Destination: Nepal
LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION
Itinerary: Unesco World Heritage Sites
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The entire Kathmandu Valley is a World Heritage Site made up of seven individual sites.
Most impressive are the valley's three Durbar Squares, at Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. Of these, Patan's is the most impressive, Kathmandu's is the busiest and Bhaktapur’s is the quietest.
The Buddhist stupas of Swayambhunath and Bodhnath have been attracting pilgrims for over 1000 years and both are heritage sites. The Hindu complex at Pashupatinath, by the sacred and filthy Bagmati River, is the holiest Hindu site in this Hindu kingdom. Finally, the Changu Naryan Temple is an open-air museum of priceless stone sculpture, a few kilometres outside Bhaktapur.
The only other cultural heritage site is the Buddha's birthplace at Lumbini, now an archaeological and Buddhist peace park.
Nepal has two natural World Heritage sites, the high altitude scenery of Sagarmartha National Park, centred around the world's highest mountain, and the steamy tiger-inhabited jungles of Royal Chitwan National Park, one of the subcontinent's best places to spot one-horned rhinos and Bengal tigers.
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