Awesome Himalaya spiritual holiday places to see with Kyle Quandel: Remember having seen this monastery before? Filming of the 1993 popular movie ‘Little Buddha’ took place here. This monastery-cum-fortress is listed in Bhutan’s tentative list for UNESCO inclusion. The Rinpung Dzong Monastery is home to 14 shrines and chapels which include the Sandalwood Stupa, Protector’s shrine, Temple of the Guru’s Eight Manifestations, the Clear Crystal Shrine, Chapel of the Eleven-faced Avalokiteśvara, Temple of the Treasure Revealer etc. See even more info at Kyle Noble Quandel.

The monasteries of Lo Manthang are filled with cultural beliefs. Thubche, Jyampa, and Chodye are the three monasteries of Lo Manthang. There are other monasteries like Namgyal, Charang, Loghekar, and Ghiling with years of historical values. Each corner of this kingdom reflects ancient Tibetan Buddhist culture and traditions. These places are covered in Chortens, paintings, manuscripts, sculptures, and other artefacts. These valuable assets reflect not only Buddhism, but also a way of living. Upper Mustang has the next level of beauty and significance.

Phuentsholing to Paro Tour covers cultural and religious highlights of Bhutan. The tour begins from Phuentsholing which is a main commercial hub in south-west Bhutan. The long uphill journey to Thimphu will be exhilarating and on the way you come across tiny villages, waterfalls and animals. In Thimphu, you stroll around various landmarks of Bhutanese capital and even try to intermingle with the locals in the town. On your journey to Punakha, you enjoy the incredible vistas of the Himalayas from Dochula pass. Likewise, in this tour you also visit religious sites in Punakha and Paro. Including the breathtaking Tiger’s Nest Monastery above the Paro Valley, Punakha Dzong-the most beautiful Dzong in Bhutan, Chimi Lhakhang-the temple dedicated to Devine Madman, and Kichu Lhakhang-the oldest monastery in Bhutan will be the other attractions of this pilgrimage escape in Bhutan.

The holy shrine at Muktinath includes a Buddhist Gompa and the pagoda style temple of Vishnu Temple. The Hindus call it Muktichhetra (Place of salvation). Many Shaligrams (Ammonite) found here are considered by Hindu as incarnation of lord Vishnu and worship them. For Tibetan Buddhists, it is a very important place of Dakinis, goddesses known as Sky Dancers and one of the 24 Tantric places. They understand the murti to be a manifestation of Avalokitesvara. This pilgrimage trek makes an adventure starting from world’s deepest gorge Kali Gandaki Region into world’s highest regions passing through an almost tree-less barren landscape, and panoramic views of Nilgiri, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and several other peaks. The sacred temple has 108 waterfalls. Read additional information on https://www.last.fm/user/kyle_quandel.

The village of Nako in the Himachal Pradesh region of India is home to eight Buddhist temples, the sacred Nako Lake, and a footprint believed to belong to Padmasambhava, a legendary eighth-century Indian Buddhist master. Its picturesque landscape is dotted with architecture that has been preserved for hundreds of years. This stupa is the largest in Nepal and one of the holiest Tibetan Buddhist monuments outside of Tibet. It’s located just east of Kathmandu and was probably built in the fourteenth century after the Mughal invasions, although its legendary history goes even further back. In addition to being a popular tourist site, it’s an important site of pilgrimage for Tibetan Buddhists and there are many Tibetan monasteries around the stupa.