Pashupatinath Aarti and Boudhanath Evening Tour
A half day from late afternoon into the evening, timed for the kora at dusk and the fire ceremony on the Bagmati
Pashupatinath Evening Aarti and Boudhanath Half-Day Tour
Most Kathmandu tours visit Boudhanath and Pashupatinath at midday, which is the worst time to see either of them. Boudhanath at noon is a quiet circle of shops. Boudhanath at dusk is several thousand people walking the kora together while the butter lamps go on. The difference is not small.
This is a half day built around that. We start mid-afternoon at Boudhanath, walk the circuit as it fills, take tea on a rooftop while the light goes, then cross to Pashupatinath for the evening Bagmati aarti.
The aarti is a fire ceremony performed on the eastern bank of the river by young priests, with oil lamps, bells and chanting, and it runs around 18:00 in winter and 19:00 for the rest of the year. Non-Hindus watch from the riverbank, which is where the view is best anyway.
It is also the honest way to see Pashupatinath. The cremation ghats are part of this place and they are not a spectacle. Going in the evening with someone who can explain what you are looking at, and where to stand, is the difference between witnessing something and intruding on it.
Trip Summary
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Included
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off anywhere in Kathmandu or Patan in a private air-conditioned vehicle
- Government-licensed English-speaking guide for the full day
- All monument and temple entry fees listed in the itinerary
- Bottled drinking water through the day
- All government and local taxes
- Entry fees for Boudhanath and Pashupatinath
- Tea at a rooftop overlooking Boudhanath stupa
- Guide briefing on etiquette at the cremation ghats before you enter
Not Included
- International and domestic flights
- Nepal visa, available on arrival at Kathmandu airport
- Hotel accommodation in Kathmandu
- Travel insurance
- Camera and video fees where a site charges them separately
- Personal expenses, drinks and souvenirs
- Tips for the guide and driver
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Detailed itinerary
Pashupatinath Evening Aarti and Boudhanath Half-Day Tour
15:00 | Pick-up
We collect you from your hotel in the mid-afternoon.
15:30 | Boudhanath
The largest stupa in Nepal, 36 m high, and the centre of Tibetan Buddhist life in the valley. We walk the kora clockwise, which is how it is done, and your guide will take you into one or two of the surrounding gompas. The monasteries around the stupa run afternoon prayers and you can often sit at the back of one.
16:45 | Rooftop tea
Tea on a terrace with the stupa's eyes at eye level, as the circuit below fills and the lamps start. This is the hour worth coming for.
17:30 | Cross to Pashupatinath
Fifteen minutes by road between the two, which sit close together on the eastern side of the city.
17:45 | The Pashupatinath complex
We walk in through the eastern side rather than the main gate. Before we reach the river your guide will talk you through what happens at the ghats, what is and is not acceptable to photograph, and where to stand. We then cross the footbridge to the terraces on the eastern bank, which is where visitors watch from and where the sadhus sit.
18:00 or 19:00 | Bagmati aarti
The ceremony starts around 18:00 in winter and 19:00 in the warmer months, and runs roughly 45 minutes to an hour. Lamps, bells, chanting and a crowd that is mostly Nepali rather than foreign. It is a religious service, not a performance for visitors, which is why it is worth attending.
19:30 to 20:00 | Hotel drop-off
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