightseeing in Kathmandu Durbar Square, it is possible to visit the local market, Asan Bazaar.
Day 05: Visit Patan Durbar Square, Pharping and Dakshinkali temple
This morning takes you to the Dakshinkali Temple, a mighty form of Kali, one of the most frequently visited Hindu temples in the Kathmandu Valley. On the return trip, you will visit Pharping, a holy site of Tibetan Buddhists, and the place of Guru Padmasambhava. There are two major practice caves in Pharping blessed by Guru Rinpoche, the Asura cave and the Yanglesho cave. The old and important Vajrayogini temple is situated at the bottom of the Asura cave. After visiting the caves and beautiful Buddhist monasteries in Pharping and then take you to Patan Durbar Square. It is filled with a mix of Hindu and Buddhist temples. You will see Hiranya Varna Mahavihar (Golden Temple), Krishna Temple (one of the most beautiful stone temples in Nepal), Mahabuddha temple etc. Then you will return to Kathmandu.
Day 06: Visit Swayambhunath Stupa and Chandragiri Hill
Today you will see two different attractions around the valley. You will be seeing Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple), and Chandragiri hill sites. Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple) is a UNESCO listed heritage site with a wonderful view of the Kathmandu Valley along with all the hills. This site has a great history, charm, and beautiful surroundings for great pictures to remember. After exploring Swayambhunath you will be a short drive to Chandragiri Cable Car Base Station. You will be enjoying a ropeway ride (cable car) to reach the hill temple of Chandragiri called Bhaleshwor Temple. Hindu devotees believe that the almighty Bhaleshwor Mahadev fulfills everyone's wishes. From the top of the hill, you will have a view of the Super Himalayas and the Kathmandu Valley. After spending some time at the top of the hill, come down again by cable car where the driver is waiting for you to transfer to Kathmandu hotel.
Day 07: Drive to Pokhara and visit Manakamana Temple on the way.
Today let us take you towards the Manakamana. It will take around 3 hours to reach there. Once you reach the base of the Manakamana temple, you take the cable car to the temple. Visit the temple, take a good picture and observe the activities of the local people. After visiting Manakamana Temple, come down again by cable car where the driver is waiting for you to transfer to Pokhara. You will enjoy a scenic drive to Pokhara-City of Lake Paradise.
Day 08: Visit Talbarahi and Bindhyabasini temple then drive Tatopani
Early this morning visit the Talbarahi Temple (Island Temple) located in the middle of the Phewa Lake and then the Bindhyabasini Temple. After returning from the temple, enjoy your breakfast and enjoy the scenic drive towards Tatopani. This is an overnight stay on the way to Muktinath. You can enjoy the natural hot spring.
Day 09: Drive to Muktinath Via Jomsom
You will start our scenic road trip for the day after breakfast. There is a plan to reach Muktinath via Jomsom. The road trip of this day to the mountain on one side and the Kali-Gandaki river on the other to Jomsom should be memorable. After spending some time in Jomsom you will proceed towards Muktinath via Kagbeni.
Day 10: Visit Muktinath Temple and drive to Marpha
Muktinath Temple is a very important pilgrimage site for both Hindus and Buddhists, as Hindus worship Lord Vishnu and Buddhists worship Muktinath as one of the Avalokiteshvara. After spending some time at the temple, you will return back to the hotel for a delicious breakfast. And enjoy the beautiful drive to Marpha. Marpha is a sparsely populated but famous village in Mustang District. Marpha is a village famous for apple orchards and apple brandy. Don't miss to taste the Marpha brandy here.
Day 11: Drive to Pokhara
Our way back to Pokhara would be Larjung, Kalopani, Ghasa to Beni where we would stop for lunch before heading to Kusma. Unlike a paved road, it consists of rough roads and muddy roads traveling parallel to the Kali-Gandaki River. You will visit the famous Hindu temple called Kalika Mandir on your way to Pokhara. After reaching Pokhara, you can relax and visit the lakeside area.
Day 12: Drive to Lumbini via Palpa
Today you will drive along the Siddhartha Highway via Palapa towards your next destination, Lumbini. Palpa is a wonderful destination for domestic and foreign travelers as it has a large amount of natural and artificial attractions. Some of them are Ranighat Mahal (palace) on the banks of river Kali-Gandaki, Tansen city, Shrinagar hill, Palpa Durbar (museum) along with many other interesting temples and attractions. After exploring Pulpa, you will proceed to Lumbini.
Day 13: Lumbini Sightseeing
With a good breakfast, your tour guide will assist you in exploring the birthland of Lord Buddha which is also the UNESCO listed heritage site. You will visit Maya Devi Temple and pond, Ashoka Pillar, Myanmar golden temple, many monasteries, Lumbini Museum, Bodhi tree, world peace pagoda, and others.
Day 14: Drive back to Kathmandu via C.G Temple (Shashwat Dham)
Today you will drive back to Kathmandu. On the way, you will explore the newly built C.G temple also called Shashwat Dham. You can also visit the museum inside the temple area with lots of attractions and pieces of information about the Hindu religion. After returning back to Kathmandu, check in to the hotel and take relax.
Day 15: Depart Kathmandu
After breakfast, you will be dropped off at the airport to catch your flight. We look forward to seeing you again in Nepal and wish you a pleasant and safe journey.
