The Sound of a Festival in Bhaktapur

Bhaktapur is the smallest of the valley's royal cities, and the one that has held on to its old life most completely. The brick lanes are swept, the temples are lived in, and the festivals are not performances for visitors — they are the city's own business.

At Bisket Jatra, in the spring, the chariots come out. Two great wooden wagons, carrying the gods, are hauled through the streets by teams of young men from the old quarters. The pulling is a contest, the contest is a tradition, and the tradition is several centuries old.

The sound is what stays with you. Drums, bells, the creak of the chariot wheels on stone, and the crowd — not a crowd of tourists but of families, neighbours, and the old men who have watched this since they were the ones pulling.

We time a small number of trips each year around the festival calendar. They are not for everyone — the streets are crowded, the hours are long, and there is no schedule you can rely on. But for the right traveller, there is no better way to see the valley as it actually lives.