Tibetan atmospheres
Nepal shares the Himalayaswith Tibet. Mountains, rocks and slopes roll across the border without control and provide a springboard for the Tibetan influences that invade their neighbour. Prayer flags flutter in the wind. Prayer wheels spin incessantly. Buddhist temples draw pilgrims from far away. Because of the large Tibetan community that resides in Nepal, Buddhism has a foothold here.
The Boudhanath Stupa is the largest Buddhist shrine in Nepal. Travellers, Tibetan exiles and pilgrims mingle in the religious atmosphere surrounding the temple on the outskirts of Kathmandu. Thousands of pilgrims pay their respects through a ritual tour of the fourteenth-century dome as Buddha's eyes watch from the central tower. Tibetan Buddhism comes alive in the surrounding monasteries, where monks in their maroon robes pray under a roof of prayer flags. They teach you how to play the Tibetan drum and make butter candles that magically illuminate the square around the stupa.
The handmade jewelry in the stalls along the banks of Lake Phewa in Pokhara, also betray Tibetan presence. A large community has settled in Tashi Palkhel. The waving prayer flags have been making this valley a small Tibet for years. Whoever enters this village will cross an unofficial border. Elderly exiles walk around thoughtfully and keep the prayer wheels of the Tibetan monastery Jangchub Choeling running. During the prayer session, more than 200 monks sing their mantras and the Tibetan horn sounds. Losar, the Tibetan New Year, is celebrated extensively with masked dances. Guests get a cup of thukpa, Tibetan noodle soup. Travelers are greeted with tashi delek, instead of namasté.