Given the destruction that’s happened with the earthquakes in Nepal, it seems a fitting time to reflect on the landmarks and natural beauty of the Asiatic nation. Around two years ago now, I traveled to Nepal to conduct research for an anti-human trafficking NGO, as the Nepal/India/Tibet region has an enormous trafficking problem. This Wander will give you an overview of both the trip and the beauty of the country that’s now struggling to recover from the devastation.
This was taken on a rooftop apartment almost immediately after we (my three classmates and I) arrived. I’m the one in the white shirt, second from the left, who is trying desperately to pretend she hasn’t been awake for 30+ straight hours of travel.
This is a shot of my group trekking through the many beautiful old temples in Katmandu, Nepal’s capital city. You can’t tell, but it’s about a billion degrees plus humidity, which I found out was typical for monsoon season.
This was one of my favorite views on the whole city; the view from the rooftop of the city we stayed, in the heart of Lalitpur, in Katmandu. Yes, those are the sprawling hills of the Himalayan mountain range you see before you.
Here is the actual roof that I spent many a sunset on, chilling next to the drying laundry.
Here I am in the tourist trap that is Thamel, a shopping district in Katmandu. I spent an embarrassing amount of rupees (Nepalese currency) here on bootleg DVDs.
One of my favorite places I visited was Swayambhunath, colloquially known as the Monkey Temple, due to the rather unnerving amount of holy primates that hung around the holy site. It’s one of the oldest religious sites in Nepal, founded in 464-505 A.D. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the ancient sites that was most badly damaged in the 7.8 magnitude earthquake.
This next picture doesn’t even begin to demonstrate the sheer amount of stairs I had to climb to get to the top of Swayambhunath’s religious complex, where the famous stupa (featured in the previous picture) was. There were so many stairs, I gave up all hope of ever reaching the top before I had even hit the halfway mark. I never thought we’d stop climbing. I’m still climbing.
It was worth it, though, because check out that view.
On a completely different day (and after the 4th of July celebration at the US Embassy, pictured right), we got to travel to Bhaktapur Durbar Square, another UNESCO World Heritage site. The statues and temples there are so old it boggles the mind, and the whole area was so steeped in history you could feel it.
Here’s a wide shot of one of the main squares.
The beauty of this country isn’t just in the sprawling, ancient heritage sites, but in the landscape and the artistry of the every day. Here’s a collection of my favorite pictures of Nepalese street art we passed every day from our hostel.
And finally, this is one of my favorite nature shots from Nagarkot, east of Kathmandu. This country has some of the most beautiful landscapes I’ve ever seen in my life, and my heart breaks that so much has changed since the first quake hit.
Since the earthquakes, there are lots of charities and organizations vying for donations to help Nepal, but be cautious when donating because there are, unfortunately, horrible people who take advantage of disasters like this and try to profit from them. Here is a list of charities to donate for disaster relief for Nepal — although there are many more out there. Just exercise good judgement and do your research before donating.
