Photos of Nepal east of Kathmandu

The village of Melamchi, with a mixed population, is on the path to Helambu, further north; the road south follows the Indrawati river for about two-thirds of the way to the village of Panchkal, where it joins the Araniko Highway between Kathmandu and Kodari. Kodari is on the border with Tibet and here is the Nepalese border post; the Tibetan village of Khasa is visible from here. Nearby is Tatopani, meaning “Hot Water” and indeed has hot springs. It is also a trading post between Nepal and China. The people living here are mainly ethnic Sherpa and Tamang.

The Araniko Highway, on its way to Kathmandu, passes Dhulikhel, a town at 1550 metres above sea level. It offers excellent views of the Himalayas, including Mount Everest. Dhulikhel was one of the dependencies of the old Bhaktapur Kingdom, 16 kilometres to the west and was one of the last places conquered by the Gorkha that eventually founded the Kingdom of Nepal.

To the south of the hilly country and the Kathmandu Valley is the Terai, the lowland region of southern Nepal, at an altitude of between 67 and 300 metres above sea level, with grasslands, scrub savannah and swamps; a different landscape from the rest of Nepal.