Trip Dossier

Day 1 – Arrive Kathmandu

Transfer from airport to hotel. A representative from our office will be there to receive you at the Tribhuvan International Airport.  At the hotel, you will be briefed on your itinerary.

Day 2 –Kathmandu – Visit Namo Buddha

After breakfast, we drive to Namo Buddha, a hilltop Buddhist shrine, located about 40km from the city.

Legend has it that Lord Buddha in his previous birth saved a dying tigress and her cubs from starvation by offering to feed them with his own flesh. According to local legend his bones are kept in an old Buddhist stupa that lies at the top of the hill. We visit this stupa, circumambulate around it and light incense and butter lamps. Take pictures and enjoy the panoramic view of the surrounding mountains. Visit a Tibetan monastery (Thrangu Tashe Yangste Monastery) located nearby.

Day 3 – Kathmandu- Visit Boudha, Patan Durbar Square

After breakfast we head to Boudha. A protected UNESCO World Heritage Site, Boudhanath Stupa is regarded as the most important centre of Tibetan Buddhism outside Tibet. Buddhists believe that the remains of Kasyapa Buddha (Lord Buddha’s previous incarnation) were interred at the spot where the stupa is built.  Light butter lamps and visit the nearby Tibetan monastery.

Later, drive to Patan Durbar Square. Patan is one of the three medieval cities in the valley. Patan Durbar Square, a UNESCO World Heritage Site houses a palace complex dating back to the Malla dynasty and several Hindu and Buddhist shrines. We will visit a Buddhist temple Hiranya Varna Maha Vihar, also known as Golden Temple, Patan palace which houses a museum, Mahaboudha – a 14^th century Buddhist temple made of terracotta bricks engraved with images of Lord Buddha.

Day 4 –Fly Lumbini – Visit Mayadevi Temple, Pushkarini Pond, Ashoka’s Pillar, Sacred Garden

After an early breakfast, we catch our flight for Lumbini. From Kathmandu it takes about thirty five minutes to reach Bhairahwa Airport. From Bhairahwa Airport, Lumbini is just an hour’s drive away.

After checking in at our hotel, we have some refreshments. Later in the afternoon, we proceed to the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Lumbini. Here we visit the spot where Lord Buddha was born (Maya Devi Temple), the Puskarini Pond where he was given his first ritual bath, Ashoka’s Pillar and the Sacred Garden.

Day 5 – Lumbini – AM: Monastery visit, Afternoon: Drive(29km) to Tilaurakot, Kapilvastu

After an early breakfast we visit the many monasteries that have been built by Buddhist countries around the archeological ruins of Lumbini. We offer prayers and spent a quite hour meditating. Later in the day we take a short drive to Tilaurakot in Kapilvastu, the erstwhile capital of Sakya dynasty.  Prince Siddharth , who later became Gautama Buddha, belonged to the royal house of the Sakyas. We visit the ruins of King Shuddhodana’s (Lord Buddha’s father) palace. Lord Buddha is believed to have spent his early years in this palace.

Day 6 –Fly Kathmandu, Visit Pharping (Guru Rinpoche’s Cave)

After an early breakfast, we drive to Bhairahawa Airport to catch our flight for Kathmandu. On reaching Kathmandu, after refreshments, we head south to the medieval town of Pharping. After about an hour’s drive we reach a shady wooded hill. We get down and climb up to explore the meditation cave of Guru Rinpoche or Padmasambhava. Known as Asura Cave or Upper Yanglesho, Guru Rinpoche is believed to have attained Mahamudra while meditating at this cave. Buddhists living in the Himalayas worship Padmasambhava as the ‘Second Buddha’. After exploration and prayers (offering of incense and butter lamps) we return to our hotel.

Day 7 – Kathmandu- AM: Puja at Kopan Monastery, PM: Swoyambhunath

After an early breakfast we visit Kopan Monastery. The monastery is an important Mahayana Buddhist centre. Here a Lama will conduct a special puja (Drukchuma/Protector Puja) for you.

After the monastery visit, we proceed to Swoyambhunath Temple. Located on a hilltop, Swoyambhunath is regarded as the first temple in Kathmandu valley. According to local folklore, the Bodhisattva Manjushri built a temple here after draining the water that inundated Kathmandu valley. There are Buddhist monasteries and Hindu temples in the vicinity of the stupa. Enjoy a 360 degree view of Kathmandu Valley from the temple. Afterwards transfer to hotel. Evening, enjoy a traditional Nepali feast and a lively Nepali cultural programme.

 (*Note: Please be informed that sometimes monks at the Kopan Monastery go on a retreat and are unavailable for pujas. In such an event, the Drukchuma/Protector Puja will be held at some other monastery in Kathmandu.)

Day 8 – Depart Kathmandu

Our representative will drop you at the airport on time to catch your return flight.

Cost Inclusion / Exclusion

Cost Inclusion:-

• 5 N Hotel Accommodation @ Kathmandu on BB plan
• 2 N Hotel Accommodation @ Lumbini on BB Plan
• Airport pick up & drop
• Transportation on Private vehicle
• Domestic Flight ticket KTM-BWA-KTM
• Entrance fees as specified in itinerary
• Special Puja at Kopan monastery
• Lighting butter lamps at Monasteries (Namo Buddha, Swoyamhunath, Boudha, Lumbini)
• Diver cum guide below 4 pax
• One mineral water bottle during transfer 
• Complimentary/farewell dinner(Traditional Nepali Feast)

Cost Exclusion

• Meals (Lunch/Dinner), Drinks and bar menu
• Telephone & laundry
• Personal expenses
• Nepal Visa Fee
• Any accidental and emergency support (if any)
• Driver and guide tips
• Emergency evacuation
• International Air Tickets
• Extra activities other than above itinerary