One of the most fascinating thing about Kathmandu is the cultures and traditions which are the major attractions for the tourists in the capital. The temples, monasteries, Durbar squares and other heritage sites are the part of the culture of the people living in the capital. Each one of them have their unique values that represent the culture and tradition of the people living in Kathmandu. The capital has always been a home of temples and several heritage and cultural sites. If we look back to the earlier period, the history dates back to a long period of time when the myths and legends were real. Many of the temples and cultural sites in Kathmandu has their own unique history or more like a story that holds a high values in different communities of the capital and different jatras are a part of the unique cultures or traditions of different communities living inside the Kathmandu valley.
Jatras are the cultural and traditional festivals which is lavishly celebrated inside the valley. These jatras are more like a traditional celebrations that involves traditional music and dances at most of the time and everyone enjoys being a part of it. While every jatra involves Puja, many are usually accompanied by the traditional music instruments and dances by wearing traditional attire. These jatras represent the pure local culture and tradition of different communities living inside the Kathmandu Valley. There are so many jatras and other festivals that are celebrated in the capital throughout the year where some are celebrated for just a single day while other lasts for days. As Kathmandu is filled with ancient Newari towns, most of the jatras inside the valley is celebrated by Newars but different communities inside the valley has their own way of celebrating the festival. So it might look same as far as the jatras are concerned but they have their own differences.
Kirtipur, Bhaktapur, Patan are some of the ancient Newari towns inside the Kathmandu valley all of them have their own jatras and celebrations. Some of the popular jatras inside the valley includes Gaijatra, Indra Jatra, Rato Machhindranath Jatra, Kumari jatra, Ghoda jatra. Beside these, there are several other jatras and festivals that are celebrated at the local community. Now what is more interesting about the jatras inside the capital is that they have their own stories and legends that carries historical and religious importance.
The culture, arts and architectures of the capital has created a huge impression among the international tourists lately and jatras inside the valley has been a part of it either directly or indirectly. You can find the local streets full of people celebrating during the time of jatras inside the valley. In fact, these jatras has played and important part in the field of tourism as tourists can witness the local culture and tradition live in front of their eyes. As I have mentioned earlier, these jatras are thw part of the local culture and traditions and these jatras reflects different stories and the importance of different temples, heritage sites, monuments through their celebrations. On top of that, the vibes and the joyous environment that these jatras create is one of the best part of it which makes these jatras so much special.
Tourism has now been an important part of Nepal as it is a major source for nation’s economy and tourism in Nepal has wifely shifted from the mountain activities to the cultural tours. With the growing involvement of international tourists in the local culture and traditions, it seems that there will be a huge demand for cultural tourism in the coming years. Though Nepal has been widely promoting the cultures and tourism of Nepal, it needs something more interesting to highlight the beauty if these cultures. Kathmandu might be famous for different tourist attractions but the major source of the capital to attract the tourist is the culture and traditions inside the valley.
While Kathmandu has many temples and heritage sites along with unique art and architectures, the jatras inside the valley creates a whole new impression and environment for tourist. Traveling to the inner parts of the capital, ecploring the local communities, living in homestays might be the best way to know the local culture and way of living of the people inside the valley but jatras will tell you the real stories of the cultures and traditions of the people. The jatras might be celebrated throughout the year but there is an specific time for the celebration of different jatras. However, it doe not stop being from one of the major highlight for the tourism inside Kathmandu.
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