| It is hard to find words that do justice | | | | city's meteoric rise to fame began in |
| to wonderful Kathmandu. One ridge away | | | | 1769 when Gurkha king Prithvi Narayan |
| from the highest mountains in the world, | | | | Shah swept eastwards from his base at |
| and thronged by a million Hindus and | | | | Gorkha, conquering the towns on the |
| Buddhists, this pricely city is the | | | | valley rim and isolating Kathmandu. |
| archetypal mountain kingdom - mystical, | | | | Bhaktapur and Patan from the outside |
| magical and arcane. Temples loom out of | | | | world. This marked the start of the |
| the mist around every corner and the | | | | golden age of Kathmandu architecture - |
| cobbled streets resound with the | | | | temple-strewn Durbar Square has barely |
| chanting of mantras and the chiming of | | | | changed since. As the city grew, the |
| temple bells. At dusk, the city is | | | | natural fortifications of the valley |
| transformed into a cut-out of stupas, | | | | walls became a hindrance rather an |
| prayer flags and temple spires. On | | | | asset. Everything has to be trekked in |
| clear days, a wall of snow-covered | | | | from the plains of India and builders |
| mountains rises behind Kathmandu and | | | | had nowhere to go but up, explaining the |
| eagles soar majestically overhead on the | | | | rather chaotic skyline of leaning brick |
| high Tibetan winds - it is like the | | | | towers. Politics also played a role in |
| special effects from The Lord of the | | | | Kathmandu's status of suspended |
| Rings, but right there, alive in the | | | | animation. From 1816 to 1950, Nepal was |
| real world. The main reason for | | | | completely cut off from the outside |
| Kathmandu's remarkable state of | | | | world, vanishing into legend as another |
| preservation is its unique geographical | | | | forbidden kingdom of the Himalaya. The |
| situation. There are only two roads out | | | | Swiss explorer Toni Hagen was the first |
| of the Kathmandu Valley, one going north | | | | European allowed in and walked all over |
| to Lhasa in Tibet and the other winding | | | | the country, setting a precedent for the |
| down to the Terai plains - a five hour | | | | 200,000 trekkers who now visit every |
| journey to cover a distance of 50 | | | | year. |
| kilometers. Historically, this was | | | | Tangopang is a frequent traveler with |
| Kathmandu best defense against foreign | | | | articles at Before your next travel to |
| invaders. Unlike India and Tibet, Nepal | | | | Nepal, visit Nepal Holiday Travel Guide |
| was never conquered by the British. The | | | | for more tips. |